My Blog

Category: Wildlife

  • Gnothe sauton

    It’s been a while since we had a dictionary delve, occasioned today by my idly wondering if “global pandemic” is tautology? The dictionary in question was therefore temporarily relieved of its 21st century function as the prop for the iPad when Zooming, and duly interrogated. We know that tautology itself* comes from tauto, the same,…

  • Abu Dhabi

    As the estate agents never tire of telling us, one of the many grand things about Fife is its coastline.  We have several beautiful beaches within easy reach of our home, a fact which has made the last 9 months just that bit more bearable.  In anticipation of yesterday’s Level 4 announcement we tootled off…

  • Plantastic

    For anyone with an interest in plants, art or indeed both, below is a link to the degree show at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh.  They offer training in botanical drawing, a uniquely special method of documenting the life story of a plant.  I have long been in awe of this, and its practitioners.…

  • Against the Dying of the Light

    So it rumbles on. Mid November, return to lockdown for some areas here,  and all over the world.  Tantalising glimpses of vaccines, stories of very bad behaviour in the corridors of power, and meanwhile the winter avian visitors have arrived.

  • Mine of information

    Loch Ore on Sunday, this superb local amenity features a circular walk through a variety of ecosystems, including a beach, reed beds, meadow, fields of geese and woodlands.  Built on the land reclaimed from coal mining, it’s used for water sports and is the meeting place for the Newfoundland dog group.  Wee frog here the…

  • Notes from my perch

    Occasionally my wanderings on the internet surprise even me.  Today I found out that James Dick, a successful business man who was born in Kilmarnock and moved to Glasgow, developed the school gym shoe known by various names over the UK.  He and his brother had experimented with using Gutta-percha to cover the soles of…

  • December birds

    In the interest of sharing musical gems, absolutely no apologies for reposting this. Anent nothing, walked past 60+ curlew feeding on the local football pitches, alongside oyster catchers, lesser black backed gulls, wood pigeons and carrion crows. 20th anniversary of the folk club tomorrow.  Looking forward to it.

  • Wide awake

    It seemed like a good idea to go to  England on the day of the Rugby World Cup Final, so we found ourselves in Wakefield, after a stress free train trip with added random acts of kindness. Our stay was in the hotel in Holmfield Park.  We’ll need to go back to see the rhubarb…

  • Mulling it over

                                                                                        A random selection from our trip north,  through stupendously beautiful areas of Scotland. …

  • Play well

    The word “lego” is derived from the Danish words “leg godt”, meaning “play well”.  Really enjoyed seeing these Lego sculptures at Edinburgh Zoo, on a rather close and muggy summer’s day. All the models were of sea creatures, which brought this tune to mind.  Stick with it for the chorus harmonies.