Plastic Pellets on the Beach

Sad to see a lot of plastic pellets amongst the seaweed that had been washed up onto the beach near the car park at the Temple at Lower Largo. Too big for nurdles, I think they were the squishy expanded polystyrene beads. Picked up quite a lot but just another example of plastic pollution.

Sad Sight on Lower Largo Beach

Sad sight today of a minke whale stranded on Lower Largo beach.

Fish Skull

Found the top half of a fish skull on the beach in Lower Largo. It is 8 cm. long and 3 cm. at the widest part. I think it comes from a fish from the family gadidae. This include cod, haddock, whiting and pollock.

 Side view of the skull.

Several years ago I found the skull of a bird on the same beach. It was eventually identified as a guillemot skull. Photographed them together here. They are similar in size but can see that they are quite different. The slender beak in the bird skull identifies it as a diving sea bird.

An Unusual Stone

Picked up this stone on the beach at Lower Largo. It is about 7 centimetres long and heavily pittted. It has a nice pattern, maybe evidence of plant material, but I have very little knowledge of fossils, so not sure whether it's from algae, plant root or fern fronds or even whether the pattern has been hand-carved into the stone. Fife does have locations where fossils from the carboniferous period may be found. East Wemyss a little further along the coast towards Kirkcaldy (about 7miles) is one of the best locations for plant remains.

The stone has some deep holes at one end, perhaps from a rock-boring sea creature.

Heron on Top of the Viaduct

 Spotted a heron at the top of the viaduct in Lower Largo.

 Stretching

January Catkins

Hazel catkins In the small v-shaped wood between the two paths in the Serpentine Walk in Lower Largo. I think that it is earlier than normal for these catkins possibly because of the mild December.

Empty Barnacle Shells

Spotted this sculptured-looking shell on the beach at the Temple in Lower Largo. I think that it's a common otter shell (Lutraria lutraria) but it's encrusted with empty barnacle shells, probably from the acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides) which has a diamond shaped aperture.

Close up of the empty barnacle shells which have a cone shaped shell-wall comprising a number of calcareous plates. In acorn barnacles the shell-wall consists of 6 greyish-white plates and there is also a membranous basal plate. The opening at the top of the 'cone' is diamond-shaped.

One of the barnacles has been knocked off but can still see the basal plate by which it was attached (middle left of photo).

Fog Bank Over the Forth

Looking towards Methil only the top of the large wind turbine can be seen above the fog bank. It looks quite eerie.

 Looking out to sea the fog bank seen from the Massney Braes ...

 ... and from the pier at Lower Largo.

From the old railway track looking over the roof tops across the Forth can just see the tops of the oil platforms.

Barnacle Rock Patterns

Barnacles almost completely covering a rock on Lower Largo beach producing amazing patterns of different colours and sizes.

On the sea side of the rock the barnacles are interspersed with bright green seaweed.

The barnacle covered rock with the Crusoe Hotel behind.

Lively Sea

 Windy yesterday producing some spectacular waves at Lower Largo.

 Caught in the spray as this wave hit the sea wall.

An Unusual Substrate for a Holdfast

On the beach at Lower Largo, a piece of seaweed attached by its holdfast to a golf ball.
Golf courses line the Fife Coast from St Andrews to Leven, so it's not unusual to find a golf ball on the beach, presumably as a result of a wayward shot from the tee. However, it's the first time I've seen one with seaweed attached.
A holdfast is a root-like structure that anchors organisms, such as seaweed to a substrate, which is usually a rock or large stone, but in this case a golf ball. Holdfasts are made up of many fingerlike projections called haptera. These secrete an adhesive mucilage thus ensuring a strong attachment to the substrate.

December Skies

From a dark glowering sky the sun began to appear from the edge of the cloud lighting up the Pentland Hills on the other side of the Forth.

The sun lighting up the sand in Lower Largo

Spectacular clouds.

Remembrance Day

At the end of August this year, poppies at the edge of a field of potatoes in Lower Largo.

Feverfew and Tansy

A plant of feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium) which has self-seeded in my garden. Although I think it's quite an attractive flower feverfew is usually considered to be an invasive weed in gardens. In the past, however, it was a useful medicinal herb. Its common name "feverfew" derives from the Latin  febrifugia, meaning "fever reducer" although it is no longer considered useful for that purpose. Though its earliest medicinal use is unknown, it was documented in the first century  as an anti-inflammatory by the Greek herbalist physician Dioscorides.

Recently, feverfew has been used as a prophylactic treatment for migraine. After taking feverfew some people reported that their migraines gradually became less frequent and in a few cases stopped altogether and a trial published in 2005 reported on the efficacy of feverfew as a viable preventative treatment for migraine. Various preparations of feverfew are available commercially. Although they are rather bitter, it is also possible to use one or two fresh leaves of the plant taken in a salad or a sandwich on a daily basis. Feverfew is contraindicated in pregnancy and as with any herbal product professional advice should be taken as there may be toxic side effects.

Another flower of the same genus is tansy  (Tanacetum vulgare) which was growing close to the old railway track in Lower Largo. For many years, tansy was used as a medicinal herb despite its toxicity. A bitter tea made with tansy flowers has been used for centuries as an anthelmintic to treat parasitic worm infestations, and tansy cakes were traditionally eaten during Lent because it was believed that eating fish during Lent caused intestinal worms. However, it has no place in modern herbal medicine.

A Sunny Autumn Day at Lower Largo

This has been a beautiful week of weather and Lower Largo looked picture postcard perfect.

Mermaid on the Beach

There are often sand castles on the beach at Lower Largo waiting to be washed away by the incoming tide, but this sand mermaid complete with seaweed hair was a bit more unusual and rather well done.