This spell of calm weather continues to provide stunning skies and languid light.
The fields are quite water-logged again after the parching they received in the Summer. On mornings such as these, the puddles look like windows to another world. A world, perhaps, which holds the promise of a lexicon bereft of the word Brexit. It was tempting to take the plunge.
Once we reach the sea wall by the old kirk, we normally head homewards, but this morning we decided to carry on to the cliffs at the Bay of Semolie. With the Sun gaining a little height, the place positively glowed.
After an absence of a few months, the Fulmars are back on their ledges, like Boxing Day Sale shoppers encamped outside the entrances to high-rise emporia.
Whilst with little breeze to carry it away, sea spray hung about the cliffs, as if unsure what to do.
Amongst the yellowing grasses and sedges along the clifftops, rosettes of Buck's-horn Plantain were looking decidedly green and festive.
Our two mile potter had morphed into a five mile hike, so by the time we returned home, it was midday and lunch beckoned. Win, win.
4 comments:
Lovely light in the pictures and such a pleasant looking day. Been wet and miserable here today, unlike yesterday. Annoyingly I got the days wrong in my decisions to want to go out today and now resigned to go tomorrow.
There is alteria motive in this. Since giving up keeping lists in the mid-90's (I abhor it). However, yesterday I was musing to a friend that according to Bird Track, I have seen 149 birds this year. That's nice! So we decided with at least half a dozen birds within 15 miles away that I've not seen this year and some for many, many years, it would be rude not to at least round the year off, so to speak!
I love the Buckshorn plantain picture. I was shown some a couple of years ago by Roger Cope - it grows on the green by his house. We've not been able to find it this year. However, on my way home tomorrow he's invited me to stop by for a cuppa. I think it would be churlish not to suggest we go and look for it again on the green while I'm there.
Tell me you didn’t swim! I need to move to your island. Mine is far too murky at the moment. Great skies! B
JD, sounds like you should be able to break the 150 barrier with ease!
Barbara, the day I swim in Orkney, you should be able to hear my yelps of "It's flippin' freezing" from where you are. To be fair, the group that swims most weekends through the year reckon that's it's not too bad.
Apparently my friend says there's a slav grebe near Brogborough. According to BirdTrack the last time I saw a Slav was 03/12/2000 at Scaling Reservoir near to your ancestral home!
It's been quite interesting entering my hysterical bird records. I've got back to May 2000. I can't see I'll ever get back through all my old records - that would take me back to the early '70's. Its interesting how times change when from 20 years ago I enter records of Ruddy Duck and BT says 'this is a county rarity and asks for field notes! Or the double figure count of passage greenshank and am told this is an exceptional number hinting that I might need to put in the right number!! Then there's the turtle dove records that make me sad - it was quite emotional to find one of my sketches of one I'd seen locally 18 years ago.
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