Eek! Where does the time go???

I haven't blogged for a month! My main excuse is that I have been in Scotland for a couple of weeks, the longest holiday in around 4 years. I've got plenty of photos which I plan to show you in next few days. What a beautiful place! We stayed in the highlands for most of the holiday, house sitting with two gorgeous cats and 4 hens who supplied us with fresh eggs every day.

Apart from the breath taking scenery and the incredibly winding roads, there were 2 real highlights that stand out. The first was watching an otter eating fish in a loch at Kylerhea on the Isle of Skye. We had to take a long, mainly single track road to the purpose built hide to view this beautiful animal, it was sooo worth it! We do have otters here in Devon and I have seen two very briefly, but this time we enjoyed a good 10 minutes viewing. I highly recommend you go if you get the chance, heres a link http://www.forestry.gov.uk/website/wildwoods.nsf/LUWebDocsByKey/ScotlandHighlandNoForestKylerheaKylerheaOtterHide

Unfortunately, my camera doesn't zoom enough to get a good pic, but there were binoculars in the hide, so we got great views.

The other highlight was on our last day in Scotland, much further south near Callander.
http://argatyredkites.co.uk/index.php

We were wanting to go to Doune Castle, but it was closed for filming. We had seen signs for this place nearby, saying Red Kite viewing hide, so decided to have a look. By this time it was raining heavily (again!). We got to the car park, having no idea what to expect and thinking of leaving as it was so wet. We saw one kite, felt pleased with ourselves, decided to go, then were approached by a chap who asked if we wanted to come up to the hide to see the kites. 'OK', so we walked up, with dog (on lead) to the large hide where a few other people were waiting. Tom, the guy who met us, turned out to be an incredibly knowledgeable guide and a really lovely bloke! The hide was built on his parents farm, and is a feeding station for the kites. Tom told us all about these amazing birds and then went outside to put out food. We saw nearly 40!! We ended up staying for an hour 1/2, so worth the accidental visit! Read more about them on their website.

Again, no pics but then you will have to go and see for yourself! Please go if you are in the area, you wont be disappointed :)

Well, thats a bit about our Scottish trip, I will write more in next few days....

Very addictive!

GeoGuessr - Let's explore the world!

Just been introduced to this on Facebook. Its all guesswork but seems most are in the US so you can't go too wrong!

Have a go.

I will be off to Scotland tomorrow for a couple of weeks so will report back with some pics on my return. I hope the storm predicted isn't too bad, we have a lot of driving ahead....

See you all in a couple of weeks :)

What is a Fieldfare??

After comments regarding Fieldfares on my post re Rowan Trees, thought you might be interested in reading more. The RSPB website is so informative on all British birds, take a look (or 'have a gander at this', sorry couldn't resist ;))

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/f/fieldfare/index.aspx

Thanks to Nick and Bald Eagle

The Rowan Tree

One of my favourite trees is the Rowan, Sorbus aucuparia. Also known as Mountain Ash, Quickbeam, Witchwood, Cairtheand (old Irish) and Dogberry in Canada. They can be found in abundance here, on the north edge of Dartmoor, though also found across much of the UK as well as many countries in the Northern Hemisphere.

They really stand out at this time, with their bright orangey red berries and colourful foliage. A great tree for the small garden, they tolerate most soil, sun or some shade. You can even use the berries to make jelly, which I have done in the past, mixed with some wild crab apples. The berries are also a great food source for many birds.

There are many species of Sorbus, some of which you can find at garden centres, other more unusual varieties can be sourced from specialist nurseries.

Sorbus vilmorinii

Sorbus vilmorinii or Vilmorins Rowan, is a very pretty, rounded small tree with gorgeous pink blushed berries that slowly turn white and hang on well into Winter. A word of caution though, the flowers smell horrible, so dont plant too close to your patio!

Sorbus Joseph Rock

A very popular variety is Joseph Rock, upright in habit with soft yellow berries, and lovely red colour to the leaves in the Autumn.

Sorbus cashmiriana

Sorbus cashmiriana has pretty white berries that last well through the Winter , another great choice for a smaller garden.Also known as the Kashmir Rowan.

Well, that is a few to choose from and if you do fancy one get deciding, it will be planting time soon.

Cloudscapes

I have always been fascinated by clouds and have taken so many pictures of them over the years, yet  am still unable to remember what the different shapes are called. This blog is a great opportunity to solve this problem, my own guide to clouds.....

High Level Clouds

Cirrocumulus cloud, often referred to as a mackerel sky, due to the resemblance to fish scales

Cirrus clouds, also called mares tails, they are made of ice and suggest fair weather.

There are also Cirrostratus clouds in this group but haven't yet found a pic!

Medium Level Clouds

Altostratus, made up of water droplets and ice crystals, a typical English sky! Castle Drogo is on the right, all wrapped up while the roof is being fixed.

Altocumulus have shading to the side away from the sun which helps tell the difference between them and Cirrocumulus clouds.

Nimbostratus, well I think so anyway, its all about rain with Nimbos, and it certainly looks like it here!

Low Level Clouds

Stratus, the lowest clouds, all foggy and drizzly

Cumulonimbus,  usually the bearer of heavy rain and thunder

Cumulus clouds, often spotted during fair weather. If they become larger they may form rain.

Sometimes you see some other, more unusual clouds, I spotted these lenticular clouds a couple of days ago, not something I've seen very often. They have been mistaken for UFOs before!

Well, thats a very unscientific guide, if I am wrong about any of these let me know! Will create a page for more cloud pics when I get round to it.

Slight Change

I have decided to change the font on my blog, much as I loved the old one, it isn't the easiest to read and reading is the whole point! Hope it still looks ok!

Am dedicating this change to Uncle Col, so now he has no excuses not to read my blurb!

Beetroot

My beetroot have been a great success this year, a bountiful crop! Last year was a different matter, having none at all. In fact last year was a total waste of time for veg, due to the awful weather.

Anyway, I popped up to the veg garden the other day and pulled out the remaining beetroot, weighing in at around 1kg, enough for some warming soup.

I used a recipe by Hugh Fearnley Watsit...Whittingstall, crikey, thats one long name! Wouldn't ask him for an autograph, haven't got the time!

Give the beets a scrub, put in a roasting tin with a few garlic cloves (give them a smack with something heavy to release the flavour), add a few sprigs of thyme, a glug of olive oil, then add a small glass of water and cover tightly with foil. In the oven at 180C for 30/45 min til beets have softened. Leave to cool then rub off skin and chop roughly. Blitz in blender, adding veg stock til you get the consistancy you want then heat up and serve with some crusty bread. I added some Cheshire cheese on top. A tasty colourful meal!

I inadvertently created the Swiss flag while dishing up!!