"Scottish Snippets"

"Colour Supplement"

14 July 2007

Each week the Rampant Scotland Newsletter includes a number of photographs which illustrate the weather and the seasons, plus the flora and fauna of the current week around Scotland. This separate "colour supplement" displays some more pictures, in a larger format. Here is this week's crop of Scottish views!


As these pages have sometimes illustrated, there are many different varieties of thistle growing in Scotland. While this one may look more like the spiny, wild thistle that most folk recognise, it is actually an Onopurdum, which grows to a height of around eight feet, surrounded by those jagged leaves. So instead of a flower close-up, this was taken with a telephoto lens to get up to that height!


Some of the coot chicks born earlier this year are nearly grown up and are as big as their parents. The youngsters here are either the offspring of coots deciding to have a second brood, or a couple who have left it a bit late. It is suspected that this may be the first time that the parents have raised a family as the nest was not hidden away as usual, but only a few feet from the pedestrian pathway going round the loch at Drumpellier Country Park - unwise, to say the least. And although the parents are "hard-wired" to feed their chicks, they did seem a bit bewildered by the process!





Although well known for their tall spires of intense blue flowers, delphiniums are also found in other colours such as yellow, pink, red and (as here) white. These ones were growing in the walled garden at Culzean Castle Country Park in Ayrshire.


Last year, we were fortunate to be visiting Culzean Castle at this time of year and were able to see a red deer fawn being born. This year, we just missed the event but this youngster was still at the "staggery" stage and was being licked by its mother. It was surprising to see a red deer looking white - until we saw who "dad" was. See below.


This seems to be a new red deer stag introduced to Culzean Castle Country Park and although not as white as its newborn offspring above, it is a very pale colour, almost white on its neck and rear quarters.


These cornus flowers start off white, but as they begin to wilt, instead of turning brown, they develop this mottled red effect. Later, the fruit in the centre of those petals will grow into something that brings to mind a deformed strawberry!

If you want to look back at earlier editions of this Colour Supplement, there is an Index Page





Where else would you like to go in Scotland?








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