It is a much better day. The showers have almost gone and the wind has dropped to a whisper.
First thing I took the dogs birding. There is a really posh bird hide just down the road. The best I’ve ever sat in. I’ll take Bertha and a 50mm lens and show you proper ornithologits what you are missing. It could do with a sickle taking to the vegetation in front of it and an insect trap that goes ZZZzzz! It’s a grand spot with a book, white board and working pens to write down things. The midges were a real pain this morning so I’m anti little insects today.
I was hoping to see the Otters and the White Tailed Fish Eagle. I did see an Otter but it was swimming along well out of camera range. I’m positive that the Eagle was somewhere else. Even I couldn’t miss something with an eight foot wingspan. I did see three Curlew, a dozen Oystercatchers, lots of Mallard (Mallard are not a common bird up here) and a Green Shank. So not a bad morning. I’ll take a packed breakfast and something for the dogs. I’ll have a couple or three hours there this next week. Just as we left I saw a Black Ferret. I suspect it was a Mink. The prize sighting was a Leopard. Not a Leopard Moth….something much more dangerous. 
After breakfast I set out to try and find the remains of the iron works. There is nothing left worth snapping. A pity I like old industrial sites.
I’ve got a free book from Amazon it’s ‘A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthurs Court’. It’s written by Mark Twain. DAVID, I think he’s from Texas going by the hat he wears, didn’t give it a rave review. The title just grabbed me. It’s Whimsical. His review is a good read. Americans are generally alright but satire, innuendo and irony are sometimes lacking. David sorry; that was rude but as generalisations go accurate…I’m only taking the piss a little bit. Read anything by Tom Sharp and let us have your critique. It could well be better than the book. Be kind to David he writes well and has only been blogging for a couple of months. It takes a while to develop a hard capusucal. I’m awful ignorant, I know it sounds like capsicule, It’s the very devil using big words when SHELL would do.
Whilst I’m banging on about books. I recommend ‘Two Pints’ by Roddy Doyle. It’s filthy, irreverent and totally un-mixable. I read it whenever I feel the Black Dog descending and when I can’t sleep. It also works well as a cure for constipation.
Have a great week.
Glad you are definitely still enjoying Poolewe, even if the midges are driving you slowly insane!
ReplyDeleteMark, the midges are okay. They don't all bite. I've booked till a week on Wednesday. The Scenery isn't dramatic but the walking is manageable.
DeleteLooking forward to seeing those 'pictures from the hide' Adrian.
ReplyDeleteLeopard taming eh? That slug had probably taken all morning to get to the middle of the road and I bet you, spoilsport, moved it back to 'GO'?
That 'for sale' property looks like the perfect holiday destination, if you hurry up and win that lottery I can be your first guest!
I didn't know Amazon did freebies, you been sucking up again?...[;o)
Trevor, I carried the slug in the direction it was heading.
DeleteIt would make a good home would the ruin.
It's an Amazon Kindle freebie, they do quite a few for nothing.
Looks a nice spot to stay.
ReplyDeleteA posh hide? Maybe no vandals there then. Look forward to some pictures.
Keith, I'll get some snaps in the morning. It is a grand hide.
DeleteWell that answers that question, why did the slug cross the road? So it didn't get it's photo taken....watch out for slugs with your dogs Adrian.
ReplyDeleteI think that ruin has potential for another hide, I'm not sure I like posh hides, but saying that the one at Otmoor has double glazing which must be nice for winter.
Douglas, the dogs ignore them.
DeleteThis one isn't double glazed but it has low level windows so the dogs can gaze out at the distant birds.
prachtige plek en die ruine kan je toch best kopen ,kunnen wij volgend jaar langskomen.
ReplyDeleteNatuurlijk kun je Nic. Ik vermoed dat er meer Nederlanders hier dan Schotten.
DeleteHet is een goede droom.
I love the Mallard picture. Poolewe looks like home to me too.
ReplyDeleteOf the ruins, I'm guessing that is a boat house and the basement left of dwelling house or something similar? I hope you win the lottery. You can park your RV on top of the basement, build a little shed beside it with stairs going down. I bet you will be the only person in Britain who has an RV with a basement!
Pity about the iron works. I would have liked those pictures too.
No worries about your criticism of American writing. What you say is true and hopefully I'll always be fine with that. I didn't think it was rude at all. I'm making a mental note of Tom Sharp and "Two Pints" by Roddy Doyle. I no longer ever have any trouble with constipation as I drink soy milk every day but I'm going to read "Two Pints" anyway. It sounds great!
Thanks for the link. Maybe you won't get too many bad comments back on it.
David, it's okay here.
DeleteI tried Soy Milk by accident. I must have done my shopping or as they say here, messages after the pub. It tasted like liquid cardboard.
There is no such thing as a bad comment. I just relish any attention.
Popped over and read Mr Olivers review. This place you have found does look very peaceful. I now know about leopard slugs (: life is so much richer :)
ReplyDeleteCarol, richer! I can't imagine getting past puberty without having seen a Leopard Slug. They are fascinating invertebrates and watching one can pass an hour or so with little effort. Unlike the Leopard with teeth and fur these do change their spots.
DeleteDo not confuse it with the Dusky Slug Arion subfuscus. The leopard Slug is Limax maximus. Just ask one if you are confused.
It looks a nice place to stay for a time, great read as ever.
ReplyDeleteThe tropical gardens at Inverewe are worth a look but aren't dog friendly. I'll try and get in for free early morning. There's what looks like a big tithe barn which I'll investigate.
DeleteI'm sure you could get that lochside shed for a song as it appears to be leaning over quite badly - unless of course you'd been drinking whisky before snapping the des-res and were yourself leaning over!
ReplyDeleteYP, I suspect it would cost a hundred thousand. It includes the remains of the building behind. I was considering the lochside shed as housing for the tender to my superyacht. I was also dreaming of Bunga Bunga parties. I have looked at it twice but it will be hard finding room for a Helipad.
DeleteTesco will deliver the necessaries for £3.60p. That's good as it's a hundred mile round trip to the big shops. I prefer using Waitrose. I miss Waitrose no two for ones' none of that nonsense just good stuff at a sensible price. Such a sensible price that nothing I purchase at Waitrose goes in the bin but the cardboard, paper and plastic.
No whisky here, The Mace shop want twenty pounds a bottle for blended...They charge £1.55p for a loaf of bread. I'll cut down on the bread and save up. If you head up this way remember you can drink till late but can't buy the 'hair of the dog' till ten o'clock in the morning. No wonder there are so few Scots in Scotland.
I struggled to straighten this it was shot through a prime 135mm and a teleconverter x2. It is damn near plumb but I accept what you say....Near enough is not good enough.
The hide is a spectacle, lovely. In fact, you must be in paradise. Shame about the Eagle.
ReplyDeleteBob, I have to see one. Imagine getting a snap of one lifting a Salmon from the sea. There are three here but they tend to fly like Buzzard and Eagles. Only on hot days, they then soar in the thermals. That's great to watch but no use for pictures.
DeleteHI Adrian I love that the Mallard had a good number of surviving chicks. the Eagle must not have been around then either. 1 Hope you get to see one and with Salmon in its mouth!! The little'boathouse' looks lovely adn it would be lovely to live so close to the water. I am glad you are enjoyjng this place.
ReplyDeleteMargaret, Though eagles have vicious looking beaks they only use them for eating. The talons are the nasty bit. Sea Eagles have two of their five on each foot over six inches long, okay a bit shorter...maybe. All raptors kill with their feet. There are few about up here as Grouse shooting is a big income for the estates. Raptors are in theory protected but no-one seems to get prosecuted for shooting or poisoning them. There is a right to wander here but try wandering through a deer fence.
ReplyDeleteI could live at the little village. I wouldn't care if there were days when nobody came. Then the other side of my brain kicks in and says you are old. How would you obtain medical services?
ReplyDeleteRed, there is a doctor here and a hospital eighty miles away. It's not such a bad place.
DeleteFascinating about the Leopard Slug; the village looks lovely too. I've heard how good that 135mm prime is!!
ReplyDeleteMaria, it was the first lens I got when I switched to Canon. It is my most used lens.
DeleteEnjoyed all the photographs except the leopard slug. Could have done without that one. Especially liked the way the sun shone on the buildings in Poolewe. I could almost live there myself.
ReplyDeleteI hate to disabuse you of your fanciful notion that David Oliver is from Texas, but his profile says he is from a little town called Phil Campbell in northwestern Alabama.
RWP, it is a great little village.
DeleteI'll have a look on Google maps. It was the hat that threw me.
Hi Adrian...What can I say,but "I love you post's"!!
ReplyDeleteFabulous looking place, and I bet I could go barefoot there, well maybe not, I don't fancy stepping on a slug especially a Leopard one!!
Enjoy this place, because I well imagine it would take a big win to purchase it!
Grace
Grace, It's a bit stony without shoes.
DeleteYes it would cost a fortune to buy and restore it.
I have stayed in the hotel in Poolewe but, if I'm honest, I can't recall very much about the place. I think I'll have to take a slow trip South (or North) one day and re-visit that stretch of the coast. In the meantime I shall continue to enjoy it viscously or viciously or vicariously (delete whichever are the incorrect words) through your eyes and lens.
ReplyDeleteGraham, the hotel looks a bit rundown. It's just been taken over so may improve. I haven't been in yet.
DeleteJuly and August never seem to be good months for photography.