From the flowerbeds outside the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh. The yellow flowers are some species of barrenworts: not native plants anywhere in Britain, and presumably at one time thought to be a cure for human infertility. I wonder who selected them for these flower beds, and why.
There haven’t been many spring fungi this year, or at least I haven’t noticed very many. One exception was these oyster fungi on a pile of felled logs.
More from Mugdock Country Park north of Glasgow, or rather the view looking out from the park’s main car parking area. In the distance, the Campsie Fells, intermittently showing behind the trees in the nearest fields and the power lines.
One striking feature of the Scottish woodland was the lichens which were everywhere, in forms I don’t remember ever having seen anywhere else. They were IDed by iNaturalist as pelt lichens, these specifically as dog pelt lichens. The site also claimed that they were quite common, and that several different species of this type were likely in the area.
Mugdock Country Park is in the countryside on the northern edge of the Glasgow conurbation: on the edge of Milngavie, the last stop on the local rail line running north through the Glasgow conurbation.
It’s got the remains of a medieval castle, and a second set of romantic ruins called Craigend Castle, actually built in the nineteenth century and the home of series of Glasgow merchants and industrialists, later a zoo, now defunct.
It’s also got extensive woodland, with Mugdock Loch, an extensive network of footpaths, and good car parks. So it’s popular with walkers, joggers, cyclists, dog owners and more (orienteering groups by the coachload the day these pictures were taken).
The most interesting birds on the loch were a couple of goldeneye, but they were too far away even for a record shot. This heron wasn’t that much nearer – in the reed bed on the right in the second picture. But the combination of much bigger bird plus powerful zoom lens made all the difference.
Two toads busy mating in the middle of the main footpath through Baggeridge Country Park. Although the spot was roughly half way between the car parks at Baggeridge ant at Himley Hall, the path is usually fairly busy with walkers, joggers, the occasional cyclist and plenty of dogs off the lead. The toads weren’t taking any notice.