It's cold enough for the sand on the beach to freeze.
This morning only the resident dog owners are out and about. The student runners are presumably staying inside in the warmth.
Despite the weather the Golf Academy is busy. A surprising number of folks take a couple of days lessons ahead of playing the Old Course to make sure they don't commit any fairways faux pas. American golf enthusiasts are already returning. I'm guessing the ones queueing up this morning are parents of students. You'd need to be really really keen on the game to want to play golf in Scotland in January. There again if you come from Minneapolis you probably think the weather here is positively balmy - https://standrews.com/academy/golf-lessons
The harbour has frozen. Great sheets of ice line the banks of the river that flows through it. We stop on the bridge and laugh at the inelegant antics of the herring gulls and ducks as they attempt landings and take offs in these slippery conditions.
We spend a full ten minutes watching a heron hop from boat to boat to avoid the frozen water. Staff heading off to work in the Marine Laboratory pause and look to see what's attracted our attention. The heron finally finds a sunny spot on the wheelhouse of a yacht. This is where it settles down. The intelligence of herons should not be underestimated.
A large flatbed truck is waiting at the quayside with its engine running. The steel gates that control the water levels in the harbour are being taken to Wales where there is a specialist in lock gate repairs. You'd think that there might be a local firm who could do it - but then what do I know about lock gates ? The driver is waiting for a police escort to clear the traffic. There is a large sign at the back saying ' Abnormal Load'. Oddly, there isn't a similar one on the front. This is where you'd think it would be needed.
Tail wagging:https://www.science.org/content/article/what-does-your-dog-s-tail-wag-really-mean
A corollary to our morning walk on the sand :https://nautil.us/beaches-are-blankets-of-fish-poop-487558/
Woodpecker concussion :https://pubs.aip.org/physicstoday/article/77/1/54/2930559/Why-woodpeckers-don-t-get-concussionsContrary-to
10 comments:
This is not good weather for arthritic Labradors.
Hari OM
...or arthritic peeps, for that matter. Though am surprised the sub-zeroes are not affecting me as badly as I expected. Could be due to going Michelin Man with all the shawls and beanies...Gotta say I favour the crisp clear over the damp drear. YAM xx
The Canal and River Trust, has a lock gate workshop
https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/specialist-teams/engineering/building-lock-gates
https://youtu.be/4uDDqtLs34E?si=2vxhjnMfwgOdK9H9
And the guys from Foxes Afloat now live in Scotland.
I had a couple arthritic Labs and even though their mobility was challenged, their love of life was always there.
So is there a temporary coffer dam holding up the water in the harbour or are all those boats now subjected to the full range of the tides?
How nice to see Archie. That's a beautiful glow of sunrise reflected on the sand.
Archie is a very handsome fellow! That sunrise looks like a volcano erupting.
Your photos are extraordinary. The second one reminds me of a painting I have by a Japanese artist seeking to depict the beginning of our world. And seeing Archie today was extra fun.
Archie reminds me of our late lamented Gus.
Running fingers through fine sand won't hold the same attraction now for many people
My brother had a lovely black Lab named George and drove him all the way from New Jersey to Florida for a big family get together one year. George was already quite old then and this picture of Archie reminds me very much of George's trip to Vero Beach.
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