Sunny day around the end of November and I checked out the Water of Leith, Inverleith Pond and the Botanics to see what was happening. There was just about enough light to take pics of the goosanders near St Marks Park but there were far more deletes than successes.
fine set of teeth!
Then on to Inverleith Pond where there were plenty of the usual suspects.
"I number none but sunny hours"
The sundial garden at Inverleith.
I was surprised to see what looked like 2 shadows on this sundial. It seemed to be the reflection of the sun bouncing off the pond casting a secondary shadow. This sundial is always far more accurate than the fancy Ian Hamilton Finlay one at the cafe in the Botanics which is continually wrong.
I wandered along to the Botanics and saw the usual small crowd of paparazzi gathered at the Chinese garden pond. I assumed a kingfisher and looked in the direction of the focus. However it was a new arrival, a lady (brown) rat. She had taken up residence in an outlet pipe but was enjoying the attentions of the photographers who were placing nuts and seeds on the nearby rocks and posts usually reserved for feeding the birds. She would scurry along, collect as much as she could carry, then return to the pipe.
I was proud and pleased that Ken and Andrew and the other photographers and wildlife enthusiasts welcomed (and photographed) this animal with as much regard as they would the other more traditional subjects. I did get the feeling though that the robins and squirrels were feeling a bit miffed that this newcomer was invading their territory and frankly hogging the beans.
some had to work harder than usual to get any attention
This squirrel was so distracted it ran up the wrong leg in search of a handout. It is Andrew, not Ken that keeps a pocket full of squirrel-treats.
The rat was initially christened Prince Andrew until it was observed to be female, and then Jo Swinson was suggested. Not very appropriate as Mrs Ratty could probably have got more votes in the election than the unfortunate Ms Swinson.
the robins upped their game showing they could do lots of poses
and were worthy of attention
the squirrels were keen to show off their luxuriant tails
and danced on their hind legs, but it was no good, Jo-Rat stole the show
talking of shows the Botanics was undergoing its annual transformation
into the christmas lights show
so nice to see a bit of sunshine!
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