Natural highs and lows

Posts

Blogtober Two

The above photograph was taken around about dawn as I was wandering through to the kitchen, bleary-eyed, to sort out breakfast for Mocha the cat and a mug of tea for myself. As yet, I did not know that I would be attempting Blogtober. The end of September had seen 50+mph winds from the south, which meant that the beginning of October has Autumn on speed-dial. Today, in surprisingly pleasant weather, I finished giving the front lawn its only cut of the year, as all the wildflowers have now set seed. It was, however, noticeable that the year is inexorably turning, with plenty of evidence from our neighbour's trees decorating parts of our garden: Rowan berries, Sycamore keys and a pair of pine cones. There's an off-putting festive vibe to those photos! In the rockery, the Big Geranium (technical horticultural term) is still in bloom, providing nectar for some Honey Bees, whilst in the background, a solitary Sedum was hosting several White-tailed Bumblebees and a Red Admiral butter...

Blogtober One

Natural Highs and Lows has never really considered a whole month of daily blogging, and as recently as yesterday, October 1st, that was still the case. Then, this morning, I began reading the latest blog series from B at Coastal Ripples , who has to be said is an absolute star of the genre, regularly delivering a month's worth of relatable content from her corner of the Blogosphere. So when she ended her post with " a quick peruse of blogs to see if anyone else is keeping me company this October", I initially thought, "Ah, but it's the 2nd now, so not much point." Then it occurred to me that I did take a scenic photograph yesterday, so perhaps I could sneak in a short 'first of the month' post, followed by a more leisurely one for today. So here we are, showing a bit of Blogger solidarity, and dipping my toe in the tidal waters of daily blogging. My third thought centred on the fact that there's a short holiday in the offing, and would I be abl...

Tiger feat

[Searches through the "Pictures" folder on my computer...] Hmm, not a single photo since my last blogpost nearly two weeks ago. September has been much busier than the previous two months, which is good news from the point of view of keeping Mocha in Dreamies, Megan in Shiraz and a very old Volvo in diesel. Although maybe less so from a natural history perspective. [Considers that thought...] However, if I look back through my diary, I'm sure I could probably unearth some precious jewels from the nuts and bolts of a working life. Oddly, the simple act of driving to and fro between home and wherever I am working that day does generate more raptor sightings than if I had to choose a particular location to spot a bird of prey. Most of the Hen Harriers I see are from behind the wheel, as I pootle along the archipelago's roads. Other drive-by raptors include Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and Buzzard, as the birds hunt along verges and in roadside fields. Whilst actually at work, ...

Seasoning

Orkney doesn't really do Autumn. We're just not geared up for it. Obviously, the archipelago is a little light on the whole tree thing, only having small patches of woodland in sheltered places, so that an autumnal splash of colour is quite limited. The trees that there are tend to be in small conifer plantations, mysteriously leaning at 45 degrees, or broadleaf woods of mainly Sycamore, which is almost a weed here! However, whilst cogitating about what to write today, it has occurred to me that perhaps the lack of a Summer up here was simply Orkney having a valiant attempt at mellow fruitfulness. Not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, not too wet. That would certainly explain why the transition from August to September has seemed so... seamless. Wildflowers are setting seed, cereal fields are being harvested, herds of cows are grazing ever closer to their winter quarters and the sounds of Nature are changing. Against this backdrop, I picked a mild and calm day to head to Ye...

Hot air for a cool breeze?

Here we are, galloping through the year as though we're living in a microwave oven... that analogy might be too close to the truth for comfort. Anyway, let's have a late August round-up. I often help out KH with her bumblebee surveys at Skaill Bay. August's trip wasn't in ideal conditions as there was a cold north westerly breeze coming off the Atlantic Ocean, coupled with the fact that many species of wildflowers had now set seed. The first transect was saved by swathes of Red Clover in the beach car park and the rare sighting of a Great Yellow Bumblebee (the project's target bee species). The second transect began even worse, nary a buzzy thing in sight: cattle had grazed a field; contractors had mowed Skara Brae; and the final section was just Ragwort as far as the eye could see. However, when we reached said Ragwort, it was heaving with bumblebees, mostly face-planted into a flower, mainlining nectar to fuel their way through such a cold day. Totals for the day ...

A ph-odo-graphic mission

Recently, out of the blue, I received a request from a friend, RB, to help with some photography for a book. Mercifully, no camera skills were required on my part as I was simply to be the Odonata consultant: pond dipping for damselfly and dragonfly larvae, identifying the species and monitoring their health during the shoot. A trip to a local hardware store to buy supplies for pond-dipping saw me as the proud owner of a new colander and washing-up bowl, whilst rifling through the bathroom cabinet turned up some plastic spoons and small measuring cups for moving around individual larvae. I suggested a water body near home, the pond at Brinkies Guest House, which contains three species of damsel and one species of dragon. Thankfully, there were still larvae in the pond which had not yet decided to leave their aquatic lifestyle and emerge as adult insects. The guest house owner, YH, kindly allowed my friend to set up his equipment on a picnic bench in the lee of the property (...