Taexalia
wild.life
Rock Pool Roomies
We spent the day rooting around in rock pools marvelling at life at low tide. Each of these beings measures about one inch ~ I'm not sure but that last one appears to be a tiny plaice or flat fish... I shall have to go and look it ... read more
Glimpsing Spring
I've covered a fare bit of ground over the past week really. My folks took us over to Lomond Shores which is basically a shopping centre at one end of Loch Lomond. It wasn't as awful as it might sound, but since I'm not a stuff buying addict I was more interested in the scenery. I'm also still trying to forget the cloying stench of perfume that permeated the air - I hate perfume and can't see the attraction of a) perfume shops and b) walking around with a chemical cloud for an aura. We ... read more
A Fleeting Moment
I stood on this spot in the middle of winter, hands slowly turning to ice and watched the water rolling, breathing, building energy and crashing. Each turn of the water was different linked only by an underlying rhythm. Sometimes I watched the rocky outcrop anticipating a big wave crashing and spraying, my finger poised to take a rapid fire of images, hoping to catch perfection. Sometimes I looked further out to the swell of the Forth and saw shadows play on the surface and the ululating water ... read more
Romancing The Stone
Can you tell the difference between these two pictures?They are both pictures of the Bass Rock, an extinct volcanic plug, which rises from the Firth of Forth just off the coast of North Berwick. Regular viewers may recognise it :)But can you tell the difference between the pictures??Well the top one was taken on a beautiful day in December and the bottom one was taken today. The difference is that in the second one there are Gannets!!! Yay! We are proud to present the beginnings of this year's ... read more
Coasting
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Bass Rock Firth of Forth"][/caption] We have been enjoying the beauty and solitude of the North Berwick beach recently. Here the Bass Rock shows herself nude, without the mystical white veil of 140,000 gannets that live and breed on the island between February and October. It is an eerie sight to twiddle with the cameras at the Scottish Seabird Centre and find little more than bare rock... But look to the other cameras and you will see ... read more
See Birds!!
Suspecting disappointment, we decided to abandon an attempt to sample the Hovercraft. We felt time would be better spent making our way out to North Berwick to take advantage of our new membership at the Scottish Seabird Centre. We arrived in time to discover that we had just missed a train and had around 50 minutes to wait, so we had a lovely cheese and ham bagel for breakfast in the station and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of Waverley. The train wasn't very busy when we boarded and we ... read more
Puffling Hunting
10am saw the arrival of the Parental Units and the Prodigal Sister (mine this week). Yes, there was a reason for the busy-busy Saturday - parental visits in quick succession are great for the zen quality of my home. After cups of tea, some practical joking (PaternalUnit) and various gifts exchanges (none of which were to do with ageing) it was decided that we would introduce Prod to the delights of North Berwick. Time constraints meant we took the big road, rather than the much lovelier ... read more
Sand and Sea
We caught a train to North Berwick on Thursday and spent the day at the beach. It's a beautiful, peaceful place with some amazing geology. It's hard to imagine as you kick your feet in the sand and enjoy the complete lack of city sounds that this area was once a hotbed of volcanic activity. The Bass Rock protrudes from the sea like a white ghost - once an active volcano and now a nesting site for thousands of gannets who recently arrived from West Africa. We discovered a magical ... read more