Patterns in the sand

Walking along the beach; a mindfulness walk photographing patterns ....that may well lead to some collagraph prints.

Berneray Beach

A potentially wet day turned into a less wet day. After a meander over to Lochmaddy and a look around the Arts Centre (the café was being redecorated so shut) and an extremely nice cup of coffee with pecan brownie, in the café at the Lochmaddy hotel across the road, we headed north to Berneray. 

The Arts Centre had a couple of exhibitions including the University of the Highlands and Islands BA Fine art degree show as well as one by Fiona Pearson, who lives on Uist. Both well worth seeing. After what has been a relatively quiet couple of months for me art wise, it was good to begin to feel inspired again. 

As we headed to Berneray the weather decided that it wasn't going to do much, so a long walk along a beautiful beach.....

Someone's really enjoying his holiday! 

Sea Gooseberry.

The mountains of Harris in the background.

Clachan Sands and St Kilda View

After botanising a paddle along a Hebridean Beach in glorious sunshine...

Patterns in the sand...

On the way back, being as it was a lovely clear day, we stopped off at the St. Kida viewpoint - so near, and yet so far! One day I'll get there! 

 

Another glorious evening walk - Balranald

After a full morning and afternoon the sun was shining so dinner was going to be a late one after an evening walk.....

The Monachs - nice and clear. 

Mallard chicks.

Mallard chick.

Sunshine.

Oystercatcher chick.

Yellow Flag Iris.

Common Gull chicks.

Evening light....

Ringed Plover fuzz ball. 

Early Marsh-orchid ssp coccinea...and below.

Obviously there were Mountain Pansies...

..and bunnies - so Rocky had to be on the lead! 

The Hebridean Marsh-orchid revisited....

So far on this trip, we haven't seen the abundance of orchids that we did when we visited last year - we are three weeks earlier and it looks like it's been a late spring. So I didn't hold up much hope for seeing the Hebridean Marsh-orchid in flower. But .....

Clachan Sands.

Walking to the site...

Rocky knows the score when plant hunting/photographing and enjoyed the rest!

Hebridean Marsh-orchid.

Identifying the Hebridean Marsh-orchid isn't as easy as you might think, so I have taken advice and the photos are of what we 'think' are Hebridean Marsh. 

To quote from the Wild Guides Britain's Orchids book by Sean Cole and Mike Waller (which is an absolutely superb book and highly recommended):

I quote, 'Hebridean Marsh-orchid Dactylorhiza ebudensis. In 2000, a small population of stocky, richly coloured marsh-orchids on the machair of North Uist (Outer Hebrides) were assigned species rank as Hebridean Marsh-orchid D. ebudensis. However, Bateman (2012) reclassified these orchids as Pugsley's Marsh-orchid D. traunsteinerioides' ssp francis-drucei vaar edudensis.' It gets more complicated - but I'll leave it there. 

Whilst photographing, I spotted the tiny Adder's Tongue Fern.

Then you start looking and there were loads!

And Lesser Clubmoss ...

And Twayblade

What an assemblage of species!