north by northwest

THE ISLE OF MAY is the Jewel of the Firth of Forth.
but this is what i am NOT posting about yet.
too much to say about the 45,000 nesting pairs of puffins we saw in addition to thousands of kittiwakes, shags, fulmar, razorbills, terns and guillemots. it is a stunning salute to water bird life (in spite of the fact that dozens of terns attacked us as we got off the boat onto the island and one guy's bald pate was bloodied - it was worth it!).

it was hard leaving Crail of which we'd grown very fond.
we headed north to Perth, a city that many Scots adore, and we liked it fine but found it challenging to get a really good feeling for the place in the rain.
we are troopers. really we are. and we have made the best of a lot of wet.
we found a tiny COFFEE BEAN ROASTER there and John turned us on to some CUBAN beans that were positively rocking. caffeine can really improve a rainy day. plus, the thing about rain here is - it doesn't usually last. not all day. it rains on and off. and on again.
we picked up the TAY River around Newburgh and ended up in DUNKELD.
i am voting DUNKELD my own personal jewel of Scotland thus far.
we stayed at the Atholl Arms Hotel and i sang a few songs at the Taybank, a lovely pub.

LADY OF THE LOCH is the oldest osprey in the UK? or maybe in the universe? that is still laying eggs and hatching chicks. she is 26 years old and looking GREAT. she has one chick in the nest and the dad flies in with fish for feeding on a regular basis.
we rushed out to the hides (little shacks designed for watching) the night we arrived and spent time there the next day too before we drove to Inverness.  there is a webcam that i find riveting. http://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/wildlife-webcams/loch-of-lowes/#

while i was watching the webcam, there was a disturbance. the mom kept shifting and shifting until she partially stood up and the baby's speckled ass moved sideways. suddenly, a quick muddy spurt shot over the edge of the nest and out into the night. complete in the matter of seconds, perfect projectile pooping, then the chick hunkered down beneath mom who adjusted and adjusted until all that could be seen was a tiny hem of speckled fluff. nature is astonishing. consider me amazed.

leaving Crail

Perth's secret coffee roaster

 

Monart glass, circa 1922 (perth museum)

 

abstract pavers

Atholl Arms Hotel, Dunkeld - patio tile

 

wet little lane

 

  

pinknesses

 

lonely boat

 

duck's picnic

window glass