Stock.

Took Merlin down to the Glen for a short walk and to meet some of his - and our friends, and catch up on some barking and gossip. We were sorry to hear that Connie, and elderly mongrel, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the New Year but, she’s still looks pretty fit and is obviously enjoying life; her owner has sensibly decided to forgo anything other than palliative treatment, just as we have done with several of our pets.
 
This specimen, of what Mrs TD assures me is a variety of stock, is probably an escape from the workers cottages that used to stand a hundred yards away, it is growing on the site of what used to be the furniture warehouse and, before that, the carpet weaving factory – one of the many sources of industrial pollution that blighted the rivers of Midlothian a hundred years ago. The last of them was a paper mill, a mile or so upstream, that didn’t close until 2004 and is now slowly being replaced with a housing estate; it seems that everything is slowly being replaced by a housing estate. An acquaintance passed on a microscope from there to be used by the beekeeping club; it hasn’t been, but I’m reluctant to throw out something with so much potential value just yet. Of course, the legal status of the gift is debatable though I don’t intend to make any enquiries.
 
I’d forgotten about the limitations of the camera kit lens having become so used to using the macro; the Blip, taken at the maximum aperture and having needed to be cropped fairly severely, there were some serious fringing problems that needed resolving; I’ll remember that for next Friday.
 
We arrived home to find a telephone message that Mrs Merlin is due to be sent home from hospital next week having suffered a stroke six weeks ago. It’s not going to be a happy time. She doesn’t get on with her carers and is really not fit enough to live alone any longer. Time will tell how things turn out but we’re not looking forward to the process.