NO TRAINS (19/11/11)

It’s been another wonderful day. I took the dogs out before dawn, I have a head torch, they would just lose theirs so they have to work on smell. They work too well on scent. Alfie found a Pheasant, daft bird is supposed to be sitting in a tree in the dark but found himself trapped against sheep netting by a wee white dog. The racket it was making encouraged Molly to join in the fun. Alf was tapping it with his paw to try and get it to fly. I shouted leave it you bad dogs……… or words to that effect. Poor bird was well stuck in the netting. Thought about giving the RSPB a ring but it was only just at the back of six thirty so extricated it myself. Whilst checking it over it crapped on my clean trousers, It’s a waste of time doing laundry round here. No harm appeared to have befallen it so I chucked it up into the air and away it went.

We came back to the van breakfasted and were out again. I was going train spotting. There is a narrow gauge steam railway here. No trains!….. Bother!…. I’ll be away to the end of my Grans alley! I thought they ran weekends throughout the year, not this weekend. I’ll be back at Christmas when I see they are putting on a double header. Given clement weather that will be a unique sight. Two miniature steamers puffing away. I must make a note of the date on a bit of paper and do my best not to lose it. I could pop it on Google Calendar…….It’s very good they send an e-mail to tell me to have a look. Like having a PA but without the physical presence or attraction.

Now you think I have no pictures……….it’s about three forty five in the afternoon the sky has cleared and I may have a good sunset. I thought it was too cloudy………….wait and see whilst I totter down to the estuary. The cloud is thinning and it’s only a ten minute walk or a twenty minute wander.

In the mean time I have taken some flowers……….I’ll do my best to guess but as is customary any help is more than welcome.

I haven’t a clue…..it’s growing on the side of the railway…………………..

  As is this perfect rose. It can only have flowered today or late yesterday as the rain would have destroyed it.

This is Herb Robert or something very similar. This is middling small and grows close to the ground in sludge. A damn good job I didn’t get changed.

Again I don’t know, quite a posh wee plant. I never used to take much notice of plants but they are quite fascinating. I missed the focus on this. It’s windy and I’m rubbish. It looks like a Nettle of the non stinging persuasion.

I’ve trawled my inexpensive Collins field guide and the closest match is Prickly Lettuce. Again blowing about in the wind…………..That’s it for flowers we hit the shore for a bit of birding.

As usual a waste of time with this pair of hooligans ripping the air asunder with their snapping, yapping, yipping and snarling. The odd thing is the Oystercatchers seem to accept it.

I’m back from sunsetting…………

   ……………as I suspected it was not a belter. Too much high cloud and the further away you are the thicker it appears to be. I see I’ve got Molly in the picture. I seem to spend half my life cloning dogs out of images.

It was time to head back, one whistle and they positively leapt to obey…………….

   I wish!……….I thought that’s good but they shot straight past to play with a Standard Poodle.

I’ll see what tomorrow brings our way.