grey christmas

 

Like a white christmas but more shit.
25-12-25. Well actually it wasn't that bad - the car didn't drive off the road and nobody was swept out to sea. It was just dull. The forecast sun did NOT appear and the low grey cloud stayed put and we only saw a seal and zero fieldfares, redwings, waxwings etc. It was a shitshow but we got through on pure good nature and generous spirits! Haha! Fuck you Santa.

I put that photo at the top just to underscore I did not go out to prove christmas was shit. In fact I really enjoyed the prospect of a day off work. While it was good to successfully conclude a week's work and prove I was not over the painting-and-decorating hill, I should really be doing that in a home that hasn't been va-va-voomed in 20 years. (Ours.) Never mind, we didn't have any awful xmas dinners or parties to attend and chose to spend the day going for a walk at Gullane, a favourite place. 

not as good as the original tree troll

It is probably the least I have enjoyed a walk around Gullane in I-can't-remember-how-long. It wasn't even that cold or unpleasant. Just no wildlife bar a curious seal. And the light was so utterly crap it was hardly worth carrying a camera. No half decent photos were taken. I am not just comparing this to Tenerife, I am comparing it to Gullane on a crisp Winter's day when the frost sparkles in the low sun. Anyway it was pretty rubbish so we will fast-forward to the only tiny highlight of the day which was after we parked the car back in Iona Street and were walking back to the flat. 

this insults bird photography

turnstone

Then there was a christmas miracle.
This seal swam right up to the beach we were on and barked out...

"I have a christmas message for you..."

"Merry Fucking Christmas!"

mergansers kept out of range

is that a dude with his dog on a paddleboard??!
(sadly no, just his kid)

Okay so back in the city and we see these 2 delightful pied wagtails outside our flat. Unfortunately they were unfamiliar with the usual arrangements. That for an unlimited salary of seeds or peanuts they have to stand and face the camera. I'm guessing the people of Leith haven't acquainted these 2 with the arcane practice of throwing food for birds. They did not approach the seed I was scattering and only moved further down the road pecking at trash and bits of discarded semi-organic rubbish from bins. Yuck! They are properly urban dwellers though, and seem to have adopted mid-Leith as their stomping ground. There was one that was very bold along London Road and Elm Row for a while. I can't be sure one of these isn't that one - or related. I've seen them since and they regularly haunt Leith Walk, Pilrig Street and MacDonald Road. If they are all the same pair and not just cousins. 

I was trying to get a comparative of them both in the same photo. I think (if one is male and the other female) the one with more contrastful face markings would be the male. The female appears to have some mottled feathers just behind/below the eye whereas the male (if that is he) has just black and white face plumage and mostly white. As you can tell I am no expert. Feel free to google it or comment if you have any insights!

the mister?

It makes me think I must try and adopt them, at least as photographic models, the next time the sun shines. If it ever does again. I had been hoping for waxwings but it seems whoever was taking orders misheard but knew it started with a W. And they are very cute. A few waxwings have arrived in town and if the sun does ever come out I might go on that wild goose chase. All the berries have fallen or been eaten off the trees in Dalmeny Park so they won't be coming back here if they do show up this year.

female?

And in case you are thinking "why bother writing up such a dull walk to Gullane then?"

Well, if it fulfils no other brief it at least hits a target I have been considering since the Summer, when the great weather produced a number of adventures and trips outdoors which then produced a high number of blog entries. At some point around September or October I realised I was potentially on course for a record high number of posts in a single year, the previous best being 133 in 2017 and 132 in 2013. This is the 134th blog this year and has just crossed the line before the end of year cut-off which might be a bit earlier than midnight on the 31st because it is on an American template which probably uses Amercan time not UK. (From my limited understanding.) Now I don't normally sail under the flag of "never mind the quality, feel the width" but I won't stop you raising a glass to this small achievement, won by the smallest increment (in true Duplantis style), but won nevertheless! Cheers!

...maybe time yet for another entry, if I get my skates on...