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Photography Group One 1st May 2024
Ten of us met at the roadside Car Park in Finstown on a day with little wind and some low cloud but with the sun trying to get through. We set off to the Community Garden where we found lots of lovely colourful flowers out as well as tree buds bursting forth. The Burn was a great source of images.
Jocky Wood was painting a new picnic bench with the appropriately titled Wood Stain! He does a great deal of the work on the garden as well as his own just up the hill opposite.
Six of us then headed for Binsgarth Woods.
The track was muddy in places but the spring flowers were out all the way. There was Pink Purselaine, Wild Garlic, Wood Anemone, and the invasive Salmon Berry. Since the tree leaves were not blanketing the light, one was able to get good photos close up. The Burn had lots of interesting tree roots and hanging tyres and ropes from the kids' dare devil antics. Then it was back to the shop for rolls and along to Tom's house for a cuppa and a nice piece of cake. Thank you very much for that Tom and all the stories too.
The next meeting will be going to Westray on Wednesday 29th May for the day. Arrangement will be made nearer the time.
All in all a lovely morning, taking time to look at the flowers and listen to the Wrens, Willow Warblers, Chaffinches and Robins singing in the woods.
Keep clicking.
Walking Group One 25th April 2024
Five hardy souls collected today at Happy Valley for the first Hill Walk of the year .The temperature was cool with a North Easterly wind blowing and a hint of rain on arrival.
Off we set heading towards Russadale Quarry, spotting a Buzzard on the way.Turning into the footpath we remained sheltered from the wind all the way to the top of the hill.
The sun was out at the Quarry and a Greenshank was feeding at the edge of the Lochan. Then it was up the Peat road to the summit with spectacular views across Stenness and Harray Lochs, plus a view of the Closed Road beyond the Watch Stone. On the other side we looked over the Flow and down towards the Oil Platform and South Ronaldsay
Then it was back down after a stop for a snack and finally a walk around Happy Valley itself. The Daffodils planted by James and others were looking lovely and the Bluebells are days away from opening. Then it was on to a well deserved lunch at the Pier Cafe, having walked 4 miles and gone up 800 feet (and down again )
The next walk will be on Friday 24th May and hopefully more hills and views.
Keep moving.
U3A Botany Group - August 2019
by Peter Slater - 10:03 on 16 August 2019
Six members of the botany group met on the road below Russadale, some of us having previously parked at Happy Valley. We set off up the hill veering to the left onto the track that leads up to the quarry. Although it was late in the season, so that many of the plants were well past their best, there was much to be seen in the botanical line and progress was slow. It is also a lovely area, new to several of us, so we were enjoying the ambiance as well as the great variety of plants. It was warm and sunny, and the clear weather gave a splendid view of both Harray and Stenness lochs as well as the Ness of Brodgar stretching away north-west between them.We were accompanied by a lot of meadow brown butterflies and at least one common blue.
We saw nigh on 50 plant species and, thanks to John Crossley’s tutorial on our previous outing, were even able to identify a few of the grasses and sedges we had a look at, so all in all we listed a good variety. Doubtless there would have been more had we made it to the quarry but time was getting on and we turned back before getting there. We repaired down the hill and refreshed ourselves at Gerry’s ice-cream parlour on the way home. It had been an enjoyable and productive afternoon.
Here, omitting a few doubtful items, is the list of plants we identified: Angelica, Bell heather, Common bent grass, Bird’s-foot trefoil, Bog asphodel, Bush vetch, Butterwort, Cat’s ear, Colt’s-foot, Common lousewort, Common mouse-ear, Common ragwort, Common valerian, Creeping willow, Crested dog’s tail, Daisy, Devil’s bit scabious, Dog rose, Eared willow, Eyebright sp., Field horse tail, Hard fern, Heath woodrush, Lady's mantle, Lesser woodrush, Ling, Marsh horse-tail, Marsh ragwort, Marsh thistle, Meadow vetchling, Meadowsweet, Mouse-ear hawkweed, Primrose, Ragged robin, Red clover, Ribwort plantain, Rowan, Rosebay willowherb , Selfheal, Silverweed, Sneezewort, Sorrel, St John’s-wort sp., Stinging nettle, Tormentil, White clover, Yellow rattle.
Valerian
Bog asphodel
Rosebay willowherb
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