IN THE STYLE OF. (03/07/13)

We had an enjoyable but unproductive walk this morning. It was misting rain first thing but it looked as if it was clearing so at around seven o’clock we set off for the Faraid Peninsular. It’s a grand place. On the way there’s a ruined church and an old mill at Bainakeil. Well worth another look so I’ll have a wander back that way. It started raining again so no real pictures today.

     Burragaig Bay in the rain. I stopped in yesterday and it’s depressing, I prefer to go out and get wet. It’s rarely that unpleasant if I make the effort to dress up and stroll.

The other day Trevor at THREE COUNTIES HERALD posted some beautifully presented images of the Common Spotted Orchid.

       They look a bit like this but this is in the style of the Master. This is also the Really Common Spotted Orchid, there are hundreds of them. Some are a bit tatty. I took a pair of tweezers to this one but still missed a scruffy bit. They are about four to six inches tall with an inch to two inches of boring bit holding them up of the ground.

          I thought this was a Dwarf Lady’s Bedstraw. but I have my doubts. It’s under six inches tall and is growing in one small area on the edge of the cliffs. It was also subject to a hefty breeze so not as sharp as it could be.

I found the Frog Orchid again. It is fine, I was just looking in the wrong place….one bit of cliff is much like another….I’ll apologise to the children who I wrongly suspected of vandalism.

       Frog Orchid. It is the only one and a half one I’ve found but they are only three inches tall and easily missed.

       The highlight of the morning was seeing what I think was a Stoat. It had a black tip to it’s tail and was foraging in the rock pools, it looked a bit big, almost twice as big as Stoats I’ve seen before. I don’t know what it was or what it was after but it was a long way down and amongst the rocks about a third of the way into this picture. Just round this headland are the Puffin burrows.

No way Jose! It’s a rope job to get far enough away to not frighten them and to get Bertha into position. One day I too will get a snap of a puffin with a beak full of wriggling Sand Eels but it it is not going to happen here. Little buggers, like most birds, have no fear of heights and these can only just fly. They can swim though.

I’ll see, so will you, if the weather perks up tomorrow I’ll be out snapping away.

I like this place. The children are a noisy breed but it’s a long time since I had a child as a friend so I’m prejudiced.

Have fun.