I licked a jellyfish...

It took us (that's Kirsty, Gail and myself) FOREVER to reach the beach at St Cyrus on Wednesday.

I know this is a Nature Friday post and all that, and perhaps I should apologise in advance to blog hop hosts the LLB Gang for saying the following, but really, why would anyone stop for AGES AND AGES identifying every single flower on the path down the cliffs when a glorious, empty and expansive beach, where a puppy is allowed to roam free, lies in wait?

Well eventually, after Gail had taken photos of the scarlet pimpernel, the bellflower, the sea storksbill and the meadow saxifrage (and several other plants not pictured above), we reached the sands. 

It didn't take me long to spot something interesting and before spoilsport Gail could sprint over to drag me away I managed a tasty lick of stranded jellyfish.....

A few minutes later as we walked back through the sand dunes I started feeling a bit funny and developed a strong urge to eat the grasses Kirsty was seeking to identify. 

When Gail and Kirsty stopped for a picnic and offered me a bowl of water I drank and drank and drank, then vomited a slimy mass of grass onto the otherwise lovely, speedwell-flecked meadow.

Kirsty, a retired vet, attributed my sudden nausea to the jellyfish licking incident and Gail confidently predicted I would throw up again in the car on the way home. 

Which I didn't, by the way, and was fine thereafter too. 

Oh, Gail is telling me my Nature Friday readers did not come here to learn all about my "misadventures with marine life" (or, as I would prefer to put it, my continuing open-ness to interesting  and novel taste experiences). She is suggesting I post a photo of the  ladybird we saw perched on one of the flowers. So here it is. 

Celtman - an alternative course?

When Gail and I arrived in Torridon village on Friday evening we found the place a-buzz with camper vans, tents, and lithe and muscular humans, all assembled for the annual 'Celtman' extreme triathlon, to take place the following day.  

It so happened that the route of our walk on Saturday afternoon coincided with a section of the final leg of the triathlon. 

When I asked Gail why she had suddenly clamped on my lead she replied that if contestants had started the day at 4 am by swimming 3.4 km across Loch Torridon (c.11ºC), then cycled a hilly 200 km in rain and a gale force wind, and were now nearing the end of an even hillier 42 km run, they probably didn't want to be subjected to an enthusiastic terrier-style greeting (which may or may not involve some nipping at exposed calves).

  

I wondered why Gail wasn't taking part - after all she cycles and goes swimming regularly, and appears to want to sprint after me in the park sometimes. Well you won't believe this, but she blamed me for her not entering the event. Well, me, and the fact that café stops along the route did not seem to be part of the arrangements...

It got me thinking. Perhaps we should organise our own 'Nobby and Gail friendly' event. 'Celtdog: the less Xtreme Triathlon' would be a good name. Here's my proposed programme. 

1. THE SWIM: The human swims across the little bay (Òb a' Bràighe) just close to our cottage, with the dog barking encouragement from the shore. I believe the distance in the water is about 250 m. After the swim the human has a hot shower and a mug of hot chocolate while the dog replenishes his energy with bowl of dog biscuits. If the weather is really horrid, or the jellyfish too abundant, the human is allowed to paddle around the edge of the bay.

2. THE BICYCLE RIDE: The route goes from our cottage to the nearest café. The café is in Torridon village, a distance of 5 miles (8 km). The dog may either run along side or be transported in a basket attached to the handlebars or in a separate trailer. The human is permitted to dismount and push on the steeper sections. A suitable handicapping system will be devised based on breed of dog and subtly weighted in favour of fox terriers... The destination café is to serve the human with tea and large slices of cake, but only dog-friendly cakes are permitted as licking the plate will be encouraged. 

3. THE RUN: Or walk. Along the shore path at the head of Loch Torridon then and a short distance on the road to end up in the very superior Torridon Hotel. Distance c. 2 miles, elevation gain < 10 m. On arrival at the hotel, participants - both human and canine - will be offered an unlimited selection from the restaurant menu, then can recuperate at their leisure in one of the luxury bedroom suites. The hotel's absurd restrictions on canine visitors will of course be suspended for the duration of the event.

Do we have any takers? 

Respecting the autumn crocuses. Or not.

Here I am, on the weekend of the autumn equinox, at my favourite spot in our Torridon garden, admiring the delicate autumn crocuses. 

Gail tells me that the ashes of my predecessor-but-one, Hamish the Westie, are buried under the crocuses, and so she's pleased I am showing this spot due respect. 

When alive, Hamish loved to sit here, staring out at the water and in fact failing entirely to respect these lovely mauve blooms. Gail says he would plonk his sturdy frame right down on top of them if she didn't quickly intervene.

It's so nice to be in Torridon this weekend, enjoying perhaps the final few days of our spell of warm, sunny weather. Our little corner of paradise seems lovelier than ever just now, after last week's trip down to Ayrshire for the agility show. In the interests of openness and transparency, I must tell you that, although immediate environs of the event and the park where we found YAM-aunty were pleasant enough, the town of Ayr itself is now close to the head of Gail's list of 'most dismal places in Scotland', vying for top spot with Wick in the far north-east and assorted rather dreary satellite towns surrounding Glasgow in the Central Belt.

Back to Torridon. The leaves are starting to turn and the summer swarms of jellyfish have departed from the little beach near the cottage, so one no longer has to watch carefully where one treads at low tide! 

PS Do join us on Thursday, when I will be helping Gail celebrate a very special 25th anniversary. Can you guess what it is?