Out of the Fog

On Christmas Day we had intended to drive to Falkland or to Shell Bay at Elie for a walk, but early morning it was icy and foggy so decided to stay close to home. We walked along from Lundin Links towards Leven and crossed into the woods at Silverburn, grey squirrels darting about on the path in front of us. As we walked down the path between the two golf courses -Leven and Lundin, and looked back towards Lundin Links, the sun suddenly broke through and the top half of Largo Law appeared through the mist. We turned back to Lundin Links along the beach, with Dunlin accompanying us at the edge of the waves, and like Brigadoon the village itself rising out of the fog.

Pitlochry Interlude

Enjoyed a short break in Pitlochry at the excellent Green Park Hotel, which overlooks Loch Faskally. Awoke to a light covering of snow yesterday morning, but it soon turned to rain, which cleared away in the afternoon. Took a short stroll along the shore of the Loch. Groups of mallards at the edge of the water. Spotted two pairs of tufted ducks in the middle of the loch. One of the nature highlights of the trip was seeing a red squirrel running across the road in front of the car between Killiekrankie and Pitlochry. Fortunately we didn't hit it! There are few enough of them as it is. Didn't get the chance to take a photo of it (I was driving at the time!), but came across this carving of a squirrel on a bench in Faskally Woods.
A pheasant seemed to have suicidal tendencies. It darted in front of the car. I stopped to let it cross, expecting it to carry on crossing, but it got half way across the road changed it's mind, ran back again, turned again and finally made it to the other side.

Heron on the Rocks

It was damp and gloomy today, so the picture is not that great but the silhouette of the heron standing on the rocks (between the pier at Largo and Lundin Links) is unmistakeable.

Colour in November

There is still some colour in the garden. The cotoneaster by the front door has not so many berries on it this year, but the leaves have tuerned a wonderful red colour. The perennial wallflower has been flowering all year and is still producing flowers at the end of November.

....and not just birds

Intruder at the bird table

I'm not madly keen on mice, and absolutely hate them in the house, however, this 'wee sleekit, timorous beastie', which I think is a wood mouse, appeared at my bird table today, and I must say it does look rather cute. Actually it wasn't that timorous, and I was amazed how close it allowed me to get to take these pictures. As long as it stays in the garden it's very welcome

Waiting to be Fed

With the advent of colder weather the birds are visiting the bird table more frequently. This wood pigeon is nearly always sitting on the fence in the morning, waiting for me to go out and put seed on the bird table. It struggles to get under the roof of the table, but always seems to manage it after a few attempts. The robin is also a frequent visitor.

Sunset over the Forth

From Largo Bay we get beautiful sunsets over the Firth of Forth. The first picture was taken last week and shows the sunlight just appearing below the clouds and reflecting on the wet sand. The second was taken today. It had rained all day but cleared up to give this picture of the sunset over Leven.

Musical Interlude

Last Friday, 23rd November attended an excellent concert by The Gathering, at Rothes Hall in Glenrothes. It's a band that includes musicians from some of the legendary bands of folr rock, such as Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, Lindisfarne . (See the picture of the flyer for full details). Some of the memorable items were Meet me on the Corner and Together Forever (Lindisfarne) and Fire on the Line (Steeleye Span). They deserved a bigger audience, but I think everyone there seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. They have a 3-track demo CD out, but hope to produce a full album next year. Look forward to that as this is my favourite type of music.

Mallards at low tide

At low tide there are nearly always Mallards feeding amongst the seaweed in the harbour at Lower Largo. Here is a group of two males and two females.

Eider Ducks

The pier at the harbour in Lower Largo is a good spot for watching seabirds. There are some rocks opposite the pier and there are often gulls, herons, cormorants, mallards and eider ducks to be seen. Today, as well as a group of mallards, there were two eider ducks swimming in the harbour. The male (in the picture on its own) is black and white, the bird with the patchy plumage is likely to be a juvenile.

Dramatic Clematis Seedheads

The silvery seedheads of the yellow Clematis growing by my front door look wonderfully spooky at night when they are illuminated by the outside light.

Autumn Garden

Here are some pictures from my Autumn garden. This lovely rose (Aloha) was still in flower in Mid-November. The Physocarpus diablo has turned a brilliant red

Cormorants at the pier

Bitterly cold day, but there were cormorants diving in the harbour by the pier at Lower Largo. They dive so quickly, one minute there, the next gone, to come up some distance from the original spot.
Mallard ducks in the harbour and a grey wagtail on the rocks.