Spooktacular Halloween Fun!

It's nearly Halloween, the night of witches and all things spooky!!  It was a little early, but our Halloween nibbles and drinks night was on Saturday, so out came the decorations once more!  There were skeletons, masks and much more for a fun night!!  Here are some photos to get you in the mood for the 31st October!!

Raindrops and Spiders' Webs

I've been experimenting with the camera again!!  Some were taken on macro mode and some with a macro add-on lens.  I'm thinking of entering one of these into a photo competition, but I can't decide on which one to use!!

An Autumn Walk through Gosford Estate

On Sunday just past, the sun was shining and it was actually quite warm, so we decided to have a walk through Gosford Estate.  Although very muddy underfoot in some places after the recent heavy rain, it was just lovely.  The autumn colours are magnificent just now, and with virtually no wind at all, the reflections in the ponds were wonderful.  I took a few photos, and will share the best of them (in my opinion) here:

Photo Competition

I've decided to have another attempt at a photo competition and have entered the following photos, so fingers crossed!!  I'm really not holding out much hope of having a winner, but it's fun to take part!!  Here's what I've entered:

Single Puffin

Aberlady Bay

Collecting Nectar

Ruffled Feathers

Rocky Robin posing for photos

Wee Rocky Robin is still with us and still bothering the car wing mirrors on occasions, but yesterday and today he posed for a few photos!!  The quality isn't brilliant as they've been taken through glass, and he's really quick on the move, so it's difficult to catch him standing still!!

Pothole!!

We had had a lovely day out with my parents down into Berwick-on-Tweed, driving over the hill road there and back.  However, it wasn't all pleasant on the way home!!  Two miles from Gifford on the B6355 we hit a huge pothole in the road and almost immediately heard a strange noise as we were driving along the road afterwards.  On stopping to investigate, the rear nearside tyre was as flat as a pancake and the front nearside tyre was also on its way to being the same!!  With only one spare wheel on board, we had to call the 'fourth emergency service', the AA.  I've been a member of the organisation for many years and haven't had to use them very much but, on occasions like this, they are a lifesaver!!  Thank goodness too for mobile phones!!  After a quick call to the AA, there was a mechanic with us within 40 minutes, so that was pretty good service.

While we were waiting for him to arrive, we stopped a random car to see if the occupants would drive me a little further back up the road to take photos of the offending pothole, which they did.  They turned out to be a very nice couple from Swinton in the Borders who had actually known my Aunt Alice whose grave we had been visiting that day!!  Imagine that, stopping a random car in the middle of nowhere and finding out that it was someone who had known her!!  I can't help but think that she's watching over me somehow!!

Anyway, I took some photos of this gaping crater in the road

 When I got back to the car the spare wheel was onto the car and this is the damage done to the wheel itself that caused the tyre to deflate

After the AA mechanic arrived and done a temporary repair to the other wheel and inflated the type, we limped home and made it there safely.  The next morning though, we headed back up to the offending pothole armed with tape measures and the camera to take more photos, probably much to the amusement of some passing drivers, once of whom stopped to make sure we were OK and didn't need any help, which was nice.  So, here are more photos

Approx 5' x 3'

All the stones in the foreground should be in that hole!!

From the car, you can't see it!!

The car has now left home to be repaired so fingers crossed there's no other damage apart from the wheels and tyres.  We've got a form to make a claim against East Lothian Council, so it'll be interesting to see what they eventually say about it all.