One of the things I noticed when I first moved up to Fife, was the lack of the very common flower/weed. ragwort! Personally I don’t mind the plant, it supports a reasonable amount of wildlife, but to farmers. it is a nightmare, as it is poisonous to horses and cattle – however, most horses and […]
An interesting effect of our recent weather, something I’ve not seen before, is the profusion of fungi that are coming up at the end of June/beginning of July. We had a very dry, (76mm of rain over March, April and May (100mm less rain than average), according to the Scottish Environmental Agency) and relatively warm […]
The Covid 19 Flu pandemic has been written about ad nauseam, so I won’t add to it in this post. However, some of the effects of the pandemic are less obvious, such as the cutting of the grass in the local parks around Glenrothes. I hadn’t ever noticed how often the grass was cut, until […]
It has been quite a while since I posted anything on my blog. In the last three years I’ve gone back to school, and have been studying for the above qualifications – which in itself has been an interesting experience, something I will write about over the next few months. Work has included portraiture, product […]
This limestone is found at the base of the Lower Limestone Formation, which was deposited in the Carboniferous (approx 300 to 360 million years ago). Most of the Lower Limestone Formation consists of sandstones, siltstones and mudstones, very similar to the underlying Pathhead Formation, which were deposited in a swamp/deltaic environment (not dissimilar […]
This is brilliant from Kerry (https://chattykerry.wordpress.com/) CAUTION – this post might make you laugh. It’s pretty obvious that the USA is no longer able to deal with a democracy. Fifty percent of the populace thinks the other half is bonkers/loco/crazy and now they are rioting over a legal democratic process that the President Elect assured […]
For those of you like me, who were uncertain as to what and why the recent ‘Supermoon’ occurred, I found this nice infographic from the Forbes website. The moon’s orbit is an ellipse (an uneven circle), and as a result, the distance between the Moon and Earth varies throughout the month and the […]
Calton Hill, at the eastern end of Princes Street in Edinburgh, is surrounded on three sides by Regent Terrace, Calton Terrace and Royal Terrace, the last of these streets is pictured below. It was William Henry Playfair, the renowned Scottish architect, who was responsible for the building of these prestigious streets, with the Royal […]
View from Calton Hill in Edinburgh, with the Dugald Stewart Monument in the foreground, and Edinburgh Castle, the Balmoral Hotel (and clock tower), and the Scott monument in the background. The Dugald Stewart Monument is a memorial to the Scottish philosopher and mathematician, who is best known for popularising the Scottish Enlightenment. The Scottish […]
Have you ever wondered about the different positions in which the sun rises, in say Edinburgh, compared to, for example, Plymouth? Because of the curve of the earth’s surface, us folks north of Hadrian’s Wall get shorter winter days, and longer summer daytime hours, compared with somewhere such as Cornwall/Devon. This can be proved to be […]
Whilst searching the web over the weekend, I discovered the work of Anthony Kurtz. His speciality is environmental portraits, that is, portraits of people taken in their work environment, or just in the places where they live etc. The photographs seem to all have a dark, forboding, moody, gritty feel about them. My […]
As early as 1896, Professor Kennedy (of Messrs Kennedy and Jenkins) proposed a joint venture for both power and tramways in Kirkcaldy. In 1898 he was appointed as consultant engineer, by the newly formed Tramways and Electric Light Committee. His proposal was to build a power staion on Victoria Road, in Kirkcaldy. The main […]
During this summer just gone, we went back down to my home town of Penzance, to stay with my parents for a few days. I got up early one morning, and took my camera out to photograph parts of the town that I had always just taken for granted. Over the next few months I […]
As you know, I don’t normally do link style posts, but I just had to share this amazing blog post by a lass called Justina, on the Bored Panda website. These black and white portraits by Lee Jeffries (500px website), are absolutely out of this world!!!! If only these people could be used in a Film, […]
This wonderful Georgian house in Viewfield Terrace, Dunfermline was built in approx 1808, for James Blackwood, the then Provost of Dunfermline. From 1920-1965, it was used as an art and craft school, under the ownership of the Carnegie Dunfermline Trust, but in 1985 it was converted into flats.
The Galloway Library in Colinsburgh was built in 1903, at the bequest of Thomas Carstairs Galloway, a rich linen merchant, He was born in Kilconquhar, Fife, in 1846, and died at the beginning of the 20th century. He left a large Trust fund to the village. The money from the Trust was to be invested […]
Glenrothes is a ‘new’ town, none of the properties are much older than approx 70 years, with one or two exceptions. Therefore my closest ‘local‘ older houses, are the Greenside Cottages, which face onto Leslie Green. Leslie is a small village to the west of Glenrothes. The Greenside Cottages are also known as Douglas Croft […]
Following a conversation I had with someone on Facebook, I’ve discovered a wee bit of extra information about the top photo on the post “Flying Buttresses of Dunfermline Abbey“, which shows the flying buttresses of the South wall of the Abbey. The extra info is at the bottom of the page 🙂 BTW In […]
01 Downloading and Installing Google Nik Software As I mentioned in my previous post, Google has bought the original Nik software, and as of March 2016, it is now available for free. Which is a wonderful opportunity for amateur and semi professional photographers who are operating on a tight budget. As I heard described recently, […]
Google’s Nik Collection plug-ins are now totally free to download (see link at bottom of page), and will work as a standalone suite of editing tools (albeit, you need to edit one photo at a time). This is great news for anyone who edits their own photographs, especially for those of you like me, who […]
Continuing from my previous 2 posts (Black & White Photos From Pathhead, Kirkcaldy – Part 1 and Part 2), here are the final few photos taken in Kirkcaldy, from the old Nairn Linoleum Works, Kirkcaldy Harbour, and the return up to Pathhead. The first photo shows the large metal floor supports for part of what […]
Continuing from my previous post (Black & White Photos From Pathhead, Kirkcaldy – Part 1), here are a few more photos taken in Kirkcaldy, going along Victoria Rd, and then down Dunnikier Road towards the harbour. The first three photos show an old warehouse or factory (possibly the old Dunnikier Linoleum Works, built some time after […]
Here’s some photos I took a few weeks ago starting at Pathhead, then going along Nairn St and Victoria Rd, and on down to Kirkcaldy Harbour. The first photo shows Pathhead main street, Commercial St, which satisfies my love of old chimneys. The second and third photos are of a small church, built in 1869, tucked away from the main […]
Last week, whilst down in Kirkcaldy doing a wee bit of shopping, I stopped off and took these two photographs of Kirkcaldy Harbour. This once thriving port is now home to one or two fishing boats, and a few pleasure boats. The inner harbour is still used by small merchant vessels collecting flour for export […]
This is a selection of black & white images I took last year of Abbotshall Church in Kirkcaldy, Fife. The images have been edited using two open source pieces of photo editing software, Gimp and Raw Therapee, both of which I recommend to anyone who either can’t afford, or would rather not, pay out the […]
Fred the fush, He had a wush, He wushed that he Wis in the sea, Swimmin wi his mate An haein a yatter, And no on a plate Swimmin in batter! English Version Fred the fish, He had a wish, He wished that he Was in the sea, Swimming with his mate And having […]
This is just a wee post to thank my Mum and Dad for a wonderful weekend in Devon, at a hotel just outside Honiton, to celebrate their Diamond Wedding Anniversary – 60 years of being happily married!!! We all had a wonderful time, it was great to see all the family in one […]
Original There’s a puckle lairds in the auld house wha haud the wa’s thegither: there’s no muckle graith in the auld house nor smeddum aither. It was aince a braw and bauld house and guid for onie weather: kings and lords throng’d in the auld house or it gaed a’smither. There were kings and lords […]
Sodden and sopping Dank, dreich it and still raining Everything dripping!
Over the last few years, we appear to be getting ever increasing numbers of jellyfish getting washed up along Fife’s coastline. The two most common species are the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish and the Moon Jellyfish – these often appear as blue or orange jelly ‘circles‘ on the strand-line of any given beach. Lion’s Mane […]
As part of this weeks Daily Post Photographic Challenge – Circle – I’m posting two photos of the Tyndall-Bruce Monument on Blackhill, in the Lomond Hills. This interesting structure was built to commemorate the life of Onesiphorus Tyndall-Bruce, who married Margaret Stewart Hamilton Bruce (the then Hereditary Keeper of Falkland Palace), in 1828. Having accrued quite substantial […]
Over the next twelve months or so, I will be doing a series of posts under the category “Scottish Poets & Their Poems“. Most of these poems will have an English translation from the Scottish dialect version. Walter Wingate was born on 15th April 1865, in Dalry in Ayrshire (NE Scotland). He was a schoolmaster and […]
This amazing poem comes from an excellent blog by Julie Powell (Julz) – JULIE POWELL – PHOTOGRAPHER & GRAPHIC ARTIST ‘Twas the night before Christmas; there wasn’t a sound. Not a possum was stirring; no-one was around. We’d left on the table some tucker and beer, Hoping that Santa Claus soon would be here; We children were […]
The joy of Christmas, festivity, glee and fun, love and peace for all.
As part of this weeks Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge, I have enclosed seven photos where the focal point of the photograph is at the ‘Centrepoint‘ of the image, and thus breaking the rule of thirds. The three flower photographs, because of their circular nature, make placing them at the centre an obvious choice. The three insect […]
Talking heads near me As art goes, they seem to be, something I can see!
As a very late entry for Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge : Metal & Wood, I’m posting 3 photos taken from the now derelict and fire damaged Leslie House, near Glenrothes. This magnificent building used to be the home of the Dukes of Rothes from 1670, and in it’s prime was said to rival Holyrood Palace […]
Oops!! – this wee burn is beginning to freeze over! Whilst out for a walk on the Lomond Hills, a couple of weekends ago, it got so cold that the wee stream (‘burn’ in Scottish) began to freeze over! (It was partially frozen from the night before.)
As part of “Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge : Metal & Wood“, I’m posting 3 photographs taken in Glenrothes Town Park. This metal sculpture, called ‘Forest Screens’ was designed by the artist Malcolm Robertson in 1987. It was originally placed in the Glenwood Shopping Area, in a part of Glenrothes known as Macedonia, but was later moved to its […]
My final post this week, as part of the Eye Spy theme, for the wordpress photographic challenge, is two photos of actual eyes. The first is a picture of my dog, who loves it when I go to the beach to either take photos, or in this case look at the rocks!
To me, the view through a raindrop is like looking into another world, an upside down world full of curved creatures and plants!
As part of this weeks wordpress photographic challenge, Eye Spy, I’m posting three photos taken in Glenrothes. The first photo comes from Glenrothes Town Park, and shows ‘The Good Samaritan’, a sculpture by Ronald Rae, unveiled in 1988 to mark the 40th anniversary of the town. The sculpture depicts a fireman carrying a victim to safety, […]
The Peacock Butterfly The Peacock Butterfly (so called because of it’s markings, like those on a peacock’s feathers), uses it’s ‘Eye’ Spots to great affect for deterring predators such as birds and mice. When viewed head on, the rear ‘Eye’ spots create a head, with the body appearing as a large beak! The peacock butterfly […]
As part of this weeks ‘Eye Spy‘ Weekly Photo Challenge, here are three photos of the very common and popular foxglove plant. What many people miss though, is the beauty of the individual flowers and their ‘eye’ spots. Just as an extra wee note, did you know that foxgloves will only grow on acid soils […]
After a number of days of heavy rain and general dreich weather, I couldn’t resist posting these three photos taken back in September, during the last days of our summer, as part of this weeks ‘Eye Spy‘ Weekly Photo Challenge. Eye Spy BLUE SKIES!!!!!! 🙂
Rotting and decaying this old log, once new and whole, a long time ago. My first attempt at writing any sort of verse since my school days, many, many moons ago 🙂
As part of “Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge : Buildings & Trees“, I’m posting 8 photographs taken this summer from around southern Fife. Belvedere Hotel – West Wemyss This wonderful old building was built in 1927, and used by the Miners’ Welfare Institute until 1952. It then remained derelict until 1986, when it was converted to […]
Yesterday was St Andrew’s Day, St Andrew is being the patron saint of Scotland. It is celebrated on the 30th November each year and has been made a Bank Holiday by the Scottish Government, since 2006. Unfortunately banks, businesses and schools have not been forced to shut for the day – which means that many […]
My final post for the theme ‘Trios’ (as part of the Weekly Photographic Challenge – Trio), consists of a series of photographs of inanimate objects from in, and around, Fife. The first photo is of three boats on the Firth of Forth.
In response to “Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge – Diagonal Lines“, I’ve enclosed seven photos taken from in, and around Fife. I’ve also posted three extra photos, for Thanksgiving, showing things I am grateful for, about living in Fife. The first of the photos for Cee’s Challenge is of Cramond Harbour, on the outskirts […]
As my penultimate post following the theme of ‘Trios’ from Fife (as part of the Weekly Photographic Challenge – Trio), I am posting two photos. The first is of a ‘trio’ of pine cones, the second is of a ‘trio’ of ferns.
Continuing my theme of ‘Trios’ from Fife, as part of the Weekly Photographic Challenge – Trio, here is four photos of animals & insects in threesomes. The first two photos are of cows (or coos in Scottish!) on a misty summer morning in a field above Glenrothes.
In response to this weeks ‘Weekly Photographic Challenge – Trio‘, I’m posting seven wild flower ‘trios’ all taken around Fife in the last few months. The Iris flower head was growing in the wild, but is a garden escapee.
In response to “Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge – Vertical Lines“, I’ve enclosed seven photos taken yesterday fairly close to home. The first two photos show an old wooden fence at the end of a garden, the third photo another fence adjacent to some garden steps. The fourth and fifth photos caught my eye because […]
As part of this weeks Cee’s Fun Photo Challenge : Orange & Green, I’ve posted eight more photos taken from Balbirnie Park, near Glenrothes. The photographs were all taken just after dawn, at the beginning of this month, on a day which started quite misty (well foggy very first thing – see last photo), […]
In response to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge : Open Topic. I’m posting three photographs of the yachts in the mouth of the River Almond, taken at Cramond Harbour, on the outskirts of Edinburgh.
Today I’m posting a selection of cloudscapes taken over Fife over the last few months. Most were taken looking southwards towards the Firth of Forth, two were taken actually over the Firth (one of which is a rainbow, not a cloudscape).
Following the Scottish ‘Victory‘ over the English in the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, William Wallace was a Scottish hero, and very much sort after by the King of England, Edward I. In 1303, Wallace was meant to have visited St Margaret’s Shrine in Dunfermline, (see Jo’s blog, The Hazel Tree, for an excellent […]
In response to “Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge – Horizontal Line and Horizons“, I’ve enclosed six photos taken over the last few months in and around Fife. The first photo is of an incoming tide on the Firth of Forth, at Blackness Castle in West Lothian.
My final post, for a while, from Balbirnie Park, is of some bracket fungus. Like the lichen, I’m no expert on fungi, so I’m unsure of the genus or species of this particular mushroom.
This photo was taken last spring, in the gardens of Balbirnie House, near Glenrothes. I love the way the sun has really highlighted the vein structure of the leaves (typical leaves from a dicotyledon, as distinct from a monocotyledon that has parallel veins).
Today’s photograph is another from Balbirnie Park, this time a macro style image of a fly (blue bottle?) on a flower spike. I’m normally reasonable at identifying wild flowers, but for the life of me I can’t think what this one is 😦 If anyone knows, please let me know in the comments below 🙂 […]
Continuing my Balbirnie Park theme, whilst continuing to get all my previous posts located on the above menus, I took this photo of the flower head of a Ramsons, in late April this year. Ramsons are part of the major group of flowers called the monocotyledons. ‘Monocots’ are principally distinguished from the other major group […]
As you may well be aware of by now, I’m no expert on lichens, even though I love taking photographs of them. I’m guessing this lichen, which I found growing on a small rotting branch in the woods at Balbirnie House Park, is a member of the Fruticose Cup or Trumpet group of lichens. If anyone […]
Continuing my series of short posts from Balbirnie House Park, nr Glenrothes, here is a couple of photos of peeling tree bark. The first photo is of logs from an ornamental cherry tree, the second photo is from an old silver birch log.
This is a selection of black & white photographs taken in and around Fife, in response to this weeks Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge.
This very plump Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) is a member of the orb weaving group of spiders. It is very easily distinguished by the ‘cross’ markings on its back. The next bit about them (below the photo), is not for the squeamish!! 🙂
Whilst re-organising my blog, I thought I would post a few photos of some flowers and insects, all of which were taken locally in the last few weeks, including this very common, but often much overlooked, daisy.
My apologies to anyone who tries to use the new menu structure at the top of the page. This is a work in progress (should take a couple of days or so), to try to organise my blog posts, to make it easier to locate previous posts on subject matter. I will then be adding […]
Last weekend, on the way back from Edinburgh, we decided to stop off at South Queensferry, in West Lothian. Since I had my camera, I couldn’t resist but to stop and take a few photos of the High Street, and both the Forth Rail Bridge and Forth Road Bridges. All the photos were taken at night, […]
Last month I took a walk down to Glenrothes Town Park, mainly to try to capture some of the Autumn colours in the trees and bushes. But I also wanted to try and take some slightly more unusual shots, and the photos below are from the play park area.
Another of my responses to this weeks’ Weekly Photographic Challenge, I thought I would share the Ultimate Scottish ‘treat‘. Forget the whiskey, the porridge or the haggis. None of that compares to a chilled GLASS BOTTLE of Barr’s Irn Bru!!!!
In response to the Weekly Photographic Challenge this week, the biggest ‘Treat‘ I can have, is to be outdoors, armed with my camera, on a pleasant and warm sunny day. Here are four photographs I took at the very beginning of October, whilst out on a walk from Kirkcaldy to West Wemyss. The first photo was […]
Over the next few weeks, I am considering writing some pages, rather than posts, about the geology of Scotland, and in particular Fife. This set me to thinking, at which point do I start. Do I put in a few pages teaching the very basics of geology, then describe the fundamental rock units that are found […]
After a day of fog and rain yesterday, I thought I’d post a few photographs taken during the summer, of some interesting (to me) Cirrus clouds. All the photo’s are B/W images, which have been edited a wee bit. They were all taken from home.
I headed out yesterday with the intention of catching some more of the fabulous Autumn colours in the foliage that we are getting this year. The weather was still a wee bit sunny, the rest of the week is set to be dreich 😦 But alas, I ended up at Holl Reservoir in the Lomond […]
In response to this weeks photographic challenge, the builders of Dunfermline Abbey were being ‘careful‘ when they built the flying buttresses around both sides of the building.
Whilst photographing the storm clouds at the back of Kirkforthar at the end of August this year, I couldn’t resist stopping for five minutes to take a few photos of these Field Scabious flowers.
After a ten hour round trip yesterday to Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, which ended up being a complete washout with regards to any photography (my own fault, we took the scenic route down there, and arrived 10 mins after they let the last people in 😦 , next time I’ll go via the motorway!), I’ve […]
As part of this weeks ‘Weekly Photo Challenge’ I’m posting a few photographs taken yesterday in Glenrothes Town Park, of some lamp posts!
The Lomond Hills are my ultimate ‘Happy Place‘ in Fife, partly because they are the closest thing to mountains, and partly because the open moorland reminds me so much of West Cornwall.
Last night whilst down at Kirkcaldy beach, I decided to try my hand at some evening/night time photography. The results were fairly pleasing, but I kept things nice and simple by using the ‘monochromatic‘ setting on the camera. The first photograph is taken from the promenade above Kirkcaldy beach, looking almost due south towards Edinburgh. […]
My previous ‘Happy Place’ posts have been actual locations of places that make me happy. But of course, a ‘Happy place‘ maybe a state of mind, and that’s the feeling I get whenever I need to use any of my field guides, or read from a selection of my geology books 🙂
One of the places I really enjoy walking is a smallish circular walk from the Balbirnie Park, nr Glenrothes, through to Markinch, up to Star and Kirkforthar, and back to the back entrance of Balbirnie Park. This would definitely be classed as a ‘Happy Place‘ for me. A few weeks ago, I had decided to do […]
There are many sites in Fife that I would class as a ‘Happy Place‘, places that just relax me totally. One such place is the Balgonie Bleachfield Project just outside Glenrothes.
This is a photo of one the cobbled streets in Culross, Fife. It’s not a selfie, well I guess it is, but thats not the point of interest, the cobbled lane is of far more importance! It shows Back causeway, a late Medieval – Jacobean roadway heading from Culross Town House, or Tolbooth, to the […]
As part of this week’s, Daily Post’s, Weekly Photographic Challenge, Boundaries, here’s another two photos. Both photographs were taken at Blackness Castle on the southern edge of the Firth of Forth at the beginning of September this year. The first image shows the boundaries between the land, the beach, the estuary and the sky.
Another photo from the back of Kinghorn taken late last summer. The view looks out over a field of wheat, with the Firth of Forth in the distance.
I took this photo last summer, just before they put in a cinder path from the East Lomond car park back down towards Glenrothes.
As part of this weeks WordPress Photographic Challenge for the theme “Boundaries“, for many people in the UK, Hadrian’s Wall is one of the most famous boundaries. It marks the divide between the ‘civilised’ English, and the ‘barbaric’ Scots. Okay, that is somewhat exaggerated, but you get the gist of it. Hadrian’s Wall was started […]
Hill of Tarvit mansion was originally built in 1696 by John Wemyss of Unthank possibly using Sir William Bruce as the architect, and was known as Wemyss House. In 1906, Frederick Sharp, a wealthy businessman from Dundee, bought the house and employed Sir Robert Lorrimer, an architect and designer, to completely rebuild and modernise the […]
Boundaries can come in many different forms, walls, hedges, fences, country boundaries, sports field boundaries, the list goes on and on. The two photos below show the boundaries between a clear crisp view of the landscape above Glenrothes, and the early morning mist/fog that had formed in the valley.
For this weeks Weekly Photographic Challenge, the theme is “Boundaries“. Some boundaries are quite obvious, such as these two very old boundary stone walls on the Lomond Hills in Fife.
Finally, some photographs Autumn, that are obviously more typical for the theme ‘Change‘ for last weeks’ Daily Posts – Weekly Photographic Challenge. The first set of photos are of a dog rose, Rosa canina, and it’s associated rose hips (seed pods), taken in Glenrothes park two days ago (more photos to come in another post).
A wee bit late, but here’s a couple more sets of photos for the Weekly Photographic Challenge – Change The first two photos are from a walk I made yesterday, from Ravenscraig Castle (Kirkcaldy) to West Wemyss and back (more photos to come in another post). When I got to Dysart Harbour, the tide was […]
Just to the west of one of the most picturesque villages in Fife, lies Falkland School. The area surrounding the school was once part of the Falkland Estate, and has a few of the remaining architectural features which were built in the 19th century, including this fine bridge, which crosses the Maspie Burn (a small […]
For this weeks “Daily Post – Weekly Photographic Challenge – ‘Change’, I’ve tried to think a wee bit ‘out of the box’, seeing as most people are doing weather and nature as their theme.
Last summer I was down at Seafield Castle beach, just to the south of Kirkcaldy, doing a bit of ‘geologising’, ie looking at the various beds of rock to work out the sedimentary sequences. When I started, it was a beautiful summers day, but little known to me, as I was busy peering at sandstones, […]
I photographed this small clump of lichens on the sides of Falkland Hill last summer. I think this lichen is of the Genus Cladonia (also known as pixie cups, which is a far more magical name!!), but as to the species, that requires an expert. It’s one of the over 1500 different species found in Scotland!! […]
As a bit of a challenge to myself, I took some more photos for the WP Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge – Grid. My own challenge was to allow myself 30 mins to take the photos and edit them – this was my results, a couple of which are pushing it a wee bit to […]
Fife Photos & Art 