waiting out winter

 

16th Feb. The winter is really dragging its feet. And seeping into my soul. It seems there is little to anticipate and a series of not-very-lively weather days comes and goes with no reason to race out the door in search of photos.

Other than planning holidays abroad, life is fast turning into a dull broth of unmemorable days in a gray waitingroom. I mean it could be worse - I have my health and can run pretty much all I like, but I am finding it harder to get out of bed these days, and am pinning far too much on the least indication of a sunny forecast, days ahead of time, which often fails to materialise.

So here is a record of a couple of days I forced myself out on constitutionals to local venues, hoping they would yield some treats. Mostly it was as uninspiring as the weather. 

The botanics is rarely a waste of time. The place is kept in tip-top condition by a small army of gardeners and the plants and trees are excellent. This draws a number of birds although winter numbers seem low by comparison and I had to be more patient than usual. Eventually I found a spot at the rhododendron copse, near the herbaceous border, where a few small birds were busy in the trees looking for insects to eat: a pair of treecreepers and a goldcrest (maybe more than one) as well as great tits or blue tits. They were not sitting for photos and I took many hit-and-hopes suspecting few would make the grade.

goldcrest

treecreeper

There were a few robins about and they were more flexible about sitting for the camera. One in particular performed excellently and with very little prompting. I heard it singing, sitting quite high up on the beech hedge above the herbaceous border. I got out the sunflower seeds and the rustle of the bag seemed to draw it closer. It was so keen that I held out a hand with seeds. It was interested but also unsure and did a couple of halfway practice runs before it took a seed from my fingers. It did not settle on my hand but several times flew over, landed for a nano second to grab a single seed, then immediately retreated to the hedge where it consumed the treat. It did this maybe 5 times and although I only got the faintest touch of tiny claws through my gloves, it was the highlight of the day. I thanked the robin by leaving a small pile of seeds on the ground and went off to see if there were any other things to photo. 

beech hedge robin

I can't take a photo of (a robin on) my hand with the long lens, so had to make do getting some pics of it on the hedge. And the light was prob too crappy to get an action shot of it mid-flight.

not much in flower currently other than these rhodies

table service at the cafe

In several areas round the gardens I heard the calls of bullfinches. Mostly they avoided the camera and it was only near the willow pond that I got close to this female and her 2 admirers. However a decent photo eluded me.

It was a great pleasure to see this collared dove at the willow (duck) pond. I am calling the large duck pond the willow pond as I took a photo of the large map at the East gate and have now realised what the official terms are for several areas within the gardens. Anyway this bird is regular here and well known for standing on the railings and taking food directly from a hand. Ken has referred to her as female although I am unsure how you'd know the difference. She was reluctant to handfeed today but was very keen if you put food on the ground to eat right beside a foot; too close to get a decent photo!

this robin was also at the pond though stayed hidden in the bushes

now you know what all the names of various areas are!

saw this cutey dressed for the cold on Leith Walk

19th February. Due to storm damage Warriston cemetery has been closed since Storm Eowyn, late Jnuary. I was using the time to explore other areas and green spaces around town, some with more success than others. However 3 weeks on and I'm still waiting for the cemetery to re-open. 95%+ of the cemetery is fine - there are 2 spots in the riverside area that have broken limbs suspended above paths waiting to fall on unsuspecting passers-by. Out of respect for council worker Paul, a friendly chap I met there on a couple of occasions, I have followed the instructions to not visit again, until the trees are attended to by the forestry division. However 3 weeks later and nobody appears to be racing to get it sorted. I noticed that although 2 of the entries are temporarily blocked, the climb down at St Marks Bridge, Powderhall was not fenced off. (I think there was a barrier there but it has been slid to one side by persons unknown. Not myself.) 

I ran out of patience. I am not a great fan of saluting flags and authority and often consider myself above (or rather, to one side of), the rules. (For the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men! ) (Starter for 10, which famously legless flier do we associate with that particular quote?) (Answer at the bottom of the page.) Although I do understand why those rules are there. Probably comes from my being raised in a broken home, a term I do not endorse. No father about. No flags to salute. My thinking here was that Paul had pointed out to me the dangerous spots. If I went nowhere near those places it was approaching impossible to be damaged by shifting tonnage of wobbly timbers. Also, it has been breezy enough recently to shift anything teetering in the last 3 weeks. As I said earlier 95%+ of the cemetery is exactly as it will be when eventually opened to the public, when they get around to fixing the 2 dangerous spots. I take full responsibilty for my actions and will not hold the council responsible when a tree lands on my noggin.

It was a bit like lockdown again. Does one play by the rules or adopt a strategy that nods to the rules while disregarding them. If I learned anything during lockdown it was not to let other people's opinions colour my preferences. Go do it (and just don't shout about it afterwards). It is a victimless crime and nobody gets hurt. (Unless you really can catch a virus from an infected gatepost?) 

flowers!

Anyway I snuck in. The place was alive with birdsong. I wondered if the wildlife had noticed the drop off in dogwalkers and were enjoying the freedoms normally only experienced in the (dog-free) botanics? Had the place turned into a kind of natural Disney theme park? No! Did it feel weird? YES! Not spooky as in this is a cemetery and there could be ghosts; more just an eerie absence of people. Like a post apocalyptic scene where all the humans have died. It was quite uncanny and although I have had similar days there when encountering very few dog-walkers or mourners, I couldn't entirely relax. I felt there was a good chance I'd be discovered and ejected like a shameful shoplifter from the mall.

I hadn't seen the crows in 3 weeks but they sort of remembered me and behaved much the same way as usual, mooching for handouts and posing handsomely on nearby gravestones. I saw a group of redwings over the North side. As soon as I got close (although I was in ninja stealth mode and approaching cautiously) they flew up into adjacent trees. 

mossy lettering

redwing and mini-daffs

quite a few wrens about

the (tunnel) grey wagtail enjoying where tree-removing heavy machinery
has churned up the paths (- I assume some tree work has happened?)

I was walking back towards the riverside area when I noticed this blackbird just before the tunnel. I threw some bread for it and it hovered in the area, sat in a tree, waiting for me to depart. Because there was bread out, it was reluctant to leave. When I turned around there were a pair of song thrushes on the ground, one eating the bread, the other sat on a log, just along for the ride. They were really beautiful and an unexpected treat. A while back there had been one, just the other side of the tunnel (at the stream), eating handouts and I think this pair included that one. They were noticeably unafraid and let me take photos really close by. The blackbird got a bit bossy about ownership of said bread but the thrushes returned quickly after being chased off. And I put a few piles of bread out so they didn't have to share.

onlooker

good cammo - 2 thrushes in this photo

more interested in food!

just having a look

I left by the wall and bridge at the East end of the riverside area. I was glad not to have been caught trespassing although as I said earlier it was a victimless crime and caused no harm or damage. I hope the cemetery will be open again soon although I really enjoyed having the place to myself and may pop back in again if the council don't get it fixed soon. 

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*Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men is often associated with Douglas Bader, although in his book Reach for the Skies it is attributed to Harry Day, the Royal Flying Corp First World War fighter ace. Lest we get too enthusiastic about this spiffing flying hero I heard a story about him recently that shines a less glowing light on him. He spent nearly three years in Colditz, the famous castle prison camp during WW2. It was an officers' POW camp but the officers were allowed batmen, that is, a non-officer rank as a personal servant. During WW2 there were frequent non-ranking prisoner-of-war exchanges and Bader's batman was up for one such exchange. However Bader forbode the exchange and the poor man, instead of heading home, had to serve Bader for another 2 years in Colditz! Which makes Bader look like an egocentric selfish monster at the very least.