Wall Garden Perth

A week of unusually high temperatures and suddenly growth springs from everywhere like these flowering plants on a wall in a Perth car park. Enjoyable to see had they been growing at ground level a council worker would have finished them off with a tidy spray of herbicide.

Wall Garden.

St Andrews Botanic Gardens North Fife

Last weekend I spent some time enjoying the glasshouses in St Andrews Botanical Gardens, as the year develops the displays will become more and more abundant. Well worth a visit for an exotic and relaxed time.

St Andrews Botanic Garden.

Peace Garden

There wasn't much to see outside, trees, shrubs and plants yet to come into leaf and flower. Inside the glass houses is another story.

Cyphomandra betacea, Tree Tomato from the Andes, widely cultivated eaten as is or used in preserves chutneys and curries.

Amaryllis lily or March lily.

Trachycarpus fortunei (Chusan Palm, Windmill Palm or Chinese Windmill Palm) is a palm native to central China, A mass of male flowers.

Zantedeschia aethiopica (common names Lily of the Nile, Calla lily, Easter lily, Arum lily, Varkoor, an Afrikaans name meaning pig's ear.

Fife Coastal Path North Fife

At last it's complete. Fife Coastal Path reaches destination. I live along this last part of the pathway and over the coming years I intend to walk it all.

                                          FIFE TODAY

Completion of Fife coastal path.

Published on Tuesday 13 March 2012 12:30

THE Fife Coastal Path is now the longest continuous coastal path in Scotland, stretching from Kincardine Bridge at the Kingdom’s western boundary to Newburgh in the north.

The path, which previously terminated at the Tay Bridge, has been extended by 16.5 miles along the River Tay estuary to Newburgh.

Now, at 117 miles, not only is the path Scotland’s longest, it is the country’s oldest and most popular coastal walk.

Fife Coast and Countryside Trust has led the negotiations with local landowners to bring about the extended route.

The recent inclusion of the Tay Bridge to Newburgh stretch has seen Fife Coastal Path waymarkers put in place to help guide walkers through the sparsely populated north coast of Fife.

The extension follows the River Tay as well as taking to higher ground at some points allowing some amazing views over Scotland’s longest and the largest volume river in the UK.

The path makes its way through a landscape steeped in historic landmarks such as Iron Age hill forts and ruined abbeys.

BIRTHPLACE

Walkers are guided past Wormit and Balmerino through a backdrop of forestry and farmland before reaching Newburgh, home to Lindores Abbey, argued to be the birthplace of whisky – it documents the earliest record of the drinks production.

Amanda McFarlane, FCCT chief executive, said: “The addition of the northern extension to the path is a great achievement for the trust – it is the completion of a long-held ambition to deliver a coastal walk that starts and finishes at the Kingdom’s borders.

ENTHUSIASM

“We would also like to thank all the landowners for their help and support, without them, the extension would not be possible.

“It has taken several years of work to achieve the northern extension and we would like to thank partners and businesses for their support and enthusiasm.

“The Fife Coastal Path has been voted one of Scotland’s Great Trails and Fife has been recorded as the top destination for outdoor tourism for the past four years – the extended route will add to the region’s attractions and will have a positive impact on the local economy.”

Peter Rawcliffe, who works for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and chairs the national project it has established to help develop and promote Scotland’s Great Trails, said: “The development of a path which runs the length of Fife’s coast is a significant achievement and one which will deliver fantastic opportunities for local people and visitors to enjoy the unique countryside and wildlife of the area.

“The Fife Coastal Path is an outstanding example of one of the many great trails Scotland has to offer, and the development and promotion of these trails is crucial for the wider ambitions of developing a network of trails for the benefit of Scotland’s people and its visitors.”

All rights reserved © 2012 Johnston Publishing Ltd.

St Andrews on St Patrick's Day North Fife

St Andrews Castle at low tide.

St Andrews Harbour, working boats mainly for crabs.

Meanwhile over the seawall another fisher is at work.

Ready to pounce.

What looked to be like a school visit from afar to St Andrews being piped along the quay.

I couldn't do a post without a shot of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club House

Newburgh March 12th & 14th North Fife

Sundown March 12th Newburgh.

Low water riverside Newburgh North Fife, thick rich mud in slack water.

View over Mugdrum Island and reed beds.

Pinkfoot Geese enjoying winter sown barley at Logie Farm North Fife.

Tayview 10th & 11th March North Fife

Pinkfoot Geese milling about over the river Tay on the 10 March.

Tayview 11th March a wonderful sunny day, warm too.

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Tayviews 4th March North Fife

Cloud blanket over Dundee and The River Tay 4th march.

Looking to the West, another glorious sunset, the adage "red sky at night shepherds delight" rings true, today was a wonderful sunlit day with only occasional cloudiness. The solar panels on the roof earned £6-64, saved 7.831 kg of carbon emission through production of 15.356 kWh of free electricity.

Phones4u St andrews North Fife

I had time to kill in St Andrews and wandered about noticing the throngs of visitors of many nationalities some of whom will have been students at the world famous university. Popped into this shop for a gander.

Phones4u shop St Andrews at 114, Market street,KY16 9PB.

Approached by a delightful lass Zara Duthie who went through her sales pitch which took into account of my phone and internet connectivity requirements.

Zara looking happy having made a sale.

Samsung Galaxy S5830GSM all singing/dancing smart phone using Android operating system is what I walked away with. It remains to be seen whether this was wise decision.

His Holiness 17th Karmapa performs the "Go-Ma" sacred Dance.

His Holiness Karmapa performed the "Go-Ma" sacred Dance during "Gutor" events in Bodhgaya, India on February 20th.

The Black Hat dance is an elaborate ritual that took many days to perform in Tibet. The purpose of the ritual is to eliminate the obstacles, which in the individual are the afflictive emotions and misconceptions that cause sufferings. At the beginning of the dance, the Black Hat Dancers make symbolic offerings of Gold Libation (tea) to the lineage Lamas, Tutelary deities (different forms of the Buddha) and Dharmapalas (truth protectors), in order to please them and receive their blessings.
As stated in the Vinaya, code of monastic ethics, the robes of ordination serve as a reminder that the person wearing them is fully ordained monk. In a similar manner, the Black Hat costume is worn by some Tantric practitioners to maintain the clarity and pride of arising in the wrathful aspect of a tantric deity. This divine confidence or pride serves a special funtion for the exclusive path of Tantra. The Black Hat dancers apply protective substances on their cheeks and forehead which give them the wrathful appearance of wrath. They exhibit this fierce aspect in order to tame the minds of sentient beings afflicted by such negative emotions of hatred, greed, and ignorance. They are not motivated by anger, but by the supreme love and compassion.