best part of the day: time out

After a frenetic week, and with more of the same on the way, it was very nice to be NOT RACING this weekend. Just taking it easy doing a couple of relaxed runs and enjoying the balmy weather. Very pleased not to be chasing times in any of the EMF races, although I wished I had maybe followed Scott H's daftness and got an entry for all 4 EMF events. He completed the 5k, 10k, half and full marathon over the 2 days. Now there's an interesting challenge! Well done Scott, who was motorbiked between half and full. Impressive stuff! (Wonder if they give discount on multi-entries - they are not known for their discounts.)

Anyway, we avoided all the EMF stuff and instead went for an early run on Saturday to Gullane. Jason gave us the heads up about a low tide, knowing we are fans of the mysterious land beneath the sea that occasionally appears when the moon is sucking all the water out. Low tide was about 10.30am but even with the best will we didn't get to Gullane till about then, and the boss said the route was to be down past Dirleton to Yellow Craigs. So it was about an hour later when we eventually saw the water.

Speckled Wood
first one of the year

On the way there we ran through the woods between Dirleton and Yellowcraig. A couple of brown butterflies swirled and swooped and I stopped to see if they would land. I had expected Meadow Browns or something commonplace but they turned out to be Speckled Woods and one landed low in the sunlight. This was a rare treat as they tend to stay up higher in the trees, although the males will swoop and swirl round each other debating territory. And land in sunlit spots in warm weather. I had the big camera so had to creep up slowly as I was limited to x3 zoom. It sat for just long enough to get a half decent shot and I was very pleased. Although they are supposed to be common, they aren't that easy to catch in a photo.

matching vest and toilet walls at Yellowcraigs funfair mirrors

They have replaced the previous info board
(with badly drawn deer) with this much nicer one.

tide marks

There were a few other butterflies out and about. I had expected loads given several days of sunshine, but I think the coastal breezes kept them inland. We drove past a few on the way down and I was even able to identify several Orange Tips (all white jobs with orange tips on their forewings) from the car. But I haven't got close enough to any this year so far, for photos. Like the whites they are skittish and tend to fly off or not land near humans. If they are going to be that stand-offish I am not chasing them through 6 fields, since they are relatively common.

Lamb, Craigleith and a ghostly Bass Rock

On the way to the beach Mary caught her foot on a hidden stump and clattered to the ground like a sack of tatties. It looked sore (skinned knee and shoulder, bruised ribs) and she took a minute to gather herself. More aches to add to the list. Non-smiley emoji.

So we eventually got down to the beach at Archerfields. This was one of only about 2 or 3 times we have been able to walk to Eyebroughy without swimming the usual channel of water. We resisted though as the sand at the water's edge was heavily rippled and the ripples filled with sea. Neither of us had other shoes and socks for the trip to Tesco's afterwards so we veered inland. It may have been because we were still a bit tired from the weekend of the marathon but neither of us felt the excitement or mystery of the low tide we had enjoyed previously. It was warm and although there was cloud building was nearly ideal conditions. I'm not sure what was lacking. But both of us were happy to leave the beach and go through the woods to check on the frog pond and see if there was any sign of frogs. Nope. Just tadpoles, in the diminishing puddle that was fast drying out.

Showing how far out to sea we went (edge of lowish tide)
(Suunto was turned off while paddling.)

Apart from the Speckled Wood the best part of the run was a paddle to refresh tired legs. I wasn't that keen as it is tricky to get socks and shoes back on without a ton of sand in each sock; but actually it proved well worth it. The water was comparatively warm - I would happily go in sans wet suit at that temp for about 15~20 mins. And legs and feet were zinging as we left the beach and headed up to the woods.

the tricky bit: getting feet back into shoes without beach

pine cone heaven

The early start meant we got the shopping done and back home in time for.... well, in time for my mum calling and asking could I visit because she had left her pills downstairs and she was in bed upstairs. It's like she has been smoking stronger dope and comes and goes. I cycled round and sure enough she had forgotten to take Friday's pills resulting in sickness Saturday. I made her some tea and toast in bed then got her downstairs for a meal to replace the one she had lost earlier. By the time I did the dishes and left she was practically straight. I waited for the thrashing rain to stop then cycled back through Inverleith Park where they were still playing the game of cricket I had passed earlier. Did they break for the downpour or stand out in it? There was no nearby shelter so I suspect they toughed it out.

Next day and happily after a good night's sleep most of Mary's aches had receded to the point where she was up for a small run round Holyrood. Lots of detritus from the EMF but no runners. Bottles and gel wrappers and discarded t-shirts.

Even on basic runs like this one - a lap of the Queen's Drive - I always carry the camera. Especially as the sun was out and you never know what you'll find. Halfway round the road Mary pulled up for a breather at this bench, overlooking Duddingston Loch and views East to Porty and S. West to the Pentlands. In a moment we were joined by a special visitor who checked us out then hung around even though we didn't have any handouts. Almost entirely fearless it came within touching distance and if we had had mealworms I'm sure it would have hopped onto our hands. (Must get some mealworms.)

robin on fence

He (or she) was so obliging; coming SO close and sitting still that I had trouble taking photos in focus and framing them properly. I then got distracted by the scarlet plummage of a Cinnabar Moth. It was not so obliging and I chased it for 60 yards taking many photos and only getting one or 2 usable ones. It wouldn't sit still for a second and constantly fluttered about. There seemed to be at least a couple of them. I presume they are related to the similarly coloured Burnet Moth, another group of spotted daylight moths that appear for a couple of weeks mid-July but are not so flighty.

Now with a million moth pics in the camera, and the moths fluttering off, the robin came over to see what the fuss was about. Again it sat very close by and let me shove the camera in it's face, taking note of the camera settings and making suggestions. I didn't panic this time and got better shots.