After a difficult month ... a wonderful day out!
Well, after 3.5 long weeks of being really poorly I finally got out and about yesterday, so hopefully this "bad patch" is over now!! I have missed most of the nice weather these past few weeks so was determined to get out and enjoy it.As it was a bank holiday weekend, I wanted to avoid all the crowds. If you know this area well, you can always find a place to go for a bit of peace and quiet. It was a beautifully warm and sunny day yesterday... my neighbour was even sunbathing in her garden when I left! ... Maybe I should have been sat in my garden (it's a real sun-trap), but having a peculiar tendency to "do different"...I headed out to the coldest, windiest and most exposed place I could think of!!!! ha ha. Drove up over the wee back roads around Aylth and up to a remote wind farm. It's a stunning location and I have been a few times.. the most memorable was during the winter when the entire place was coated in thick ice. Felt (and looked!) like the Arctic!!
I had remembered to take my binoculars this time...was determined to spot some red grouse, and wasn't disappointed. :O) There were loads of small copper butterflies (think that's what they were). They are such strong fliers...the wind was no match for them! Loads of roe deer, curlew, skylarks, buzzards, and even tadpoles in the shallow pools! Wonderful! When you get to the top of the hill, there is a 360 degree uninterupted view of all of the surrounding hills and mountains in Fife, Angus and Perthshire.
With a refreshed spirit, I headed on down and off to have a pot of tea at the Glenshee Pottery. Had to wait a wee while for it as their kettle boils on an AGA so had a look around their craft shop and treated myself to some local honey with Edradour whisky added.
I shouldn't really have gone the long way around (too much for me) but it was such a stunningly beautiful day that I decided to drive home via the wee roads above the A9. Always a joy! One of my favourite animals are hares, and I was determined to see one on the way home. I know they are around locally but so far this year haven't seen any. Spent the afternoon driving at 10-25mph with the windows down enjoying the sunshine and seeing all the sites you miss when you are driving at a normal speed.... red squirrels, roe deer with young, leaping lambs, colourful jays, partridges doing what partridges do at this time of the year, and .... last but not least.... 23 hares!!!! Yippee!! One of them was a young leveret, sitting very close to the road. Through binoculars he was so close I could see the sunlight glinting off water droplets on his ears!! … Magical!!
It’s days like these that renew the spirit and cleanse the soul!! :O)
Comments (11)
but very pleased to see you are in the pink again ...
... Actually I am in the "Medium Violet Red"
So happy to hear you're feeling much better .. take good care
Glad you enjoyed my ramblings
I am glad your back in high spirits!
I hope you stay that way for a long time.
Our Tulip festivals and shows are a bit late this year due to the cold, but will soon be in bloom...you could always 'hop over the pond'...
Thanks