needs and wants pt deux

 

Following on from the previous blog, we went out again four days later (26th October) in very similar weather to a couple of the same places. The difference was like night and day. Why? No idea. It's as if an email went round the animal kingdom saying looks like decent weather today everyone; let's get out and there and make the most of it. Which was what we did as well. It was so much better than just a few days previously and left us really cheerful by comparison. Life was worth living again! There seems no explanation of why there was such a change; conditions were very similar although maybe there was some pressure or weather difference imperceptible to humans?

However I feel I must also take a moment to mark the 25th Oct as the sad farewell to our old pal the Berlingo. Over fifteen years it has taken us on all manner of adventures local and not-so-local, and mostly (!?!) been a reliable companion. However as a diesel, its days of city living were very limited. We took it to We Buy Any Car down at Granton and ran home. It was older than the guy who took it off our hands for not much more than the cost of filling the tank. We have not yet finalised an alternative but have joined the Car Club thing as well as pricing replacement cars. As we don't cover that many miles annually it is not entirely obligatory to own a car.

bye bye Berlingo!

Neither of us voted for parkrun so unusually for a Saturday we opted to head along the WoL to the Botanics. The weather was looking pretty decent and another mild-ish day of Autumn. The berries along Pilrig Street were looking fantastic although they rarely attract much attention from the birds. I wonder if the waxwings will appear again like they did in great numbers last year?

streets paved with gold

The first treat was this dipper. Mary spotted it as we went along the walkway looking for kingfishers. It had hauled out a proportionally large fish and was bashing it off the log - more to display how clever it was than to dispatch it, as the minnow was already dead as a doorknob after the first couple of whaps! I was hurredly changing lens from 12~60 to 100~400 and although I missed much of the fish boasting, it was kind enough to stand still for a photo in among the leaves on this side of the river. (The long birding lens stayed on for the rest of the day.)

ceratostigma minus

On to the Botanics and first stop, the rock garden where Mairi had seen a comma recently. Always worth checking certain plants and warm rocks just in case. Although there were no butterflies initially, the light was fantastic and making everything look great. 

the last leaf on the ginkgo biloba tree

mrs mallard

After going past the scabious (no commas) we wandered down to the Chinese Pond. The ducks and moorhens were being fed and within easy reach of the camera. I am not a huge fan of the moorhens but it can be fun to try to get a close up of their striking red eyes.

Decaisnea fargesii - common name: blue sausage shrub!

The upside of being a weekend was the Queen Mother's Garden was open. It is near the Palm House redevelopment so I think is closed apart from Friday afternoons and weekends. For no real reason I suggested we take a look round it. (Ken had mentioned it last time we were chatting which flagged it up in my head.) Anyway it was a very good idea as Mary quickly spotted a red admiral on the verbena. She pointed it out and I couldn't see what she was excited about. Just as I realised, it flew off and away and I asked M if she had got a photo. She said no, and a minute later we were still animatedly discussing who was the bigger idiot when it flew back into the garden and landed on the nerines right under our noses. It made a fantastic photo on the bright pink flowers and we stopped bickering and took a million photos.

It seemed to be enjoying just warming in the sun so much that when Mary offered it a hand, it was happy to climb aboard and sit there. We went through a phase of tame admirals and commas last year around now. When the weather gets cooler they quite enjoy a warm perch and Mary has freakishly warm hands. It sat for quite a while before flying off and landing nearby again on the verbena.

RA on verbena

I was still basking in the glory of all of this when Mary, who had wandered off to explore, announced there was comma over by the roses. I can't remember ever seeing a comma on roses. It would return to that perch between visiting other flowers. 

I texted Ken to let him know there were 2 butterflies in the garden. He said he was over by the pond and would make his way there. We waited a bit longer taking photos of the admiral but then left as we had some shopping to do. There's only so many photos of a red admiral you can take and the comma seemed to have gone to sleep on a metal trellis. Ken later texted to say thanks, he had found the butterflies. I was absolutely stoked to have seen such late season beauties. And the day wasn't yet over. (Such a difference from 4 days earlier when we saw nothing of note all day.) 

the small building in the Queen Mother's Garden
is lined with decorative shells

unusually shaped honesty

Botanics Cottage

long tailed tit

blue tit

Next venue was Inverleith Park. After the Botanics we'd go through Inverleith Park (and then walk up to the west end and visit 2 running kit shops). There might be redwings or fieldfares there, you never know. We didn't spend long looking, but it was still really sunny so I suggested a quick stroll past the pond. I wasn't expecting anything more exotic than black headed gulls and duckies but saw this unlikely specimen lurking in the long grasses. I threw some duckbait and it came over (along with half the black-headed gulls) and I got some photos. I am no expert and reckoned it was a mallard / domestic duck hybrid. I heard later from Ken these are known colloquially as manky mallards. This specimen was far too lovely to be called that and it outshone the other mallards who I'm happy to report did not give it a hard time for being different or the star of the show. 

b-h gull, winter plumage

And that was about that. We walked into town but the running shops were not as interesting as all the beauties we had seen earlier and were something of an anticlimax. "Up and Running" is a very poor successor to the previous occupants "Run and Become". There is no comparison and this shows as the place was dead, with only one bored young lad behind the counter. Years gone by, on a Saturday, Run and Become would be heaving with customers and the Stott clan attending to their needs with knowledge and experience. Hardly worth visiting Up and Running and you wonder how long before they throw in the towel. Run 4 It up Lothian Road was not a huge deal better with a poor selection of running clothes although a decent selection of shoes. 

The weekend shopping crowds were beginning to flavour the day and we decided to make our escape. First through Princes Street Gardens but that was equally mobbed so we got up onto Princes Street and caught a bus home. Far more interested in seeing the photos from today than being surrounded by shopping- and mobile-phone-zombies. Let's get out of here!

the horror, the horror!

over 5miles, over 3hrs