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Post by Tringa on Apr 16, 2017 8:25:08 GMT
A walk in Flowerdale, Gairloch yesterday. It was a good day but very windy. A couple of record shots Flowerdale from An Groban Loch Airigh a' Phuill Dave
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Post by NellyDee on Apr 20, 2017 6:03:49 GMT
From Bridge to Nowhere, Down to Tulsa point beach, absolutely amazing, fascinated by the rocks, stacks and arched caves, had the beautiful white sand beach to ourselves, and we actually had three hours of sunshine - bliss
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Post by rowanberry on May 29, 2017 20:56:45 GMT
Not today exactly, (took me a few days to sort through all the photos) but last week when the weather was so nice we took a short excursion to College Lake Nature Reserve near Tring. They have several really nice hides around the reservoir- one just showing on the left in the photo. College Lake May2017 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Saw this Crested Grebe, which has always been one of my favourite water birds... it was a bit far away, and these were the best of the photos I got: I didn't get a great many bird photos- we got there about lunchtime, and it was quite a warm day... I think they were all keeping to the shade, which was sensible. I did get this one of a thrush on the path- I think it was trying to crack open a snail shell, because it was banging something against the ground. Thrush May2017 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Curious about these two trees- at first I thought the one in the first photo was a service tree, but after looking in my identification book I discovered it isn't- so I'm not sure what either of these are; I will put them in the tree forum to see if anyone here knows. Tree 01 May2017 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Tree 02 May2017 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Finally, this pic of red clover, and I don't know what the purple one is- this was growing all on its own, and I didn't see any others like it. Would appreciate an id on this one too, if anyone knows it! It was a pretty plant, and I love the colour.
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Post by accipiter on May 30, 2017 12:30:03 GMT
I am not 100% sure on theses answers Rowanberry so you will have to check them out.
Tree no 1- Field maple 2 Turkey oak and the last flower – Columbine
Alan
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Post by rowanberry on May 30, 2017 20:49:49 GMT
alan- You are right on the Field Maple, but I'm not sure about that being a Turkey Oak... I'm sure there was a row of those planted in Kennington Park when I used to walk through there years ago, and they were quite different, (if that is in fact what they were.)
Thanks for the id on the Columbine... I did a search for it, and the info says it likes shady woodland, and it's possible to buy seeds online. I wonder how it would do in my garden? Might be worth giving it a try- comfrey does well under the conifers that keep the garden in shade, so columbine might grow in amongst them.
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Post by NellyDee on May 31, 2017 9:23:37 GMT
Columbine will grow almost anywhere - I just love them. Little story here. My aunt, when she went out to Africa in 1919, took with her Columbine seeds, which grew in her home in Abernethy to remind her of home. They grew and, cutting a very long story, the seeds of these were given to her children and my mother(her sister). My mother bought seeds with her when she returned to the UK, so they grew in the family garden and yes, I carried on by bringing the seeds back to Scotland. So basically they grow in the heat of Africa, in the city (London) and in the highlands of Scotland. Here I have them on a border that is backed by a stone wall and the ground stays fairly damp with moisture seeping down from the ground above. They get the sun during the morning till about mid-day but some are in the shade of the beech trees. Re: bought seeds or plants, they are lots of hybrids, White, Blue, Pink etc and also some that don't grow tall that don't grow tall, I actually bought some of these to go along the front of the border. The ones from original seeds are blue and grow very tall. These are the ones grown from original Abernethy seeds and they do grow very tall. . by Helen Skelton, on Flickr These two were bought as small plants from Garden Centers and are very much shorter. Colombine2 by Helen Skelton, on Flickr Blue Colombine2 by Helen Skelton, on Flickr
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Post by rowanberry on May 31, 2017 20:37:17 GMT
Thanks for all that info about them Helen- I could do with some taller flowers in the garden, (I think caterpillars got my black-eyed susan) and if they do well in shade that would be great! It's probably a bit late to start some from seeds this year, but I might give it a go anyway. If we have a late autumn them might still get a chance to flower.
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Post by rowanberry on Oct 27, 2017 20:56:03 GMT
We went to College Lake again today, to make the most of the first sunny day in what seems like ages, (since it's our closest nature reserve, we tend to go to it the most often!) Not much autumn colour yet... we've not had a frost yet, but still some yellows and red here and there, and mist hanging over the water. Lots of birds about- mainly Canada geese, but did see lots of others, too. College Lake Oct2017 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr College Lake October by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Gull in Flight Kite Cormorant Oct2017 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr
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Post by ianr on Oct 28, 2017 6:39:51 GMT
Nice pictures I've never seen a kite around here but they do drift over now and again, so only a matter of time ian
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Post by rowanberry on Nov 17, 2017 20:48:11 GMT
We wanted to make the most of the sunshine today by visiting someplace where we'd not been before, so drove to Stanmore Park in North London. Chilly but bright day- didn't see many birds, although I caught a brief glimpse of a fox staring at us from between the trees. I loved how this old oak's twisted branches made such interesting shapes against the blue sky. Stanmore Park Nov17 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Old Oak Nov17 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr Old Oak Branches Nov17 by Wabi Gallery, on Flickr
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Post by rowanberry on Nov 26, 2017 21:03:42 GMT
The woods near us today- we are very lucky to have this on our doorstep!
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Post by Tringa on Dec 3, 2017 16:52:39 GMT
Had a walk south east of Gairloch to a loch I had wanted to visit for a few years. The forecast of sunny spells in the late morning and early afternoon was not correct but it was still a good walk, if rough and very wet. For half of it there was nothing even close to a path. It is an area that the local estate has tried to reforest. The usual reforestation method in upland areas is to dig out a huge divot and plant the tree seedling on top of the overturned divot. If this works it is a good method, but in this area the success rate is low. I guess the heavily waterlogged, peaty soil is too impoverished to allow much growth. This makes walking interesting at times. It is all to easy to step down into a hole left by the divot! Deep joy - if you know what I mean. However, it was a good walk on a mild day for early December. Here are a few photos - A waterfall to be negotiated Clubmoss The way home Some colourful lichen A tree that survived. Dave
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Post by ianr on Dec 4, 2017 8:46:38 GMT
Nice pictures Dave I think I could spend hours photographing that little waterfall ian
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Post by Tringa on Dec 4, 2017 15:58:39 GMT
Thanks Ian. There are quite a lot of good waterfalls in upland areas that are rarely visited. I have two others in the same area earmarked for a trip.
Dave
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Post by Tringa on Dec 4, 2017 19:16:31 GMT
While I was walking yesterday I tried out an OS app for Android phones (there is a similar for iPhones) . The Ordnance Survey were doing a deal a couple of months ago so I signed up. The app shows where you are on the OS map. I suppose I should not have been surprised - I know how accurate GPS can be - but it was interesting to stand at a very obvious spot (ie an inlet on a loch) and have the OS app put you right on the spot. I also found mobile phone reception was good. I'm not suggesting anyone should rely on their phone while in similar situations but I was a bit surprised I got a signal - the arrowhead on the attached. Dave
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