ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Friday 3 May 2013

I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. (03/05/13)

Yesterday we moved a mile up the road to Clachan. I suddenly realised it was a bank holiday weekend And the Killin site would very likely be knee deep in children.

It has not stopped raining since we got here but it is warm rain. Warm rain turning to snow later, if the weather guessers are to be believed. This site is set in a bog and trees at the side of the A827. I can’t see the Loch and I thought it would be a nightmare walking anywhere using the road. This morning whilst walking the dogs I found a gate from the site onto the hillside or benside as hillsides are called locally.

IMG_0294_5_6_tonemapped copy   This is the view from the van. The Forestry Commission have left a right mess. The piles of old wood are for beetles and things to live in or perhaps they are there out of lethargy.

We went out with a macro lens a while ago….The rain is worse. Not torrential, 0.75” in the last twenty four hours or so my weather station says.

_MG_0297   Primroses, I hope….they are not Cowslips, I hope. They brighten up the place.

_MG_0307 copyThis little beck appreciates the rain. So do the mosses and lichens. This hillside has a primeval feel to it. I like it….just as well as I’m here for six days.

_MG_0310 copyThis is the work of a Roe Deer. I’ve not seen them yet but the dogs are on full alert so they can’t be far away. The females should be pregnant again. If I remember they get a bit pregnant in autumn then forget it for the winter, then start from stage two in the spring. Not a bad idea or Ideer.

_MG_0305 copy  This big bull, a Charolaise cross by the size of him was remarkably well camouflaged for a massive white beast. He has a brown companion. I’ll try and get a bit closer as he seems friendly enough. They are generally too lazy to kick up much of a fuss.

_MG_0298 copy_MG_0304 copy

There are sheep and lambs.

_MG_0300 copy_MG_0303 copy

_MG_0299 copy    These moss and lichen are growing in the gate post it’s about six inches in diameter. A miniature wonderland. This is crying out for a dry day and a big focus stacking job. I might be turning into one of them.

_MG_0308    I got my book out and this is Hypogymnia physodes. I think it is all the same thing. Impressive it is round here. In my Collins book it doesn’t show the hairy bit.

_MG_0309 copy   This I’m not sure but in for a penny….Fissidens taxifolius. This is big well over an inch tall. I am turning into one of them……I hope I can spell what I would like to be….A Bryophytologist. Spill chucker is no help at all with wurds like this. I should really get a better field guide. I like the ones with drawings as opposed to photographs but they are a hell of a price. I’ve crammed a lot of pictures in but they are all the same size so will enlarge with a click.

I’ve now got to dry off a camera and lens. I have just had the latest update from the computer builders. The machine is done and had a twenty four hour check. It is now off to their hot room for forty eight hours. This is to make sure it will never freeze. Confident they are but they don’t know me. They will….It is guaranteed not to rust, bust or pick up dust for a year….They are brave!

If you celebrate Mayday then have a grand weekend and if you don’t then think of us that do. Do they have pole dancers in Scotland? I’ll make enquiries.

16 comments:

  1. A whole world in that moss/lichen garden. Peopled by ? ? ? ?

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  2. als je de paaldanseressen gevonden hebt ,moet je het wel laten weten.

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  3. I don't know what "one of them" means, but all I see here is good work. That brook is beautiful, so are the closeups. Thanks for a look at a real spring--ours still hasn't decided if it's really coming.

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    1. One of them is, in this case, a Bryophytologist.

      It is warm but very wet. These pictures look a bit over sharpened now I see them again. I'll have to be more careful.

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  4. I love the little kingdom shots, the little people must have been terrified of you and ran away and hid. You must be careful about your "one of them" comments, some of your followers have active imaginations. Still chuckling at your maypole comment.

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    1. Pauline, I like miniature worlds.

      By the law of averages several readers must be 'One of Them.' I'm a moss fancier....A Kate Moss fancier.

      I did ask the warden about pole dancers....Not to his knowledge in rural areas!

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  5. You have posted a wide range of photos today. Mosses and lichens can drive you crazy if you try to identify them. Your excellent photos would make it easier to identify. You can compare your photos to what's in the field guide.

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    1. Red, some I know but there are hundreds, if not thousands of them.
      That's what I do get the picture and then search the book for something similar. The internet is very good but You have to have a rough idea first.

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  6. Your pictures are fantastic, especially the one with a stream running down the hillside, superb.

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    1. Bob, thanks one or two images keep getting oversharpened....I've found out why. So it shouldn't happen again.

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  7. A miniature world in that gate post. Enjoyed this set of pictures.

    The new computer sounds the dogs danglies.

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    1. Keith, it is but I've just been to re-shoot it with a macro plate with a view to focus stacking. The damn tripod is too short.

      I am going down to Kinross to collect it from my sisters on Tuesday. I'll provide the full spec subsequently. I'm hoping that this one will last for ever.

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  8. I love this post; it's so full of green growth, flowers, trees, moss. I bought a guide for Wildflowers myself recently; and I'm also struggling to get ID's on many plants.

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    1. Maria, it takes years and I suspect I may not have enough time left to learn fauna.

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