Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween Newburgh North Fife

Halloween Newburgh North Fife, outside the Abbey Inn the first customer sits in waiting.
The Table is set, this was actually Saturday last when many entered into the spirit of things as well as spirit entering them. A good time was had by all.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Sunset Newburgh North Fife Oct 2012

Newburgh North Fife Riverside October 29th. The nights are drawing in, a visit to the River Tayside on the way home is often rewarded with these quite beautiful views, I never tire of them.
Sunset Newburgh North Fife.
Looking East was the part occluded full moon.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Cloud over North Fife 26th October

Standing wave clouds over North Fife, strong North by North East winds bringing a blast of cold Arctic temperatures. They appear like flying saucers except they remain in place.
Where stable moist air flows over a mountain or a range of mountains, a series of large-scale standing waves may form on the downwind side. If the temperature at the crest of the wave drops to the dew point, moisture in the air may condense to form lenticular clouds. As the moist air moves back down into the trough of the wave, the cloud may evaporate back into vapor. Under certain conditions, long strings of lenticular clouds can form near the crest of each successive wave, creating a formation known as a "wave cloud." The wave systems cause large vertical air movements and so enough water vapor may condense to produce precipitation. The clouds have been mistaken for UFOs (or "visual cover" for UFOs) because these clouds have a characteristic lens appearance and smooth saucer-like shape.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Riverside Newburgh October 23rd 2012

Riverside Newburgh North Fife, a dreich day (damp & cold), still and murky, how different from 3 days ago.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Sunset North Fife October 21st

Almost 1st quarter Moon over East Lomond North Fife.
Setting Sun from Banklands Newburgh.
And then it had nearly gone, Ahhh

Newburgh Riverside October 20th 2012

Riverside Newburgh North Fife 20th October, a lovely tranquil day with a wonderful sky.

Apple Day Monimail North Fife

Apple Day Monimail North Fife. They had a fantastic fun range of apple and autumnal related activities for you to get involved in, suitable for the whole family. They were excited to welcome two apple and orchard experts along to the event who gave talks and tours: Andrew Lear, AppleTreeMan Nurseries - Apple Identification, Propagation, Orchard Care and more Crispin Hayes, Eco-Consultant - Orchards in North Fife and Carse O’ Gowrie Other activities included… Fruit Picking, Apple Tasting, Apple Pressing, Cider Making, Preserving and Storing the harvest, Seed Saving, Orchard Tour, Apple Crafts and Games, They ran an apple themed cafĂ© with soup, cakes and more. The apple juice was delicious.
Andrew Lear of AppleTreeMan Nurseries explaining apple and pear identification with scores of examples.
See more.
Fabulous organically grown apples at Monimail.
Leeks & beetroot. The ancient walled garden, resurrected and worked by the small community that have lived there for the last 30 odd years provides superb vegetables mindfully cultivated in a sustainable way. If you're a veggie, then you'll be in heaven.
Meanwhile Monimail Tower gets a face lift.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Monimail Tower Project

Monimail Tower Project. Click to enlarge tomorrow is the an event well worth visiting. Monimail lies between Collessie and Letham. Autumnal Apple Day...October 21st 211am till 4pm. Previous posts

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Tayview North Fife October 18th 2012

Same view as yesterday except it wasn't raining.
Looking North over the River Tay, still rain about but not falling on North Fife.
Water sodden fields at Parkhill Farm Newburgh North Fife. There was a window of opportunity recently whereby the harvest was mostly finished, alas the acres of potatoes in the middle fields here are blighted, lost and will be ploughed in. It doesn't rain but it pours.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Tayview 17th October 2012

Tayview October 17th North Fife. I imagine everyone is getting a wee bit fed up the constant rainfall, again the roads are awash and the fields sodden.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

River Tay Skies October 2012

Like a mushroom cloud over Dundee, non nuclear of course, just play of the rain.
River Tay sky yesterday.

Monday, October 15, 2012

Grapevine North Fife

Very wet grapevine, it has been like that most of the summer, not a single grape. The vine trails along the front of the house and in a good year produces wonderful white table grapes, shared with the blackbirds who are also fond of the red and black currants. I don't mind too much, we all get fed.

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Narcomania: A Journey Through Britain's Drug World

Narcomania: A Journey Through Britain's Drug World. Narcomania is a timely, gripping and informative investigation of drugs in the UK. Looking at the dealers, the users, the police and the politicians, the book charts how consumption and markets have fragmented and changed over the last decade; follows the money to reveal where Britain's licit and illicit economies overlap; explains where each of the major recreational drugs comes from; and maps which drugs are popular in different parts of the country. It will explode many of the myths and misconceptions about drug use, and tap into fraught debates about how politicians, parents and police should respond. In the wake of the internet boom, globalisation and a decade of decadence, Britain sits at a crossroads in the legalisation-versus-intolerance debate. While other nations have succeeded with progressive experiments, inertia and self-contradiction define British drug policy to the detriment of everyone except the criminal underworld. Unsurprisingly, in the light of this book, our politicians are confused about what will please or displease the all-important middle class electorate. Equally unsurprisingly, however, so much myth and confusion surrounds the subject that clarity must be brought to chaos if the wisdom of the crowd is ever to surface... If you have teenage children or opinionated friends then it's as well to be informed. A great deal of view is cultural. Who was it that once said "let them eat them cake"? Anyone at the sharp end of drug use and that's nearly everyone would benefit from being informed. RRP: £12.99 Price: £8.79 & Free Delivery with Amazon Prime You Save: £4.20 (32%) Buy here. Narcomania: A Journey Through Britain's Drug World

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Rain North Fife

Rain North Fife, It rained heavily again last night, as a consequence the run off from the fields washed onto and across roads streaming to the lower fields. Recently cultivated and sown fields suffered considerable loss of topsoil and with it the grain. What it is to be a farmer and see your work and land go down the drain.

Friday, October 12, 2012

Ducks North Fife 2012

Mostly Swedish Blue Duck, not pure bred. Ducks are amazing birds, the drakes are very rampant and if they can get their way, they do. The results are quite amazing with genetic qualities of parentage showing through. We have 9 ducks and 1 drake, he is mainly a caller, smallish, noisy and flies with ease. He manages to mount the ducks but has a hard time with the Indian runners with longer necks. To put you in the picture, the drake mounts the duck holding her head down in its bill, she in turn offers her rear end only he can't always reach. It takes a lot of attempts and if they are on water the duck is sometimes drowned. Randy, we all know the mating imperative, ducks have it big style, hence the mixtures that result.
Mallard Cross, both of these ducks are 4 months old and will be laying eggs in the new year.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Tayview 9th October 2012

Tayview 9th October North Fife. Same place as many times before but with totally different light. The night before there was an amazing solar storm giving rise to the so called northern lights, ( aurora borealis ) I looked and looked again through the night of the 9th, too much cloud, such is life, not everything works out. mmmmm Tonight might be different of course.

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

James Oswald North Fife

James Oswald, brother to Peter Oswald, well known playwright and Alice Oswald renowned Poet. A literary Family.
James Oswald on his farm today in North Fife.
Natural Causes has made a spectacular success as an e-book having been rejected by traditional publishers. Two of his other crime thrillers have been bought by a German publisher recognising a good thing when they see it. There is talk of a film being made. Natural Causes (The Inspector McLean Mysteries) [Kindle Edition] The body of a young woman is found walled up in the basement of an old Edinburgh mansion. A prominent local figure is brutally murdered. An illegal immigrant cuts his throat in a city centre pub. As violence descends upon the city, Detective Inspector McLean must think the unthinkable. An ancient evil has been freed, and only if he accepts that it can exist will he be able to stop it. ---- When Edinburgh police find the killer of a prominent city elder less than twenty-four hours after the crime, they are justifiably pleased. So the murderer has killed himself; that just saves the time and cost of a trial. But a second murder days later bears haunting similarities to the first, even though once more the murderer swiftly confesses and kills himself. Detective Inspector Anthony McLean is investigating the discovery of a dead girl, walled up in the basement of an old Edinburgh mansion. She has been brutally murdered, her internal organs removed and placed around her in six preserving jars. The evidence suggests this all happened over sixty years ago, an attempt to re-enact an ancient ceremony that by trapping a demon in the dead girl’s body would supposedly confer immortality on the six men who took one of her organs each. McLean’s grandmother – the woman who raised him after his parents were killed when he was a young boy – dies after months in a coma following a stroke. On top of this he has to investigate a series of unusual, violent suicides and a cat-burglar who targets the homes of the recently dead. But as another prominent Edinburgh businessman is killed, he begins to suspect that there may be a connection between the murders, the suicides and the ritual killing of the girl found in the basement. The same names keep cropping up. He just can’t find a rational explanation as to how that connection works. As he digs deeper, and as the coincidences stack up, McLean is forced to consider an irrational explanation. Could there really be something evil stalking the city he has sworn to protect? And if so, how on earth can he hope to stop it? For Book or Kindle, click here.Natural Causes

Mackerel Sky North Fife

Mackerel Sky North Fife, as you might have noticed if I'm not looking down, I'm looking up. Today a wonderful display of these clouds. Mackerel skies are spoken of in the popular bywords, "Mackerel in the sky, three days dry," "Mackerel sky, mackerel sky. Never long wet and never long dry," and the nautical weather rhyme, "Mare's tails and mackerel scales / Make tall ships carry low sails." The phrase 'mackerel sky' came from the fact that it looks similar to the markings of an adult king mackerel. A mackerel sky or buttermilk sky is an indicator of moisture (the cloud) and instability (the cirrus-cumulus form) at intermediate levels (2400–6100 m, 8000-20,000 ft). If the lower atmosphere is stable and no moist air moves in, the weather will most likely remain dry. However, moisture at lower levels combined with surface temperature instability can lead to rainshowers or thunderstorms should the rising moist air reach this layer. In the winter it is often said to precede snowstorms and flurries.

Monday, October 08, 2012

Oilseed Rape North Fife 2012

Oilseed rape, a valuable crop used for cooking oils, margarine spreads and increasingly for motor fuel, in Europe a directive. The problem is that the price for food use goes up just to keep our motors less dependant on mineral oil. Ummmm not a good idea.
Oilseed Rape harvest north fife. These fields were spring sown, an usually wet and cold year has held back combining. Wet ground and unequal growth.
Oilseed rape being augered into a waiting trailer.
Earlier this year, a winter sown field. More

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Tayside Cloud Oct 2012

Clouds over North Fife, unlike in built up cities and towns the sky takes on a more prominent aspect wherever I am in a rural situation. I find it almost impossible to not notice the juxtaposition of land and sky, pictorially.