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!
This is a real high summer picture taken at Culzean Castle Country Park in Ayrshire. That's nasturtium growing on the top of the urn and the Swan Pond is beyond. This is home to a family of cygnets who are growing up fast - and have featured in earlier editions of this Colour Supplement.
Regular readers of this section will be aware of my interest in butterflies and other insects such as damselflies and dragonflies. So you can imagine my delight when this damselfly landed on the back of my hand! Fortunately, it was my left hand and I was able to get the camera off my right shoulder to take a few pictures of it. Despite a search of reference Web sites I have been unable to identify which kind of damselfly it is. It may even have been a newly hatched one that has yet to develop its proper colouring. That could also explain it uncharacteristically landing on my hand!
Another sign of mid-summer is when the Hollyhocks come into bloom. Growing to well over six feet - these flowers were at eye-level - it takes the plant some months to reach that height.
The proper name for this flower is "Lysimachia Clethroides" but its common name is Gooseneck Loosestrife - those arching flower spikes do look a bit like the neck of a goose.
The poor weather this summer (Scotland had its summer weather in April this year) has been hard for wildlife of various types and none more so than butterflies. But the walled garden at Culzean Castle Country Park (and the Verbena flowers) did manage to produce a few Small Tortoiseshell Butterflies when I was there recently.
This Colour Supplement featured early-flowering Rhododendron pictures back in April and here are more taken at the end of July. Of course, the varieties involved are markedly different. But there is a row of various types of Rhododendrons at Culzean Castle Country Park which have been in bloom all the way from early spring to the middle of summer. Maybe the lack of really warm weather has also helped to keep them from flowering too soon.
If you want to look back at earlier editions of this Colour Supplement, there is an Index Page
