On the beach at Nairn

Gosh that looks like fun.

Can dogs go kiteboarding?

YouTube says yes, but Gail says NO!!!

A bale of straw

It's always fun to visit the beach after a big rain storm. 

You know you'll find all sorts of interesting bits of vegetation swept down the nearby rivers and washed up on the sand, all eminently sniffable. 

But a bale of straw??

Imagine its story. In springtime, a farmer plants seeds in his fields beside the banks of the River Dee. Over the course of the summer, the fresh green barley sprouts out of the bare earth. By August, the landscape is aglow with carpets of ripe golden barley, the whiskered spikes dancing in the breeze. Come harvest, the business end of the barley is separated and dispatched to local whisky distilleries for malting, and the straw is baled up for use as animal bedding and feed. And then along comes a massive storm, the fields flood and the bales of straw are swept up by the river before they can be collected. Most of the bales break up but a few survive the torrent and the waves more or less intact, and here one of them sits on the beach awaiting 'decoration' by the local dog population...

A taste for the maritime

My exciting sea voyage earlier in the week has inspired a maritime-themed Nature Friday post today.

On Tuesday, before the boat trip, I went with Gail and her friend Helen to the delightful Highland village of Plockton. Did you know that Plockton is one of the few places on the west coast of Scotland with a harbour facing east?

What a tranquil spot. Plockton is sheltered from the westerly winds and - also in part thanks to the Gulf Stream - palm trees flourish here along the waters edge. 

A short walk from Plockton takes you down to a secluded 'coral' beach*.

While I tried to run away to sea, Gail was taking pictures of the pretty little shells and coral fragments.

Oh and I caught a rather fine crab, but a certain spoilsport was less than impressed and would not let me bring it home for dinner....

Happy Nature Friday friends. Do you have a yearning for the salt air? 

*Strictly speaking, the fragments on the beach are not coral, but calcified algae, also known as 'maerl'.

An incident on the beach

So Gail and I took a Monday afternoon stroll from home down to the harbour.

When we reached the little rocky beach just inside the harbour wall I surveyed the general scene.

I went for a wee paddle.

Then I spotted something interesting going on just a few yards away.

Guess what happened next?

Hint:

Terrier with a high degree of curiosity + terrier who loves digging = Naughty Nobby???

Gail says: Fortunately all three kids found it highly amusing when Nobby, ignoring my calls, bolted across to them and clambered all over the poor lad being buried while kicking sand in his face... 

PS We are driving down to England today, for a ten day visit to various friends and relatives. It will be Nobby's first time away (apart from going to Torridon) and a big test of his social skills... While in England, Nobby will be attending a Very Special Event, and on the way back we will be visiting a Very Special Blog Pal. Watch this space!