Natural highs and lows

Today marks twelve windswept years since I moved to Orkney. To celebrate, Megan and I are self-isolating at either end of the sofa whilst we struggle with another bout of Covid, all the while trying to keep hydrated and push the value of Kleenex shares to an all time high. Fortunately, I did manage to be out and about earlier this week, before succumbing to a virus which will pretty much discourage me from sealing the envelopes of this year's batch of Christmas cards. Rothiesholm Bay, Stronsay. A cold Winter's day for a post-work amble Sandy shore. Some distant Sanderlings foraging at the tideline Trigger alert: the following photographs feature a harvestman (an arachnid, but not a spider). Returning from a foray to the garden to recycle some coffee grounds, I noticed a harvestman sat on the door frame. It looked rather different to the species we see more regularly, so my interest was piqued. The ObsIdentify app reckoned that it was Dicranopalpus ramosus , but subsequent resea...

Yesterday, it was a calm, crisp morning for a walk in the parish of Orphir. Along the coastal path from the Bu, we were entertained by a soundscape of Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks, cooing and yodelling from the sea below. In Gyre Wood, there were countless Goldcrests foraging in the branches of the trees, whilst from lower down to the ground, Wrens blasted out their extensive repertoire. We encountered at least half a dozen species of fungi, either on the maritime heath, along hedgerows or in the wood. A view across Orphir Bay to the hills of Hoy By the clifftop path, a Buck's-horn Plantain shows off its basal leaf rosette   We didn't meet a single soul on our walk. The only brief company being three escaped sheep These ships are moored 😊 View over Gyre Wood to the Orphir hills Candlesnuff fungus beneath a Gorse hedge At the time, I thought this was Hogweed, but not so sure now. Secluded dell where a burn flows into Gyre Wood Difficult to photograph, a constantly-flitting Gold...

Last Friday was one of those rare November days where the wind drops, the sun shines and although the temperature isn't hot, it isn't cold either. As regular readers will know, I have a very narrow optimal window for survival! It was so lovely that we abandoned our plans for the day and simply gardened, planting some shrubs along the wall at the front of the garden: cotoneasters, rambling roses and flowering currants. Then we wandered around to the back garden and had a further attempt at working out where and how we wanted trees planting around the perimeter of the wildflower meadow. We settled on repeated groups of three of Rowan, Willow and Downy Birch. Whilst playing this game of musical trees, we found a small mushroom in the sward. It was quite easy to photograph it from above, but I struggled with a photograph from below as I tried to capture the structure of the gills (this feature often being useful for ID purposes). Meantime, ObsIdentify reckoned that it was Strophari...

It is time for an annual event of deep cultural significance to many folk, the baking of a Christmas cake. Whilst my involvement is miniscule, even in our own kitchen (what position is below sous chef?), I can confirm that the emphasis is rather more on the cake than the Christmas. Throughout October, Megan had been squirrelling away ingredients as she spotted them in various emporia, as it is rare here that every commodity is available in the same shop at the same time. The dried fruits have now been sufficiently soaked in brandy and had their car keys removed for safety. I think this is a living document, in as much that some of those splatters are probably evolving Ingredients combined and stirred It was at this point that I was called into action, measuring and folding a double layer of greaseproof paper to line the cake tin, before being unceremoniously ejected from the kitchen once more. Upon removal from the oven, and after subsequent cooling, the cake is wrapped in foil and mov...

Last week, I had planned to blog about a recent birthday, not a particularly significant birthday, but one with plenty of punning opportunities if one happened to be of a Beatles frame of mind. In fact, as part of the punning, I was going to post on the following day, thereby introducing a further song title. As I said, "I had planned", but somehow the muse struggled to leave the ground and the moment was lost. Anyhow, it was a lovely day, with a nice lunch at a gin distillery and a bit of wildlife watching afterwards (including my first Brambling of the year). Instead, here's a round up of October's natural history happenings. Parsnip Moth (on the bedroom wall, not in the vegetable patch) Our first Blackcap of the Autumn, which instigated a search for an apple source Whilst putting out the swiftly-purchased apples, we noticed that the recently-strimmed and mown lawn was riddled with Orkney Vole tunnels running through the grass. Unbeknownst to us, we had been sharing...

In the immediate aftermath of Storm Amy, I took a few photos of the large purple-flowered geraniums in the rockery. Despite being on the sheltered side of the house for the 24+ hours of 80mph gusts, they had been buffeted by the preliminary south-easterlies before the wind went around to the west for the rest of the performance. I think the vegetation was then caught in a pincer movement as the gusts swirled left and right around the property. I did manage to find one petal which had avoided being swept away to line the kerbs of Stavanger in Norway.   Yesterday, with the winds still gusting in the forties, I took a few more photos to document the garden during this briefest of Autumns. Interestingly, many plants which had been almost completely wind burnt, had the odd flower which appeared totally unscathed. On our southern boundary with a neighbour, the Rowan tree was devoid of leaves and berries, so the winter thrushes are going to be disappointed. Indeed, whilst wandering around...