snow cone

 

Friday 12th Feb

Mary had the day off so planned a longish run. The forecast looked like it could go either way so I planned to either do Mary's run - a circuit West along the coast and back on the cyclepath, or if sunny (fingers crossed) extend a wee satelite route to Cammo. A sentence from Ken the day before about there being flocks of tame nuthatches at Cammo (I may be exaggerating) had got me thinking it was far too long since I went past the feeding area there. 

We started by heading down to the links then back onto the shore road. My position is like that of accompanying dog. Not really to question the methodology or suggest alternate routes. And sometimes not to talk much either. As far as I can remember we were both high on strong coffee so there would have been a lot of jolly banter.

saw this Michael and thought of you!

with specs on?

I try to think of what scenario could have possibly led to the company coffee machine being left at the side of the West Shore Road. Yup perfect spot I'll just fly tip this here. It would take precious little further time and energy to take it to the council tip about 2 miles away. But hell that's like too much trouble and this industrial wasteland is kinda ugly anyway so I'll just throw it out the back of the van here.
Hanging offence. And birched beforehand.

It was all looking pretty grim around here and Cammo wasn't at all top priority. I was reflecting on a previous run along here maybe a month ago when it was raining and I was feeling SO much worse. The chill hit my guts and I had to go into the bushes for a poop. In the rain. Cold wet leaves for toilet paper. Awesome!

shrek-ish snowman

There is so much Stazi-like behaviour going on these days that my first thoughts when seeing 6 young people huddled together at this picnic table was a sarcastic "Well they must all be from the same household..."

Given how little they are suffering from the actual virus and how much they are suffering the consequences of it, I think we should all cut each other, especially young folk, some slack. There are far more people dying of cancer and heart conditions than will EVER die of Covid. (By about a factor of at least 20 in my unscientific estimation.) And we haven't banned cigarettes and MacDonalds. (Why is that?) And meeting outside is a fairly tiny contributor. While yes we should be careful not to add to the stats, it is NOT as important as a lot of other things that keep us sane and well. That intermission was brought to you by sunshine and snow. Now back to the grumpy norm.

I love how tropical this tree looks in the sunshine
with the snow mimicking sand.

The beach at Silverknowes is never exactly beautiful but the snow made it much more so. Similarly the River Almond has never looked as lovely. And the gulls at the estuary were just brilliant in the reflected light. Mary had an ice cream at the flagpole. She had been warming up along the esplanade in the sun and hoped the ice cream van would be there. It was and she had a cone and coffee. I fed the gulls and took pics of the birds while she did this. Normally I'd be up for a cone but was more interested in the birds and felt I didn't need the extra calories.

black headed gulls, winter plumage

ice cream and coffee!

This wagtail was more than familiar with the idea of handouts 

and enjoyed the bread I threw in its direction. 

there was a lot of frozen ice falls by the river

I saw a smallish duck coming down the river and thought it might be a goldeneye. (It was.) I took a couple of distant shots at full zoom and waited as it approached. Then some dick threw a snowball at it and it dived under the surface. I was fuming. I didn't have the time to get into an argument and/or wait for it to resurface. Honestly some folk are oblivious to anything around them.

lots of icicles near the Salvesen Steps

robin at full throttle

This is Mary's photo of a dipper (mine was shitter)

red breasted merganser (f)

goosander (f)

goosander (m)

So round about Dowie's Mill Lane Mary had to decide to go back through Barnton and along the cyclepath (14miles total) or extend her run to Cammo (about 16) and be forced to stand in the cold much longer than makes sense looking at wee birdy numnums. It was pretty glorious weather and much to my surprise and delight she chose the Cammo option. We were having fun and moving slowly, taking lots of photos and having a lot of banter. Which offsets the general ache of 10 miles and beyond. We continued over the Almond and across the dual carriageway towards Cammo Estate.

The good news was that there was plenty to suggest the bird life was as busy as ever at the feeding stations. The bad news was we were just a little late to catch the best light of the day. We put out food and instantly the place was buzzing with little friends. And loads of nuthatches. Actually it could have been as few as 2 but they were zipping back and forth and keeping us entertained. I made a mental note to return earlier in the day next time.

coal tit

blue tit

great tit

We stayed slightly longer than would have been sensible and then headed in a direct route up the ugly main road until my old school (the Royal High) and then joined up with the cyclepath round D Mains park. The park was heaving with families sledging. The sun was pretty much set so it was impressive to see so many mums still out shivering in the cold while their offspring ran back up the slopes for just one more slide down.

we had a snack and selfie

where sledges come to die

magpies roosting along the cyclepath

mural near Alan Js.

Inverleith Park

We had a great day out and for once went further than initially anticipated. The superb weather was defo the factor that made it special. You really appreciate a blue sky and sunshine not just because it makes for better photos but also you get a lift from all the Vit.D and go home REALLY ready for lunch. And dinner. And you sleep like the dead. Highly recommended!