Wednesday 31 December 2014
Tuesday 30 December 2014
Water of Leith
It wasn't so cold today as it was yesterday. I did my regular volunteering stint round Colinton Dell today .I hadn't noticed before today how lovely the gioldenrod seed heads look in winter.
this tiny toadstool growing in the moss is just lovely
I've been learning a lot about fungi this year, though I'm far from being able to identify them all. As to mosses though, I don't have a clue, so I'm looking forward to the forthcoming talk about the mosses and liverworts of the Water of Leith. You can find out more about this talk on the Water of Leith Conservation Trust website.
Lots of birds today as well, including a flock of about 20 redwings feasting in holly bushes along the mill lade of Redhall Mill. One of the birds fluttered in such a way to show off all the vibrant red under the wing. Beautiful.
for Nature Notes
this tiny toadstool growing in the moss is just lovely
and on the same fallen log there's this lovely combination of moss and fungi (this fungus looks like hairy stereum, though I'm not entirely sure)
and not far away, yet another toadstool (some sort of bell cap) in the dead leaves
Lots of birds today as well, including a flock of about 20 redwings feasting in holly bushes along the mill lade of Redhall Mill. One of the birds fluttered in such a way to show off all the vibrant red under the wing. Beautiful.
for Nature Notes
Thinking about:
In and around Edinburgh,
nature diary,
photos,
Water of Leith,
winter
Monday 29 December 2014
It's icy out there!
Today we walked through Inverleith Park
the black headed gulls (in winter plumage, hence white heads with only a back spot behind the eyes) seemed comfortable enough on the ice
there were redwings in the holly bushes all over town. The photo above (taken in Inverleith Park) sums up why I tend to watch smaller fast moving birds rather than trying to photograph them!
We then wandered over to Edinburgh Botanic Gardens and made friends with this lovely squirrel.
There was a kingfisher on the Botanics Pond, several birdwatchers had gathered to watch it, I enjoyed seeing it fly across the pond from tree to tree. i didn't even try to take a photo!
This tree is beautiful in the cold winter light
and I liked the arrangement of this cone and stone on the icy pond in the Scottish Woodland area of the Botanics
the black headed gulls (in winter plumage, hence white heads with only a back spot behind the eyes) seemed comfortable enough on the ice
there were redwings in the holly bushes all over town. The photo above (taken in Inverleith Park) sums up why I tend to watch smaller fast moving birds rather than trying to photograph them!
We then wandered over to Edinburgh Botanic Gardens and made friends with this lovely squirrel.
There was a kingfisher on the Botanics Pond, several birdwatchers had gathered to watch it, I enjoyed seeing it fly across the pond from tree to tree. i didn't even try to take a photo!
This tree is beautiful in the cold winter light
and I liked the arrangement of this cone and stone on the icy pond in the Scottish Woodland area of the Botanics
Thinking about:
birds,
In and around Edinburgh,
photos,
winter
Sunday 28 December 2014
Winter on Linlithgow Loch
black headed gulls
mute swan and (below) with cygnet
bullrushes
We had a lovely trip to Linlithgow yesterday and walked round the Loch
Thinking about:
birds,
In and around Edinburgh,
nature diary,
photos,
winter
Saturday 27 December 2014
Corstorphine Hill Christmas Eve
Crafty Gren Boyfriend and I had a lovely walk round Corstorphine HIll on Christmas eve. The weather was beautiful when we set out, though that didn't last
It was another great day for fungi
jelly ears
velvet shank
jelly antler fungus (sorry for the poor focus in this shot, but the light is lovely in it).
and most excitingly this orange peel fungus. Crafty Green Boyfriend works very near Corstorphine Hill and had told me about this orange peel fungus, but we didn't expect it to still be looking good on Christmas Eve. My camera battery failed after taking the photo above, but Crafty Green Boyfriend helped out by taking the photo below
This autumn has been my best ever season for seeing and identifying wild fungi, you can see more photos of some of the species we've seen by following these links
Fungi in roadside verges in suburban Manchester.
November Fungi on Corstorphine Hill.
stump puffballs in Colinton Dell.
It was another great day for fungi
jelly ears
velvet shank
jelly antler fungus (sorry for the poor focus in this shot, but the light is lovely in it).
and most excitingly this orange peel fungus. Crafty Green Boyfriend works very near Corstorphine Hill and had told me about this orange peel fungus, but we didn't expect it to still be looking good on Christmas Eve. My camera battery failed after taking the photo above, but Crafty Green Boyfriend helped out by taking the photo below
This autumn has been my best ever season for seeing and identifying wild fungi, you can see more photos of some of the species we've seen by following these links
Fungi in roadside verges in suburban Manchester.
November Fungi on Corstorphine Hill.
stump puffballs in Colinton Dell.
Thinking about:
autumn,
In and around Edinburgh,
nature diary,
photos,
winter
Wednesday 24 December 2014
Wishing everyone a Green and Happy Christmas
The Crafty Green Christmas tree is a living tree, in a pot and will return to Crafty Green Boyfriend's mother's garden after 12th night. It's decorated with two wooden bird decorations from my parents and a load of earrings! The earrings are either odd earrings with no pair or earrings that I've found in the street. The star on the top of the tree is made from felt that I made from the shed fur of our old rabbit Anya (it's a lovely way to remember her at this time of year!).
Monday 22 December 2014
stump puffballs
This is the first time I've ever seen stump puffballs, a species of puffball toadstools that only grows on rotting wood. The other species of puffballs all grow in the ground.
when you look closely you can see all the spores inside the fungus, just waiting to be puffed out by raindrops or the footsteps of a passing animal.
These puffballs were growing on a dead tree in Colinton Dell alongside the Water of Leith.
For Nature Notes.
when you look closely you can see all the spores inside the fungus, just waiting to be puffed out by raindrops or the footsteps of a passing animal.
These puffballs were growing on a dead tree in Colinton Dell alongside the Water of Leith.
For Nature Notes.
Thinking about:
autumn,
In and around Edinburgh,
nature diary,
photos,
Water of Leith
Sunday 21 December 2014
Ten Reasons to buy local
Saturday 20 December 2014
Calton Hill
We enjoyed a walk round Edinburgh's Calton Hill today. Always a great place for photos, there are so many interesting buildings and follies up there, great views of Salisbury Crags too.
Friday 19 December 2014
Update on my novel
As many readers of this blog know I'm currently working on a novel that is basically about climate change refugees in a future independent Hebrides.
I wrote a very rough first draft of this novel for NaNoWriMo on November 2011.
Today I finished the current draft. It still needs a final edit and polish and may need extra scenes, but at least I have something that looks properly novel shaped.So that's my early Christmas present to myself!
Whether I ever find an agent or a publisher for it is another matter entirely!
I wrote a very rough first draft of this novel for NaNoWriMo on November 2011.
Today I finished the current draft. It still needs a final edit and polish and may need extra scenes, but at least I have something that looks properly novel shaped.So that's my early Christmas present to myself!
Whether I ever find an agent or a publisher for it is another matter entirely!
Thursday 18 December 2014
haiku
frosty tiles -
a herring gull slides
down the roof
a herring gull slides
down the roof
Thinking about:
birds,
haiku,
nature diary,
poetry
Tuesday 16 December 2014
Woodland Trust leaf identification swatch book
I was delighted to win this leaf identification swatch book in a recent Woodland Trust online tree identification quiz.
It is a beautifully produced guide to 32 of the most widely seen trees of the UK. The book is small enough to fit into a large pocket but large enough that most of the leaves are shown at life size. It's laminated for easy use in the rain and with the pages easily displayed alongside each other so you can compare and contrast the different species.
Each tree is represented with a photo of its leaf and bud
with on the back of the page some facts about the species
I'll definitely be using this with my nature walk groups.
This is just one of a series of Woodland Trust wildlife identification swatch books. You can see the whole range here.
I reviewed the Woodland Trust fungi identification swatch book here.
Thinking about:
books,
nature diary,
review,
woodland
Monday 15 December 2014
Colinton Dell on a wintry day
It's a lovely winters day out there, cold and slightly frosty but still and clear.
A couple of months ago someone had told me there were earthstar fungi in Colinton Dell, but foolishly I never asked exactly where, so I've been searching ever since. Finally today I found them, past their best, their stars almost rotten away, but still worth taking a photo of, and next year I'll know where they are and I'll see them earlier in the year. Assuming they come up again next year, I know fungi can be unreliable like that.
The larch tree that I've been stusdying for Tree Following looks beautiful in the winter sun
Also an amazing selection of birds today. A total of 15 mallards (unusual for this stretch of the river these days), 5 goosanders (a record for my observations in Colinton Dell), 8 bullfinches in one tree (probably the most adult bullfinches I've ever seen in one place), two medium sized flocks of redwings and lots of long tailed tits everywhere. Plus other birds too.
A couple of months ago someone had told me there were earthstar fungi in Colinton Dell, but foolishly I never asked exactly where, so I've been searching ever since. Finally today I found them, past their best, their stars almost rotten away, but still worth taking a photo of, and next year I'll know where they are and I'll see them earlier in the year. Assuming they come up again next year, I know fungi can be unreliable like that.
The larch tree that I've been stusdying for Tree Following looks beautiful in the winter sun
Also an amazing selection of birds today. A total of 15 mallards (unusual for this stretch of the river these days), 5 goosanders (a record for my observations in Colinton Dell), 8 bullfinches in one tree (probably the most adult bullfinches I've ever seen in one place), two medium sized flocks of redwings and lots of long tailed tits everywhere. Plus other birds too.
Thinking about:
birds,
In and around Edinburgh,
nature diary,
photos,
treefollowing,
Water of Leith,
winter
Saturday 13 December 2014
Two Edinburgh parks on a cold winter's day
Inverleith Pond in Inverleith Park, the water almost entirely frozen
One of the ponds at the Royal Botanic Gardens, not quite so frozen
one of the several grey squirrels we saw, note its dirty nose from rummaging through the fallen leaves
a beautiful cat stalking another of the squirrels
the grey squirrel that the cat was stalking, it was onstantly making alarm calls while the cat was around.
For Weekend Reflections
As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other web pages where you can find out more.
One of the ponds at the Royal Botanic Gardens, not quite so frozen
one of the several grey squirrels we saw, note its dirty nose from rummaging through the fallen leaves
a beautiful cat stalking another of the squirrels
the grey squirrel that the cat was stalking, it was onstantly making alarm calls while the cat was around.
For Weekend Reflections
As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other web pages where you can find out more.
Thinking about:
In and around Edinburgh,
nature diary,
photos,
winter
Friday 12 December 2014
Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong
In the 1970s nomadic Mongolian herders lived in balance with their environment, moving from one area of pasture to another to gain the most benefit from each type of grassland and to ensure that the grassland and its wildlife had the best chance to survive and thrive. They revered wolves even as they feared them, hunting them when necessary but recognising that the wolves ensured that gazelles, rabbits and mice couldn't overrun the grasslands and reduce them to desert.
Wolf Totem, the semi-autobiograhical novel from Jiang Rong, focuses on a year in the lives of two Chinese students sent to Mongolia to work alongside the herders. Chen adopts a wild wolf cub (after killing its siblings) and tries to study its development as a top predator. His love for the cub is very touching as is his gradual realisation of the crime he commited against nature in ripping the cub from its natural way of life.
This story is set against the wider story of the settlement of the area by Chinese farmers who don't understand the relationship the herders have with the landscape and the wildlife. Gradually the grasslands become overpopulated by people and livestock and wolves are over-hunted, gradually creating a sandy desert where once there was a vibrant ecosystem.
This is a heartbreaking study of how inappropriate human development can destroy a natural ecosystem and ultimately destroy too a human community that had evolved over centuries to co-exist with that ecosystem.
My only criticism of the book is that the dialogue often sounds as though the author has taken chunks out of ecology and soiology textbooks and put them into the mouths of his characters. Otherwise it is a truly insightful and sobering exploration of a lost way of life.
Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong (translated by Howard Goldblatt) published by Penguin.
Wolf Totem, the semi-autobiograhical novel from Jiang Rong, focuses on a year in the lives of two Chinese students sent to Mongolia to work alongside the herders. Chen adopts a wild wolf cub (after killing its siblings) and tries to study its development as a top predator. His love for the cub is very touching as is his gradual realisation of the crime he commited against nature in ripping the cub from its natural way of life.
This story is set against the wider story of the settlement of the area by Chinese farmers who don't understand the relationship the herders have with the landscape and the wildlife. Gradually the grasslands become overpopulated by people and livestock and wolves are over-hunted, gradually creating a sandy desert where once there was a vibrant ecosystem.
This is a heartbreaking study of how inappropriate human development can destroy a natural ecosystem and ultimately destroy too a human community that had evolved over centuries to co-exist with that ecosystem.
My only criticism of the book is that the dialogue often sounds as though the author has taken chunks out of ecology and soiology textbooks and put them into the mouths of his characters. Otherwise it is a truly insightful and sobering exploration of a lost way of life.
Wolf Totem by Jiang Rong (translated by Howard Goldblatt) published by Penguin.
Thursday 11 December 2014
winter weather haiku
clouds gather -
the grey and white cat watches
the rain
**
grey skies -
two crows chase each other
through falling snow
the grey and white cat watches
the rain
**
grey skies -
two crows chase each other
through falling snow
Wednesday 10 December 2014
War Poets Trail, Craiglockart
I've blogged a few times about how we enjoy walking round the Craiglockart Hills. I also knew about the historical connection between the buildings on the hills with the famous war poets of the First World War. However I hadn't heard about the War Poets Trail until a few days ago when I picked up a leaflet that outlines walks that trace the footsteps of Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon on the walks they enjoyed taking while they were recuperating at Craiglockart War Hospital.
If you walk along the trail you can also pop in to view the War Poets Collection that is on permanent display in the Craiglockart Campus Library.
The War Poets trail is being highlighted (and possibly has been formalised this year) to mark the centenary of the First World War.
However we can't let it distract us from the controversial development of the Craighouse Buildings.
The Friends of Craiglockart Woods and Nature Trail have a very optimistic point of view about this development, while Friends of Craignhouse Grounds and Wood - Save Craighouse (a local campaigning group which has fought against three development proposals for the site) has a much more pessimistic view. I have to admit, my view probably falls somewhere in between. I'd like to be optimistic, but I'm afraid that I have little faith currently in the City of Edinburgh Planning Department or in the private developers who are planning to build new houses on this site.
The latest proposals were given the go ahead so the site is to be developed (and let's be honest, it needs to be developed in some way otherwise the historical buildings will fall into decay). Time will only tell what effect the development has on the surrounding Local Nature Reserve.
As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other webpages where you can find out more.
Thinking about:
campaigning,
In and around Edinburgh,
poetry
Tuesday 9 December 2014
Winter sun
It's wild, wet and windy today. Hard to believe that only yesterday the sky was this blue (it was freezing cold though and many of the paths alongside the Water of Leith were frozen)
Scots pines
hornbeam
Thinking about:
In and around Edinburgh,
nature diary,
photo,
Water of Leith,
winter
Monday 8 December 2014
From flower to cone - the larch tree through the year
The best thing about studying a larch tree for Tree Following this year has been discovering the beautiful little flowers (which I had never noticed before!) and observing them as they gradually change into cones. I've used photos of different flowers / cones in some instances, but they still give a nice idea of the development.
26 March
31 March
14 April
30 April
12 May
27 May
9 June
1 July
31 July
11 August
1 October
11 November
8 December
This has been a fascinating study and I'll certainly pay more attention to larch trees in the future! It's also been fascinating to follow the other trees that participants have chosen. Thanks to Lucy at Loose and Leafy for organising Tree Following.
For Tree Following and Nature Notes.
24 November
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)