Fox and cubs
August 2025 - All summer long
More excellent weather last month brought on the summer flowers and blossoms. I haven’t known such a long burst of sun and hot temperatures like we’ve witnessed this year; it seems to have been continuous since April! Consequently, everything appears to be happening just a little earlier than usual; the thistles are now turning to seed and harebells are emerging. The last dry spring caused a ‘false fall’ whereby leaves fell off trees prematurely as a tactic for survival. As I write this, Storm Floris rages outside stripping leaves off trees and I couldn’t help noticing that some of them had already turned yellow well ahead of the autumn.
Our wildflower meadow on the front lawn (which is a continuation from ‘No mow May’) is now all but over. The hawkbits have gone to seed and the orchids have died away. It’s only the fox and cubs that provide any colour and once they die off it will be time to mow the lawn and to allow it to recover. However, it has been astonishing to see how well the flowers have spread year on year.
On the loch at Dundas where I work, the mute swan cygnets continue to grow fast but their parents remain fiercely protective and chase the greylag geese whenever they stray too close. It has been encouraging to see the coots and moorhens produce second clutches of chicks to bolster their populations and the tufted duck chicks continue to do well.
After a day of rain last month, it was interesting to see some fungi spring up from the woodland floor. Fungi usually thrives in autumn but I guess if the conditions are right, they can occur anytime.
As always, the month would not have been complete without a trip down to the Water of Leith. While photographing water burbling around stones, it was fun to watch grey wagtail chicks darting from rock to rock.
By this time next month we shall be moving towards autumn - the season of apples, conkers and golden foliage. How this year has flown when aided by wonderful weather…
August 2025 - All summer long
More excellent weather last month brought on the summer flowers and blossoms. I haven’t known such a long burst of sun and hot temperatures like we’ve witnessed this year; it seems to have been continuous since April! Consequently, everything appears to be happening just a little earlier than usual; the thistles are now turning to seed and harebells are emerging. The last dry spring caused a ‘false fall’ whereby leaves fell off trees prematurely as a tactic for survival. As I write this, Storm Floris rages outside stripping leaves off trees and I couldn’t help noticing that some of them had already turned yellow well ahead of the autumn.
Our wildflower meadow on the front lawn (which is a continuation from ‘No mow May’) is now all but over. The hawkbits have gone to seed and the orchids have died away. It’s only the fox and cubs that provide any colour and once they die off it will be time to mow the lawn and to allow it to recover. However, it has been astonishing to see how well the flowers have spread year on year.
On the loch at Dundas where I work, the mute swan cygnets continue to grow fast but their parents remain fiercely protective and chase the greylag geese whenever they stray too close. It has been encouraging to see the coots and moorhens produce second clutches of chicks to bolster their populations and the tufted duck chicks continue to do well.
After a day of rain last month, it was interesting to see some fungi spring up from the woodland floor. Fungi usually thrives in autumn but I guess if the conditions are right, they can occur anytime.
As always, the month would not have been complete without a trip down to the Water of Leith. While photographing water burbling around stones, it was fun to watch grey wagtail chicks darting from rock to rock.
By this time next month we shall be moving towards autumn - the season of apples, conkers and golden foliage. How this year has flown when aided by wonderful weather…
