Tag: nature

Isn't nature a wonderful thing? Yes, of course it is. The manner in which life evolves, and the way it looks, never ceases to amaze. An example of this is the fungus Exidiopsis effusa, and the display it causes, which in English is called Hair Ice.

Hair ice is found due to the coincidence of...

Posted by Fitheach on Wed 10 January 2024

I went for a walk along a forestry style track, yesterday. Ahead of me was a ewe, with two lambs. The ewe felt nervous about my approach, and started to trot away from me. The lambs were, of course, following her closely. However, the sheep didn't trot away uphill or downhill. Instead, they continued along the track. I also continued along the track. All of us walked in this procession for some time. As the sheep were moving faster, they increased the distance between us. In a short...

Posted by Fitheach on Sun 05 April 2020

The long period of sunny weather we have experienced in the Highlands this year, starting in April, seems to have increased the number of birds striking the house windows. The angle of the light hitting the windows, the light intensity and how bright it is in the room, all have an effect on how transparent the windows look. The birds, presumably, don't see the glass and believe they can fly-through the gap. I was dismayed when a juvenile song thrush (Turdus philomelos) struck...

Posted by fitheach on Fri 03 August 2018

For more than a year we have had a sika deer hind coming, on a regular basis, to our garden to graze. Last May, the hind had her fawn right next to the house and we were lucky enough to see it within a couple of hours of its birth. In the last fortnight we have seen the deer in the house vicinity every day, and it is likely she has chosen the garden as a nice safe location to bring another fawn into the world.

Posted by fitheach on Sat 14 April 2018

I am about half-way through reading David Attenborough's book on his Zoo Quest Expeditions during the 1950s, and I am thoroughly enjoying it. Unlike his Life series books this one concentrates on the human adventures, and David's in particular, though the animals are still the focus of everyone's activities. Those activities included filming the wildlife and capturing animals to bring back...

Posted by fitheach on Wed 14 February 2018

I started noticing that there was a screeching noise from the engine bay in our VW T25 campervan when starting the engine. I decided it must be the auxiliary belt needing tightened or replaced. However, I delayed doing anything about it as I had recently looked at the belt when replacing a section of the cooling pipe and it looked fine then. Anyway, even if it needed replacing it wasn't a problem as I had a spare.

Posted by fitheach on Thu 30 June 2016

I was working outside on the washing green which entailed walking up and down the steps several times during the early evening. I happened to notice that each time I passed the cornflower plant, at the side of the steps, there was a stationary ginger bumblebee perched on top of one of the flowers. The bumblebee was still there more than thirty minutes later in the exact same position, I decided to investigate. I very carefully prodded the bumblebee and it moved in response, so it was...

Posted by fitheach on Thu 26 May 2016

We have a peanut (groundnut) feeder made of wood and shaped like a house. On the top of the feeder are two slates which form the roof. However, there is a gap between the slates which allows water to drip down into the nuts. In a wet West Highland climate it doesn't take long for the peanuts to rot when constantly supplied by dripping water. To prevent water ingress we fashioned a metal strip to act as ridging. This worked really well until last winter when we would constantly find it...

Posted by fitheach on Tue 10 July 2012