First Peacock Butterfly

Peacock butterfly on primulas

Today was the first really sunny day for a while and not so cold. This Peacock butterfly was flitting about the garden, the first that I'd seen this year.

Peacock Butterfly on a Sunny Wall

Book Review

The Draining Lake by Arnaldur Indridason
Excellent novel set in Iceland. A body is found in the bed of a lake and the investigation focuses on the Cold War period when Iceland was strategically important. Unusual plot and well-developed characters. Reminded me of Herman Mankell's books which I also enjoyed.
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An Abundance of Daffodils

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth.

I took the photos for the above collage above on a walk today from Lundin Links down to Lower Largo and then along the disused railway track. None of the daffodils pictured were growing in gardens, but in various spots in rough ground adjacent to the footpaths above the shore of Largo Bay. In the last week or so they all seem to have bloomed and there are so many different varieties. They seem to manage to grow through brambles and bracken. Wordsworth's poem may be a trifle sentimental for our 21st Century taste, but I still found them an uplifting sight.

Loch Faskally

On a day trip to Pitlochry on Tuesday, we walked along the shore of Loch Faskally. There were some snow flurries and still some patchy snow lying on the hills above the loch.

View of Loch Faskally from the boating station

Male tufted duck

There was a large group of mallards which are regularly fed by the boating station, but also a pair of tufted ducks. The male is a smart black and white with a long tuft at the back of the head. The female (pictured below) is dark brown with a shorter tuft.

Female tufted duck

Pascal Full Moon

Two photos of the full moon from Lundin Links tonight.

This is the Pascal Full Moon, which fixes the date of Easter. The rule (of the western Christian church) is that Easter Day is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following the Vernal Equinox, which was on the 20th March. Easter Sunday is therefore on the 23rd, which is one of the very earliest Easter Sundays which it is possible for us to celebrate, (unless other provision is made by the Church.) The last year when Easter fell on the 23rd was in 1913, and the next will be in 2160!!

Dumbarnie Links

Dumbarnie Links Wildlife Reserve sign. A pill-box, a legacy of the Second World War can be seen in the background.

Dumbarnie Links Reserve is a small area of calcareous dune grassland in the centre of Largo Bay. It is a habitat of a type that used to be much more extensive along the East Coast of Scotland., (before so much of it was turned into golf courses!!). The reserve is rich in a large variety of plants and wildlife. The site was purchased in 1998 by the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) with help from Fife Council, and is open to the public at all times. The reserve can only be reached on foot from Lower Largo or Shell Bay in Elie.

Map showing the position of Dumbarnie Links in Largo Bay. (Click to enlarge)

Winter Lochan.

In Winter, hollows with short, rabbit-grazed turf and moss, become flooded to form 'winter lochans' as the underground water-table rises. The above picture was taken a few weeks ago, but I plan to make further visits during the year, to see more of the flora and fauna. The map and information is based on that in the SWT leaflet.

Pheasant in Lundin Links

Heard this squawking noise and saw this pheasant on a wall in Lundin Links. (Click to enlarge)

Pheasant on wall, Lundin Links