Water of Leith
June 2025 - Regeneration
What weather we’ve had over the last couple of months! The sun has shone, flowers have bloomed early and our bees have filled their honey boxes to the brim! However, the dry spell has held back growth on our lawn which means less mowing on those parts that we choose to keep neat, but there has been an equal lack of development in the parts we hold back for “No mow May.” I noticed elsewhere that while wildflowers emerged in good time, the lack of moisture meant they died off much more quickly and they didn’t hang around for long. Now that some rain has finally come, our un-mown lawn is beginning to take shape with the emergence of gloriously yellow buttercups and lovely orange fox and cubs.
I spent much time on the Water of Leith photographing the river last month. Water levels have been seriously low due to the hot weather and lack of rainfall. Thundering weirs were reduced to just a trickle and wading in wellies meant you could cover parts of the river usually too deep to reach. I assisted the Water of Leith Conservation Trust in leading a two-hour photographic walk along a short, scenic stretch of the river. Joined by 17 participants, we ambled along stopping to photograph historic buildings and structures, flowers, the flowing water and any wildlife that appeared. The challenge to participants was to produce six photographs from the images they took to capture the spirit and essence of the short stretch that we walked. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and I hope they all managed to learn something from the event.
Spring is the time for regeneration and birth. Trees, shrubs and ferns flourish again with vibrant green leaves and blossom. On Dundas where I work, a roe deer doe has been concealing her two fawns in a grass field while she prepares to come into season and mate again. On the loch, the mute swan has given birth to cygnets while its highly-protective partner chases off any geese that dare to stray too close. The greylag and Canada geese have young of their own, as do the mallards and moorhens. Interestingly, the hot and still weather continued to encourage algae to bloom on the water’s surface but it also disappeared as quickly as it came. Around the edges, the rhododendrons and yellow flag irises are in flower giving some lovely reflected colour to the water.
I also made a couple of scouting trips to woodlands; one was a glorious ancient woodland carpeted with bluebells while the other was a small strip which has a wonderful spread of Lily-of-the-valley. Both were refreshing and uplifting to experience and made me think about nature’s regeneration year-on-year and how much one takes its displays throughout the seasons for granted. Enjoy it while you can…
June 2025 - Regeneration
What weather we’ve had over the last couple of months! The sun has shone, flowers have bloomed early and our bees have filled their honey boxes to the brim! However, the dry spell has held back growth on our lawn which means less mowing on those parts that we choose to keep neat, but there has been an equal lack of development in the parts we hold back for “No mow May.” I noticed elsewhere that while wildflowers emerged in good time, the lack of moisture meant they died off much more quickly and they didn’t hang around for long. Now that some rain has finally come, our un-mown lawn is beginning to take shape with the emergence of gloriously yellow buttercups and lovely orange fox and cubs.
I spent much time on the Water of Leith photographing the river last month. Water levels have been seriously low due to the hot weather and lack of rainfall. Thundering weirs were reduced to just a trickle and wading in wellies meant you could cover parts of the river usually too deep to reach. I assisted the Water of Leith Conservation Trust in leading a two-hour photographic walk along a short, scenic stretch of the river. Joined by 17 participants, we ambled along stopping to photograph historic buildings and structures, flowers, the flowing water and any wildlife that appeared. The challenge to participants was to produce six photographs from the images they took to capture the spirit and essence of the short stretch that we walked. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and I hope they all managed to learn something from the event.
Spring is the time for regeneration and birth. Trees, shrubs and ferns flourish again with vibrant green leaves and blossom. On Dundas where I work, a roe deer doe has been concealing her two fawns in a grass field while she prepares to come into season and mate again. On the loch, the mute swan has given birth to cygnets while its highly-protective partner chases off any geese that dare to stray too close. The greylag and Canada geese have young of their own, as do the mallards and moorhens. Interestingly, the hot and still weather continued to encourage algae to bloom on the water’s surface but it also disappeared as quickly as it came. Around the edges, the rhododendrons and yellow flag irises are in flower giving some lovely reflected colour to the water.
I also made a couple of scouting trips to woodlands; one was a glorious ancient woodland carpeted with bluebells while the other was a small strip which has a wonderful spread of Lily-of-the-valley. Both were refreshing and uplifting to experience and made me think about nature’s regeneration year-on-year and how much one takes its displays throughout the seasons for granted. Enjoy it while you can…
