Tuesday 2 June 2015

A torrid 'un but oil ends well

Halfway through our week's break on the west coast of Scotland, we decided to spend the day touring around the Torridon area.

But before we go there, here's a gratuitous shot of a Grey Heron from early this morning. Big lens and dressing gown outdoors, not a good look.


As we drove the single track road to Torridon, the weather began to deteriorate. We donned waterproofs and set off around the edge of the loch, then picked up a footpath that took us back towards the village in an anti-clockwise loop. Our Lass spotted an interpretation board for a clearance site, Fasag, where the tenant crofters were evicted from their land by the owner in the mid 1800s to make way for more profitable sheep farming. As she walked around the ruined remains of several scattered crofts, I beetled about in the damp grass.



I think this is a Violet Ground Beetle (£1 coin for scale).


 And this is a Violet Oil Beetle.

Who could blame a deity for having an inordinate fondness?

3 comments:

biobabbler said...

Just as I was admiring your verb choice (beetling about) I then scrolled down to those lovelies. That violet oil beetle is a real stunner--never seen one before. Reminds me of the cobalt milkweed beetles I saw last weekend in Yosemite valley (see my blog, if so motivated). Some beetles are just SO beautiful, I pretty much just stare at them, agog. Struck dumb, as it were. Perhaps a sign of merely mammalian inordinate fondness. =)

biobabbler said...

Incidentally, I JUST noticed your URL (aeshnacaerulea). So, has this been the URL for 500 years & I just noticed, or is it new(ish, as in less than 2 yrs old)? And why that particular member of the Odonata gang?
Just curious.

Imperfect and Tense said...

Yeah, the VOB was a first for me, and it looked like it had been forged and hammered from blue steel. Absolutely magnificent.

Yep, I'm afraid that's always been my URL, it's the Latin of my email address. And it's that particular species because the Azure Hawker is one of the rarer of the British odes. I only saw my one and only specimen three years ago (and am in the same area right now, busy not seeing any more). Hey, if I've had the URL for 500 years, does that mean I invented the internet??!!