The last day of June

A few days ago I spied a field splashed with red, and yesterday I went to look more closely.

Looking north, across the Firth of Forth to a hazy Kingdom of Fife, the field runs alongside the main London - Edinburgh railway line, and as I took my photos a coloured co-ordinated, poppy red Virgin train passed by.

I have a new favourite walk, around another huge and glorious field. In past times I think it was probably two very big fields with a lovely hedge dividing them, but sadly that hedge has now gone and it has been merged into one gigantic field, with a track carved through the middle.

At the moment one half of the field is growing corn, still a glaucous blue and ripening. The other half is barley, rippling and velvety to the eye.

Storm Hector left a lasting impression when he tore across the countryside a couple of weeks ago.

The views all round are magnificent. As I stand and listen to the wind through the grasses, the sky lark above and the occasional buzzy bee, it is hard to believe that Edinburgh city centre is only twelve miles away to the west, and just visible in the blue distance. I would rather be standing here than on Princes Street!

All along the eastern fringe of the field there is a delicious tangle of wild rose, meadow vetchling and blackberry. I also found some goat's beard, which has my favourite seedhead.

On the eastern edge there is also a large and peaceful pond, which currently has a family of coots, with three chicks paddling furiously behind their parents, in and out of the rushes.

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In a vase on Monday - colour

The intense colours in my vase this week come from nasturtiums, sweetpeas and a single glorious zinnia! Their beauty and love of life speak for themselves and need no further words from me! Enjoy!

Early morning light

There have been some cracking early morning skies this week. The sunrise has generated a strong rose gold light which has been picked up not only in the clouds but also through the silver-white grasses around the edge of the golf course. I always marvel at the clouds. Constantly changing, formations that have never been seen before, never to be seen again.

Coastal walk from Gullane to North Berwick

By the time I have walked about four miles, my toes are screaming at me - it's the arthritis, you see. One of the joys of being that little bit older than I was. However, for a long time, I have been keen to walk along the beaches, and follow the coastal path, between Gullane and North Berwick. So, having worked out the tide times, I decided today was the day, and off we went. Below is our starting point, the bay at Gullane. It's a lovely beach, very popular with dog walkers. This is looking east, the direction Tilly and I were going to take. Looking back, up the Forth, the unmistakable bulk of Arthur's Seat, and Edinburgh's skyline, just clear enough to see. For most of the walk, there is the choice between wandering along a series of beaches, or following a path along the top of each. There's no denying it, at heart I am a shell-seeker. I have loads of shells at home. We lived on one of the out islands in the Bahamas for a just over a year, ...

the running wave

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