It was a revelation, a real home from home, just not in a way I was at all expecting. But more of that another time.
Here's the view across the garden, down to Loch Fleet. A turn around the garden produced a Painted Lady butterfly, and then we settled down to unpack.
Later in the evening, as the tide went out, we took a walk down to the loch and along the shore to the coast. Seals and Shags (though they could've been Cormorants), made an interesting silhouette on a sand bar.
We discovered a huge beached jellyfish below the strand line...
and countless fragile shells of echinoids.
As we walked back to the cottage, the setting sun cast a few last rays on the underside of the clouds, and our nightly routine was once more accompanied by the sound of Oystercatchers and Curlews.
Happy sigh.
2 comments:
Obligatory jellyfish comment: Lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), common in cooler waters around the UK and northern Europe. They often strand in groups, so I'd expect to see others locally. The bell/umbrella of the jellyfish is the orange central 'foot-sized' section with scalloped edges (and can grow to 3'+ in diameter). The purple mass of hair around the bell are all the tentacles, which can extend many metres behind the jellyfish itself in a web of stinging cells for catching prey. The white sections may be a breakdown of the underside of the jellyfish or a release of gametes. In bell itself can be seen rings of muscles for swimming, while each 'point' contains gravity sensors so the jellyfish knows which way is up.
Very pretty :)
Oh, I think we always appreciate an obligatory jellyfish comment, Martin!
Post a Comment