5th April and a heatwave was forecast. I should have known better, but hey, optimism in these dark days is a bonus. Anyway, I planned to run a long circuit round a few of the most likely spots to find my fluttery friends. In Holyrood I saw a delightful sketch in chalk, on the ground, of a ladybird and hoped I'd get to see the real thing. Within an hour I saw one in Little France Park. It was the first time I'd been there, having heard great things from fellow butterfly hunters last year. However the heat wave was slow to arrive and at that point of the day there were no butterflies about. I did see a few deer, and they were really quite close, crossing the trail just ahead. Then at the bottom of the road, near the hospital, saw my first butterfly of the day. It was flying down the middle of the road about 25 feet up, but I couldn't track it to see where it went. Good sign though.
I ran round the edge of Inch Park and saw one or 2 more flying high, not landing. I was sure once I got to the Hermitage there'd be loads in the usual spots and it spurred me on. There were a couple of peacocks near the Howe Dean Bridge, and one in the blossom of a riverside tree. I was too distant to get a decent photo and didn't want to splosh through the river just yet (for only a peacock!) when I had to get all the way over to Corstorphine, and squelchy shoes wouldn't help.
peacock on butterbur
dipper in the Braid Burn
Up at the walled garden and doocot and nothing much seemed to be there at all. I did a circuit or 2 round the place feeling all the elements were in place and there'd be something along any second. And there was. I think a peacock materialised and I probably chased it around. During this I saw a comma sat on the bark chippings trying to coax a bit of warmth out the weak sun, which hadn't got the news about the heatwave. I can't remember if it was that one shifted to the slate or another but all of a sudden I had my photo and the comma, being a bit chilly and sluggish allowed me to put the camera right up to it for a macro shot or 2.
At the bottom of the gardens I found a bee and a peacock on the flowers in planters. The butterfly was particularly helpful in staying put long enough to get a few different shots and make decent compositions from above and the side. Although I hadn't realised just how dazzlingly colourful they would turn out to be till I got them home and saw them on the monitor. Quite a surprise.
daffs at Craiglockhart Sports Centre
From there I went over Craiglockhart Hill although I was not hanging about - hoping to get to Corstorphine Butterfly Park before closing time. I crossed Gorgie Road then Saughton Skate Park and up Balgreen Rd where I took a left and skirted round Carrick Knowe Golf Course. I was a bit disappointed when I arrived as I had fond memories of the place from last Spring when there were 4 or more species queuing up to be photographed. At first I could find nothing. And it is a bit skanky - old bits of wood, mild littering, boozers debris, brightly coloured nylon rope, brambles and nettles. I was getting tired and about to leave when I kicked up a small tort in reasonable nick. Took a photo or 2 but I was really hoping for something like last year's comma. That didn't happen but there were a few peacocks jousting and an occasional bunny hopping about at either end. Eventually the guy having an extended cigarette break on the large log in the centre of the area got up and left. A relief all round. I have no idea what he thought I was up to - probably put me down for a solo dogger or sex fiend, dressed for a frantic sprint away from the scene of the crime. Anyway none of our fantasies were realised, although I came closest with some help from a reasonably friendly peacock which let me get my camera right up to his/her wing tips for some wonderfully detailed shots, as it twitched nervously on its favourite log.
classy!
I was really pleased with that pic above, justifying the long detour over to the West of the city. After that I ran pretty much straight home. It was late in the day for butterflies, though I did follow the Water of Leith to the Art Gallery to see if that comma - the first of my year - was still there. It wasn't, or wasn't coming out to play. So due to traffic I ran off the path at Bells Brae and through the New Town where there were fewer "vectors" and back down Leith Walk.
Mary started using the term vectors to describe the zombies reading phones or just not paying attention in the street coming directly towards you. I suppose it is more polite than lepers. It was only when I googled it I realised it meant not only a thing with a direction it actually does mean "an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another. Vector it is.
It was only some time later that I was told that our daily allowance of exercise is limited to an hour. I had checked the initial guidelines when they appeared and only the 2m distancing was mentioned. I believe Michael Gove was asked about specifics and apparently off the top of his head suggested time limits of an hour. But I saw none of that appear in writing. Just before Easter, when the heatwave looked imminent down South there was a large campaign against the anticipated rush to beaches and natural beauty spots and newer guidelines were posted. Again they were fairly relaxed (compared to much of Europe) but suggested "up to hour" for exercise. At this point I was unaware of this suggestion hence my longer run.
Quite a substantial proportion of my running and cycling friends seem to be still unaware of this hour suggestion. (It is not a law and almost impossible to enforce.) Or choose to ignore it. My feeling is that I should endeavour to behave as responsibly as possible to do everything to avoid any possibility of receiving or transmitting the virus. Though it always feels that 20 mins in Tescos is FAR more high risk (I always wear a buff as a mask) than 8hrs (or 80hrs) of running or cycling could ever be. So getting home before 59.59 on my watch doesn't strike me as the highest priority.
Mary started using the term vectors to describe the zombies reading phones or just not paying attention in the street coming directly towards you. I suppose it is more polite than lepers. It was only when I googled it I realised it meant not only a thing with a direction it actually does mean "an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another. Vector it is.
It was only some time later that I was told that our daily allowance of exercise is limited to an hour. I had checked the initial guidelines when they appeared and only the 2m distancing was mentioned. I believe Michael Gove was asked about specifics and apparently off the top of his head suggested time limits of an hour. But I saw none of that appear in writing. Just before Easter, when the heatwave looked imminent down South there was a large campaign against the anticipated rush to beaches and natural beauty spots and newer guidelines were posted. Again they were fairly relaxed (compared to much of Europe) but suggested "up to hour" for exercise. At this point I was unaware of this suggestion hence my longer run.
Quite a substantial proportion of my running and cycling friends seem to be still unaware of this hour suggestion. (It is not a law and almost impossible to enforce.) Or choose to ignore it. My feeling is that I should endeavour to behave as responsibly as possible to do everything to avoid any possibility of receiving or transmitting the virus. Though it always feels that 20 mins in Tescos is FAR more high risk (I always wear a buff as a mask) than 8hrs (or 80hrs) of running or cycling could ever be. So getting home before 59.59 on my watch doesn't strike me as the highest priority.
dog fights
21 miles
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