White campion

Peathill from the Knoggan Hill junction

White campion (Silene alba)

A night and morning of heavy rain, enough to flood the Rosehearty/New Aberdour road at the Avenue, suddenly cleared to give a fresh afternoon. Grey Granite and Rufus enjoyed a walk 'Round the Horn'. In the ditch by Smiddyhillock they found an abundance of campions, red (Silene diocia) which is common at roadsides, the less common white variety, (Silene alba) and a pink hybrid of both. All along the back road the air was fragrant with the scent of gorse. There are patches of wild hyacinths, buttercups, speedwells and near the kirkyard, star of Bethelem. The wild roses are almost in flower, Grey Granite hopes that if the warm weather continues the buds will soon burst.

Bird's Foot Trefoil

One of several arrestingly large and bright patches of Bird's Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) on the dunes near Tiger Hill.

Rufus demonstrating just what Border Terriers were bred to do.

Having pottered in the garden all day Grey Granite left it late in the day to give Rufus a decent walk before the sacred institution which is Saturday evening supper so decided to walk along the Broch Bents and beach. Normally Grey Granite despises the start of the bents as being litter ridden and is surprised to find herself in agreement with Councillor Topping over the appalling state of the dunes. However, ignoring the debris Grey Granite and Rufus walked for some distance over the dunes then walked along the beach to the Water of Philorth and back. This is only the second time Rufus has experienced the beach and he really enjoyed the opportunity to dig without being told off. Grey Granite was pleased to discover huge patches of Bird's Foot Trefoil growing on the dunes near Tiger Hill and the bright reddish purple flowers of common vetch, jewel like in the grass on the bents. The huge spreads of Bird's foot explain the vast numbers of burnet moths which are to be found on the dunes in mid summer as this is the main food plant for the caterpillars.

Biodiversity at RHS Chelsea

Grey Granite and her friend, Dr Anne, were privileged, as a result of recent life choices, to be able to visit RHS Chelsea on Members Day. This was a truly memorable, life enhancing experience, Grey Granite particularly appreciated visiting Chelsea in this the International Year of Biodiversity, when almost all the garden exhibits reflected the importance of conserving species which support wildlife and of gardening in harmony with the environment. Grey Granite was excited by the vast palette of informal plantings and has come home enthused and inspired. She is reassured of the validity of her Darwinian Bank, an area of garden which has been planted to reflect the penultimate paragraph of Origin of Species, and she intends to develop this concept further.

'It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the conditions of life, and from use and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less improved forms. Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life'

Charles Darwin, The origin of Species, 1859

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/21/un-biodiversity-economic-report

Spring Squills and Tormentil

At last the Spring Squills (Scilla verna) are in flower, like patches of fallen stars amongst the greening heather and tormentil (Potentlla erecta) on the drier cliff tops. The delicate blue of the squills contrasts with the strong yellow of the tormentil flowers as both spangle the grass and heather. Although rather rare over the country as a whole, the squills are locally common along the Moray Firth cliffs. A real gem of a flower, one of Grey Granite's favourites, always finding the first flowers each Spring is a 'my heart leaps up when I behold' moment for Grey Granite. Such moments put her in mind of her friend Eva who had an extensive knowledge of wild flowers, painted them exquisitely and was Grey Granite's botanical mentor.

Along the Buchan Line

This afternoon the temperature reached 18c, which Grey Granite thought to be too hot for Rufus to go for a walk, so this evening, when it was cooler they, along with Grey Granite's friend Yvonne (Grey Granite and Yvonne are in training for the Moonlight Prowl next month) decided to explore a new section of 'The Line'. They joined the line at Invernorth and walked South, passing Rathen Station and eventually reaching the intersection with a minor road from Cortes to Lonmay. This proved to be a delightful stretch of line, bordered with gorse, broom and wild roses (not yet in flower) and with good views over gentle rolling countryside. Along the bed of the line are many violets and patches of Sweet Cicely (Myrrhis odorata) 'We ca'ad it myrrh' in Violet Jacob's eloquent poem. Grey Granite was delighted to see several lapwings in their characteristic tumbling, flapping flight above a damp stubble field close to the line. This ground nesting species, once common in the North East is in decline across Britain due to changes in farming methods which, alas, are destroying both habitats and nests.

Heat wave on the Wastart

Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis)

Grey Granite and Rufus enjoyed a couple of hours spent wandering slowly over the Wastart in the warm sunshine, 15 degrees when they left the car. Grey Granite was very hot, and tired by the end of the walk. Rufus, having youth on his side, didn't seem to mind the heat in the least and enjoyed playing with two German Shepherd dogs, one Labrador, two Springer Spaniels and his friends Lulu the labradoodle, and Harris the Jack Russell. He was pleased to be complimented on how much he has grown recently and on his friendly nature and handsome appearance. We walked to Katy's Loup, returning through the park behind Criag Ogston, still searching for the elusive Spring Squil, through the gorse then across the old the lazy beds below Pitheughie. The mill lade is still full of golden kingcups. Wandering through the sea of gorse we came across small oases of grass where there were abundant violets from palest mauve to deep violet, birds' foot trefoil and tormentil. In the wetter places we found the delicate pale pink flowers of cuckoo flower or Lady's smock.The Wastart had its characteristic summer smell, which for Grey Granite evokes childhood summers: thrift, gorse, peaty earth and the sea. Curiously, later in the afternoon a haze drifted across from the West, smelling of smoke, this later reached Fraserburgh. We hope, particularly at nesting time, that this is not from a grass fire, conditions are certainly dry enough.

Botanising on Fraserburgh Bents

Heartsease Pansies (Viola tricolour)

Lamb's Lettuce or Cornsalad (Valerianella locusta)

Grey Granite wanted to create another card for her range of Fighting for Sight greetings cards. She decided that heartsease pansies would provide a suitable image so off she went armed with her photographic equipment to seek some out amongst the dunes by Fraserburgh Golf Course.

During the hunt Grey Granite came upon the heartease pansies she wanted and lay down in the sand to photograph them using a macro lens. She spotted a tiny clump of very small pale blue flowers rather like cultivated white alyssum, dwarfed by the pansies and easily overlooked. Grey Granite was very excited by the discovery of this unknown plant. After spending some time in her study happily browsing through her wild flower books Grey Granite was pleased to be able to identify the plant as Lamb's Lettuce or Cornsalad. This is described by Welch as scarce in Aberdeenshire and is the plant from which cultivated edible Lambs Lettuce is descended. The plant is confined to a few coastal localities with light sandy soil. Although the leaves of the wild variety are edible they have little taste and the garden variety which Grey Granite has grown over winter for use in salads, it being very hardy, has even less flavour.

The Pinkie Shore

Thrift (Aremina maritima) Grey Granite and Rufus walked down the Braes from Braco Park and reached the Pinkie Shore, one of the best places along the coast for the primroses which give the cove its name. One of Grey Granite's earliest memories is of living 'in exile' in England and of listening to her Mother describing the Pinkie Shore and the 'Wastart daisies' (thrift) which at this time of the year form a pink tapestry over the Wastart.

The soil at the Pinkie shore is heavy and damp, providing ideal conditions for the primroses
which together with lesser celandines are sprinkled all over the cliff face.

Primroses (Primula vulgaris)

Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)

Red Campion (Silene dioica)

Grey Granite and Rufus enjoyed pottering about in the warm sunshine which during the late afternoon was just catching the shore. Rufus was very enthusiastic about the Pinkie Shore especially the potential for 'bunny hunting'. As yet Rufus has no sense of danger and has to be kept safely on his extending lead. He is also enthusiastic about 'helping' Grey Granite to take photographs of small flowers in particular. His help consists of sitting on Grey Granite's head to protect her from malevolent gulls, (several nest on the cliff face) when she gets down to take the pictures.

Cowslips at the Waters of Philorth

In the dunes at the Waters of Philorth there is a large sprawling patch of cowslips, (Primula veris) one of only two locations in the Fraserburgh area of which Grey Granite is aware. The other is the Rosehearty Manse garden where originally the plants were probably cultivated. Closely related to primroses cowslips have a basal rosette of crinkled leaves. A single sturdy stem bearing clusters of flowers is produced by cowslips whereas primroses throw up many shorter flowering stems from the base. Primroses prefer heavy soils to the dry calcareous areas favoured by cowslips. Grey Granite is always surprised by the intensity of the cowslips' citrus yellow petals, quite unlike the gentler pale yellow of primroses.

But is it art?

Grey Granite recently took a walk round the lighthouse and Broadsea shore area of Fraserburgh. In the net drying green she saw the remains of a community knitting project carried out last year. Although some individual pieces of knitting are witty and fun,Grey Granite cannot decide is it :

• a fun art project enhancing the area?
• a waste of resources and skills which could have gone into a more obviously useful project such as blankets for earthquake victims?
• merely an eyesore detracting from the utilitarian heritage value of the poles?
• Will the knitting be left to decay untidily?
  

Strichen woods to see the cherries hung with snow

Wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa)

To avoid what would have been a wasted damp day, Grey Granite and Rufus visited a friend in Strichen this afternoon then spent an hour wandering about in the woods and by the Ugie. We were delighted to find wood sorrel in the wood by the line and great drifts of wood anemones down by the Ugie - just beyond the 5 roads bridge. In the community park where there are plantings of both garden and native plants, which Grey Granite finds disconcerting, thinking that the site lends itself to native species, we saw magnificent white cherries hung with snow. Grey Granite recalled hearing the much esteemed Rev Charles Birnie quoting Housman's 'Loveliest of Trees' in the Rosehearty pulpit many years ago.

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.

Grey Granite is acutely aware of the need to invert the mathematics of the poem and resolved to take every opportunity to revel in looking at things in bloom.

May Day on the Wastart

K9 by next Summer then?

Sea Campion (Silene maritima)

Lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica)

Thrift (Armeria maritima)

May Day being unseasonably cold and blustery the Wastart was blessedly deserted this afternoon and Grey Granite and Rufus thoroughly enjoyed their walk to Craig Ogston. The intrepid Rufus was excited by the wind and has developed a penchant for scrambling up rocks, reaching the top of the Round Brae from the Pitheughie side with ne'er a thought of how he was to get down again. He is considerably more agile than Grey Granite who had to assist in his descent. In his scrambling he came upon the first of the sea campions to open on the sunny south side of the Round Brae and there was a patch of thrift fully open nearby. Since Grey Granite had already found lousewort, masquerading in the bog as early orchids this was a very satisfying walk for us both.

May along the Line

In the late afternoon, Grey Granite and Rufus walked along the line to the point where the Water of Philorth flows under the track and towards the castle woods. It was very cold and there was a stiff breeze so the Philorth woods provided welcome shelter. Rufus was fascinated by lambs and calves in the fields (Stern, 'don't ever even think of chasing those' lectures) and by a tractor slowly rolling a field. In sunnier spots in the woods the wild garlic is just opening and the two huge horse chestnut trees that we have found so far both now have their leaves open. There are green flower 'candles' on a few chestnut branches, almost the same fresh green as the beautiful leaves. There was an elegant cock pheasant in the woods, conspicuous by his copper plumage. At the side of the track near the Golf Club delicate heartsease pansies are suddenly in flower. At The Dunes a large heap of sand has been colonised by doves foot cranesbill. The heap must be only a few months old but is almost completely covered by this rapidly colonising geranium.