Autumn ventures

This week has been a week for enjoying Autumn in Glasgow. On Monday I hopped on my bike and cycled up to Eaglesham Moor, where Whitelee windfarm has not long opened. The windfarm (the biggest in Europe!) covers 55 km2 and has a track which runs round the whole of it, which you can drive/cycle/walk on. After the arduous cycle there, I decided only to walk down to the first turbine. Admittedly, standing under it my stomach was in my mouth. Against the blue sky with its white clouds moving overhead, the turbine looked like it was beginning to lean over me and I got the feeling I was in danger of the blades hitting me on the way round (Fun fact: the tips of the blades move faster than an express train in order to travel the distance of the turbine’s circumference!). Some people regard the turbines as scenic pollution but can’t help but finding them pretty mesmerising to look at across the moor – all 140 of them!


 

Note the man on the bike for scale!



I like to walk in the morning and two of my favourite routes include the woods by Greenbank Gardens and the lane through a nearby golf club. The former provides ample opportunity for Autmun photography and each day this week nature has been continually giving and surprising. I love the wild blackberries which grow in the hedgerow of so many of Scotland’s fields and roadsides. The berries on the bramble bushes are just now ripe for picking, so I always pick a handful to take home! (I’m sure my cousin’s upcoming birthday party will provide me with a way to incorporate them into some baking!). As well as brambles, I also came across apples and plums!
Talking of baking, another of my latest ventures has been baking bread. Having tried my hand before at making some sort of bready thing, and it resulting in some not-so-pleasant-tough-to-eat creation, I was apprehensive. However, the dough rose dutifully and a couple of hours later I had two lovely loaves to enjoy! Excellent : )



I have a thing for trees