Sunday 30 May 2010

RETURN TO WALK AT SPYNIE

You may remember joining me on this walk back in March. Just look what a difference a few weeks have made.
Click on pictures to enlarge.
Bryan and Jarvis heading off like dogs on a mission.
Brand new leaves on the beeches.

Look at the black clouds heading my way, luckily it blew over and I stayed dry.

I love the contrast between the dark Scots Pine and the light green Beech.

Delicate Dog Violet

A bumble bee feeding on a dandylion.


Saturday 8 May 2010

LOGIE STEADING

Originally built as a model farm in the 1920s, Logie Steading is now converted into a visitor centre to welcome visitors to the beautiful Findhorn Valley. there is a cafe, a great book shop with second hand and new books of all kinds, a craft shop and a farm shop selling local produce including Logie's own Longhorn beef and Jacob lamb. There is also a gallery selling paintings and many other crafts.
The cafe has some of the best cake I've tasted, well worth a visit for that alone.
Click on pictures to enlarge them.
I love the clock tower above the entrance to the steading, even though the time on the clock is wrong
A view of the steading from across the field
This is Logie House. The gardens of the house are usually open to the public but sadly this year, because of damaged caused by the severe winter weather, the garden is undergoing extensive repairs and won't be open until next spring.
Here is Greg sitting in a bower made of living willow. The smile on his face is in anticipation of chocolate cake.

How's this for a pair of handlebars? This old breed of cattle is very hardy, easy to handle, long lived and best of all the beef is delicious. Sirloin steak for dinner tomorrow. Yum Yum

this one is quite young with shorter horns, they look a bit sharp to me though.

Logie stands above the beautiful Findhorn River and the walks along the riverside are wonderful.
I love it at this time of year with the new spring growth.


This is a "dead" stump of an oak tree, but as you can see, it's anything but dead. In fact, it's supporting moss, fern and a scotch pine.

In this shot you can see a stack of trees and branches at the edge which have been swept along by the force of the water after heavy rain and snow melt.


The water in this pool looks like black coffee.

Beech leaves freshly painted and polished by nature.

Can anyone tell me what these little yellow flowers are? I think they may be a type of Euphorbia but I'm not sure.
They are very small.