Sunday 2 March 2008

Weekend Walk - Meadows and Arthurs Seat

Yesterday we walked through the Meadows which are lovely at this time of year:

among crocuses -
the jerky, crouching run
of
redwings.

When we got to Arthurs Seat we were stunned by the contrast of the vibrant green hillsides against the vivid blue sky. Stunned also by the cold wind.

Arthurs Seat is geologically fascinating (an extinct volcano) and if you look carefully at nearby Salisbury Crags, you can see the rock strata pushed up at a sharp angle. This is also an area rich in birds:

wild wind -
kestrel struggles
to hover.

The first kestrel was joined by a second and they flew around above the gorse covered rocky hillside.


On the other side of the road, looking down to Duddingston Loch:

in the gorse

-the loud chack chack

of jackdaws

then they flew away en masse buffetted by the wind.

10 comments:

Elspeth said...

Those photos look freeing ...

Vincent said...

When I was in Edinburgh (training)I always wanted to go up to those crags, but never had the time. Nice to go there vicariously through your post.

Anonymous said...

very nice

WH said...

Beautiful lines!!!

Janice Thomson said...

What a delightful haibun Juliet -I loved this. And your beautiful country.

polona said...

your countryside looks beautiful
and i love your haiku observations

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos, lovely writing.

Anonymous said...

Lovely writing and photos!

Anonymous said...

What a lovely place to walk. It's comforting to know naturally occurring beauty like that still exists.

little wing writer said...

beautiful... here in northwest idaho the snow is still lingering and have yet to see the crocus... i heard a bird's arrival this morning for the first time this season.. i do not know their names but i am always in awe of the birds and their signals of seasons...