Latest news
" ... man to man, the world ower,
Shall brothers be, for a' that."
Robert Burns
I keep the words of Robert Burns at the top of this section. They NEVER cease to be relevant.
Arrogance and ignorance continue to take precedence over the voice of reason. The tunnel vision of too many callous and egotistic individuals continues to pull in the direction of the abyss.
Call out these bullies and dictators for what they are, whoever they are and wherever they are.
September, and the long, warm dry summer has finally ended, with lower temperatures and a lot of much-needed rainfall.
An afternoon on a loch yielded a couple of Pike: one tiny but perfect fish (see photo) and one 20-pounder!
It was good to see old friends during my Fiddle Week. We were joined by pianist extraordinaire Muriel Johnstone on the Friday morning, a great way to end the course! Thank you Muriel!
Nicky Gregson, one of my September students, has written a book about Dave Mann and his violin shop in Hexham, Northumberland.
NB I DON'T have copies available! If interested, the book is available from Hexham Violin Shop,
27 Hencotes,
Hexham
NE46 2EQ
or on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Violin-Shop-Nicky-Gregson/dp/B0D6CFJ2VP
The warm weather continued into August, but with a very windy day on Monday the 4th (Storm Floris). There were quite a few trees down, but it could have been much worse.
Following the gale, the warm, sunny summer resumed.
"The Trooters" hit the road again (first time since 2019) with a special one-of gig in Tarskavaig, Isle of Skye. It was good to see old friends again. The down side was being unable to fish the next day due to the strong wind. Bummer!
Spent the last week of August in and around Scourie. The landscape of the far north-west is simply phenomenal. (But you really need a breeze to keep the midges off!) Hiked to a few hill lochs and, in one of them, caught a beautiful wild Brown Trout of approx. 2.5lbs. (Quickly unhooked and returned to the water.)
August came to a close with the Birnam Highland Games and the installation of a plaque to celebrate the twinning of Dunkeld & Birnam with Asheville, NC. The following evening we had dinner at Dunkeld House Hotel with friends old and new from Asheville, including Doug and Darcy Orr.
July has been and gone. Here in Scotland, it was a very warm month, and I mean a sustained, lengthy spell of temperatures which make the average Scot wilt!
The Game Fair, on the banks of the River Tay near Scone, was a fun day out for the dogs. For hundreds of dogs, in fact! Highlight was seeing a Kingfisher darting from bushed to plunge into the backwater for a fish. This was just after one of the Fly Casting demonstations, with a large crowd looking on. (I wonder how many folk spotted Halcyon?!)
Playing for classes during the annual RSCDS Summer School in St Andrews was very enjoyable, due in no small part to the two excellent dance teachers I played for -
Linda Henderson and Janet Johnston.
The Fortingal Art Exhibition went well. I was home from St Andrews in time to help dismantle the panels, which will be stored until next summer. It wasn't until the next day that I discovered I had Covid! (The same thin happened last year, probably the result of being in a big crowd at the Summer School.)
June, and mid-summer week spent on the Isle of May, in the Firth of Forth. This must be the best place in the world to watch Puffins! The weather ranged from extremely dreich to scorching hot. No Arctic Terns nesting this year. Surprise visitors were 4 Crossbills! They were feeding on the seeds of Sea Campion.
(And now the nights begin to draw in!)
May has turned out to be a bit of a scorcher this year, with very little rainfall. The rivers are pretty low, and the plants are needing a good drink. And the dogs Logie and Fin lie basking until they're almost too hot to touch (Though Logie moves to the shade, Fin is still to learn that trick!)
There were quite a few Orange Tip butterflies on the wing, but relatively low numbers of other species (Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and a single Red Admiral). Hopefully this year will be better than last in terms of insect numbers.
Dry and sunny weather prevailed for most of April, but with a cold easterly wind during the first half of the month. The first butterflies appeared - Peacocks and a solitary Small Tortoiseshell early in the month, and a bonus of a female Emperor Moth warming her wings on the south-facing wall of the house. Then, synchronised with the flowering of the Cuckoo Flower (Cardamine pratensis) aka Pasque Flower aka Lady's Smock, the bonnie sight of male Orange Tips in search of females (which appear later on). Prolific Dandelion flowers are ready and waiting for Bees, which sadly are few and far between. Hopefully this year will not be quite such a disaster as 2024, as far as the Butterfly and Bee populations are concerned.
And my first fish of 2025 - a beautiful 20lb Pike, caught on "fly" (a big, hairy, yellow lure) and, of course, released.
March is here, bringing some warm, sunny weather, bird song and blossoming flowers. Had an hour on the Tummel on the 15th (Opening day of Brown Trout Season), but no trout or grayling. ALMOST caught a very ambitious minnow!
The 20th Niel Gow Festival went very well and, as it so often does, the sun came out for the 50 (!) folk who came on the Niel Gow Walk on Sunday.
On Monday 24th, Fin arrived - an 11-week old Cocker Spaniel, and a friend (we hope) for Logie!
January 2025 began with mild, wet weather, but the temperatures soon fell and frosty mornings returned.
The month finished with a storm blowing in from the West. Scotland's central belt felt the worst of it, but there were quite a few trees down in Perthshire, and the huge sycamore in Birnam lost one of its massive limbs.
The wee bird (below) is a European Robin (Erithacus rubecula), quite different from its North American namesake! Small, cute looking and very trusting of humans - but aggresively territorial when it comes to other Robins!
Mid-December, and a period of sustained high barometric pressure has brought freezing temperatures and beautiful sunny days.
Sadly, one of our visiting Whooper Swans (a juvenile) was killed when he collided with a power line.
Our weather during the first half of November has been incredibly mild, with very little wind or rain. This has prolonged the display of glorious autumn colours, with the leaves remaining on the trees quite a bit longer than usual. In mid-month, an airstream from the Arctic brought the first really cold days, but with high pressure persisting to give us blue skies and sunshine.
Whooper Swans and Greylag Geese have joined our resident Canada Geese in the stubble fields.
September is here, and that means a lot of fishing. Of course, a lot of fishing does not necessarily mean a lot of fish! But I did have a good day on Loch Broom (the Perthshire one, not the sea loch in Wester Ross) - 17 wild Brown Trout, all caught and released. Such beautiful creatures!