best part of the day: Mary holiday pt2

21st Sept

Mary realised the achy stiff shoulder that she'd had for quite some time was not an injury, like a sports injury, and possibly a frozen shoulder. (Adhesive Capsulitis.) This is a semi-mysterious condition that restricts the flexibility of movement in a shoulder when the surrounding tissues inflame and adhere until it locks up, more often in women around Mary's age. She went to a physio who confirmed it to be just that. The physio also outlined a procedure that Mary had done by someone in Falkirk: capsular distension, involving the shoulder having saline forced in (under local anaesthetic) to help unlock the shoulder with corticosteroid. Imagine, if you will, WD40 being sprayed into a rusted solid bearing race, the cortisone being grease perhaps. This has largely has been a success though much flexing and painful manipulation was also involved. Since the physio was in Stockbridge Mary met me afterwards in the Botanics, where I was looking for things to photograph.

On the way to the Botanics I had gone along past the Water of Leith at Powderhall to see if the kingfishers were about. No, but there were a couple of red admirals and a small white on the buddleia there. I then went upstream past Canonmills and along the Rocheid Path to some buddleia and holly bushes where RAs hang out. Took some more photos and then off to the Botanics via the bookshop at Canonmills. They often have good stuff in the window.

I have a bad habit of hoarding and collecting junk. I could easily buy nearly everything in the window of this second hand book shop and so it is far better I just windowshop and take photos. I was intrigued by the butterfly illustration which features walls, a gatekeeper and an adonis blue, the latter 2 only being found South of the border. But I was also really drawn to the beautifully hand-painted soldiers. When I was a young lad I painted some soldiers and it takes time and good eyesight and a sharp 000 brush to make a decent job of it. I was impressed these were going at only £7 a pop as it would have taken several hours of eye-squinting labour just to paint them. I thought I might buy one or 2 but then thought you can't split up the regiment. Even though they were all of different uniforms and possibly even different eras. When I was outside taking photos a couple of weeks later the proprietor (an incongruously young lad stepping out to smoke a roll up) told me they had all been bought as a job lot. I was glad they hadn't been split up. Even though I was sad to see them gone.

Just after the bridge over the kingfisher pond on the main path through the gardens you can look left and see this horrible Barbara Hepworth sculpture. I really admire it. Not aesthetically: it looks like a gutted submarine taking a nose dive. There are elements of tree trunk and roughly finished bone, but it lacks the beauty of either of those. It is just about the worst Barbara Hepworth I've seen. (I quite like some of her better ones but this is nowhere near that category.) It makes me smile because of the small plaque to the front of it that says, after the blurb about who did it and what its called... "accepted by H M Government in lieu of inheritance tax 2013." Which explains quite a lot!

So, I know nothing of the background here and am too lazy to do a fact check but I'm hoping when the Inland Revenue tried to stiff the Hepworth family for millions in inheritance tax, they came to a deal whereby this monstrosity, perhaps the worst of the BH back catalogue in existence, was given to the country to in lieu of paying hard cash. You can be damn sure no-one on the govt. tax team said hey we want the one that looks like a giant black turd partially scooped out and stood on end. We gotta have that one, its a beaut!

On the first occasion I arrived here there was someone on the bench next to the hideous sculpture so I wasn't able to linger. However I later returned with Mary. I knew Mary would be coming in the East gate after physio so walked over that way to meet her. I also had a look at the amazing building that is the Palm House. Currently it is being emptied of all the huge palm trees and having a major makeover. I wouldn't put in for that painting job for all the tea in China, although the paint work didn't look in bad nick.

Mary (still in cycle clips)

Mary was very taken by the wildflower meadow-ish bits of planting outside the greenhouses and asked if we could go back and take some photos. I knew what she meant. It's not that we're superkeen rewilders shouting not to mow during May, but there was something more attractive about the small areas of raggle taggle blue, white and yellow flowers between long grasses that looked more like a Summer meadow than the regimented and strictly delineated borders and scrupulously weeded areas elsewhere. And before you call me a patchouli wearing hippy, remember a moment ago when I was captivated by the high maintenance hand painted right wing militia in the bookshop? Yes well, sometimes the contradictions are what makes life interesting. Much as you like routine, sometimes you prefer a change. The more available something is, the less you'll want it. Hegel's way of reconciling the material and spiritual qualities of nature is to find in nature a spiritual reflection of human life-forms. You do not have access to this book on JSTOR. Try logging in through your institution for access. Hmm I'm not sure I understand that last bit, but it was just getting interesting, right?

grow it long, don't trim it short! 😏

Since Mary had been brave at the physio I offered to buy her anything she wanted at the overpriced cafe. Luckily there was a big slow queue and she opted for the juice and snack bars in my back pack. (Phew, close call!) There were a couple of red admirals on the buddleias next to the cafe/gallery buildings. There aren't many buddleias in the Botanics, and the way they are tucked away behind the hydrangeas, you'd almost think they were regarded as weeds. And yet, despite the competition from all the exotic flowers from around the world, the buddleias see more butterfly action than just about anything else. The herbacious border has been criminally ignored this year - there was nothing on the purple torch Cimicifuga racemosa (don't you hate these Latin inscriptions that discourage learning for all but the socially awkward?) on the last 2 visits, although Unda and Andrew saw RAs aplenty (3?) there recently. And no commas or even small torts on those yellow jobs with the long straggly petals. The botanics has not had a bumper year for butterflies. Were they plucking off the hungry hungry caterpillars when nobody was allowed in during lockdown?

Someone (okay, it was me) was starting a rumour they removed a number of the more friendly squirrels during lockdown and the public returned to find only a small amount of very nervous rodents in the gardens. I did wonder if I was making this up (of course I am making this up) so on a recent trip asked that guy who is always there feeding them. If you go there regularly you'll know who I mean. I can't think of a way to describe him without being derogatory, so we'll just leave it there. But I asked him did he think the squirrels had become less bold. (They used to run up your trouser legs at the first rustle of a bag of nuts.) I think he was more surprised to be asked a question than anything, but after a bit of reflection conceded they maybe were a bit more timid. More evidence, but the case is far from closed. I need an inside operative who can spill the beans.

admirals by the cafe
the only thing there that doesn't cost an arm and a leg

So these 2 butterflies behaved in exactly the same way. One was feeding on the buddleia, it felt like a change of scene, became restless and flew onto a nearby bush with light green broad leaves, but it wasn't quite right and after fidgeting about, flew over to settle on sun-warmed stone. My gaze returned to the buddleia flowers where RA number 2 moments later, tires of the nectar and flutters over to the green bush (which is BTW on the other side of the buddleia than the Gallery building. It too, finds the bush a bit meh, and after an unsatisfactory recce, flies past the buddleia to the building but opts for the woodwork of the window, not the stone. I know, too exciting? What can I tell you, my days are full of quiet wonder.

nosferatu was as usual perched above the duck pond

We were drawn back magnetically to the Hepworth turd. Nobody was on the nearby bench so we had the place to ourselves. Except for a timid squirrel shuffling nervously under the conifers. I threw down some seeds but that was too much and it went into full retreat. Meanwhile Mr Robin appears right by my shoulder and says I'll have some of that action thank you very much. He is so perky and fearless, and knows the routine. I hold out my hand and he flies three times to take food off it. The tiny squeeze of claws on fingers for a fraction of a second and the audible flutter of wings going like crazy gives me a huge delight - I never get bored of this. I hadn't even fished out the bread. He was so quick I kept missing it with the camera. So I gave the seeds to Mary, set the camera to video and shot 3 seconds of the little champion flying from his tree to Mary's hand, taking a beakful at lightning speed and disappearing back to the tree, to eat. He did this a couple of times before we became aware of a parrot like call coming from a nearby tree. I was pretty sure it was a recording as it seemed to play regularly every 2 or 3 minutes and made a non-UK-species type of chuckle more appropriate to a cheap funfare than a respectable uptight garden in the new town. I suspect the speaker was left over from one of the special events they host here. While searching it out under these large Lawson Cypress Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, I spotted something much quieter and more spectacular.

photo Mary

see that bench - check out the name plate on it
"Treasured Memories of Robert Buchanan
who loved walking here with Mary"

The robin was top quality and for a small fee was prepared to do 3/4s profile,

full profile, the double take and Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar

However the highest tariff feathered friend in terms of rarity was this sleepy tawny owl. I saw him or her about 40 feet up the cypress. It noticed me and shuffled slowly towards the trunk then fell asleep again on one large talon. Not sure how with that raucous recording kicking off every few minutes. We felt really stoked to see such a beast up the tree. It was like a large yawning teddy bear animatronic and made the visit super special.