The Girl in the Red Coat…
We’re firmly back in Scotland!

We’re firmly back in Scotland!
Join me at the Vritomartis Naturist Resort close to Hora Sfakion, Crete as I listen to the very busy bees and other insects buzzing around large plants close to our beautiful room which overlooks the Libyan Sea. You might also hear the occasional bird!
There is always someone who wants a free ride!
Join me and enjoy the sounds from our dog walk in the woods near to Duff House in Banff, Aberdeenshire, this morning. You’ll hear the sounds of woodland birds, including a fine woodpecker, streams and all the other sounds (including, if you listen very carefully, golf ball hits from the nearby Dufff House Royal Golf Club.)
All sounds recorded on my parabolic (directional) microphone using a ZoomH6 recorder (My Zoom F6 still hasn’t arrived!). The sound was mixed (using adaptive noise reduction) using Adobe Audition.
The Walk in the Woods…
Join us as we listen to a group of crows squabbling over something…
We were up in the Scottish hills this morning where a number of trees have been cut down (to allow others more space to grow we think). We noticed this strange wooden-like growth (shaped like a toilet seat) growing around the top of the tree stump. Appropriately brown! We’re not quite sure what causes this growth. It is solid and is not some kind of fungus. We noticed the ‘toilet seat’ on several tree stumps. What are these growths? That question has got us stumped too. Anyone know the answer?
For those people who remember Andy Capp and his creator Reg Smythe. The fungus is the right shape for Andy’s cap!
Now a nice home for insects and, unfortunately for the insects, a feeding station for woodpeckers…
The Ex-Tree – Richard Broom Photography
Water from the stream always tastes better…
Rotten to the core and completely stumped…
Probably the best time to visit the beach. When the tide is out, all is revealed!
I have a 100mm lens that I hardly ever use but I took it for a spin on the beach today and took photographs in the rock pools when the tide was out. And so, get ready for the rock pool and dog series!
Vegetarians step away from the blog! Just help land 9 boxes of these little critters from a trawler that arrived at MacDuff Harbour about an hour ago. Until I started this job (harbour night-watchman), I had no idea it was possible to catch prawns this size in the waters off the coast of Scotland.
A seal watching me walk the dog today off Boyndie Beach, Banff, Scotland.
Can you spot the bug?
Queue might just be the newest collective noun…
Where the River Deveron flows into the Moray Firth
Don’t say you weren’t warned! See previous post. There is nothing at Troup Head to stop you falling over the cliff if you get too close to the edge.
Troup Head is a RSPB sanctuary not far from where we live in Banff. Some magnificent scenery and the sanctuary is teaming with birds and other wildlife. So good that we have these protected sites in the Scotland.
A little windy today and yesterday…
We’ve noticed quite a few trees up here in the Cairngorms that appear to be dying. Disease? Polution? We’re not sure but a pity to see trees dying off…
Grantown-on-Spey in the Cairngorms.
A strange spotted mushroom found in the Cairgorms today whilst out on a dog walk. No sign of any red squirrels yet…
….it just turned out the way it did…
It occurred to me that this Scottish rock has been waiting patiently for, perhaps, millions of years for me to happen along with my camera. I can’t help wondering if anyone else has ever photographed this particular lump of broadly unspectacular but colourful rock. It is a bit of a geological jigsaw puzzle…
Twice a day the sea rolls in and covers these rocks which, it turns out, are high-rise blocks for marine wildlife. Also, something of a smorgasbord for the local sea birds when the tide rolls out…
These somewhat dim chickens are clearly lining up for a group portrait but why did they choose a rock so far away?
The chickens here in Scotland seem to be well-adapted to living in the shallows where they dig up worms and other tasty morsels. Some of the Scottish chickens even fly!
A seal waves its tail in the air whilst sitting on a rock close to Banff, Scotland.
The sea state this morning – moderate with a strong Westerly wind blowing towards Banff…
Image inspired by John in Nevada who does interesting things with his images.
Just one of the critters who scamper up and down on the grass next to where out boat is tied up.
We’ve spotted a number of these ‘nests’ made by the Oak Processionary Moths in nearby oak trees here in the Netherlands. We’ve never seen them ever before. That’s global warming for you Mr Trump!!!
But, before blaming Mr Trump too much, it looks like we British might be responsible for introducing this particular (and toxic) pest into Europe. More information here.
A chicken hiding out on (in?) one of the lock gates nearby.
Still having fun with the new Texture Slider in Adobe Camera RAW. It’s a fun tool and it worked well on the flower below. I love taking photographs of flowers with a very narrow depth of field – it makes the flower pop out of the background. The new texture slider gives the image a bit of extra pop!
Don’t mess with this chicken!
“You lookin’ at me???
The veins (?) in the leaf look like a city roadmap.
Sue tells me that, whilst the plant/weed shown in the first image below looks like a stinging nettle, it isn’t and you would not be stung if you touched it. I will not be testing this hypothesis. If it looks like a stinging nettle, then it will sting you. I apply the same logic to snakes. If it is a snake, it is poisonous!
For comparison purposes, the image at the bottom of this post is a stinging nettle.
A big chicken seen lurking in the reeds today…
I am sure somebody will know what kind of plant (weed?) this is. Spotted near Monnickendam (Netherlands) today. Almost like some kind of alien creature!
The Owl’s Eyes
Another one of those big chickens…
The Other Big Chicken
The Big Cat
The Ball Chucker