Black Orpingtons X

Black Orpingtons X. This wonderful chap fights with his sibling rival and needs to go to another home. Feel free to contact us if you are interested.
Meanwhile the skies above are unusually quiet. Flight activity can be seen real time by clicking here.

Cherry Plum Tree Newburgh

Cherry Plum Tree Whitecraigs Rd, Newburgh, every year there is this wonderful display and today I noticed pollinating insects so perhaps fruit will be in abundance later this year.
Cherry plum (Prunus cerasifera, syn. P. divaricata), also called Myrobalan (plum), is a species of plum native to central and eastern Europe, southwest and central Asia.
It is a large shrub or small tree reaching 6-15 m tall, with deciduous leaves 4-6 cm long. It is one of the first European trees to flower in spring, often starting in mid February; the flowers are white, 1.5-2 cm across, with five petals. The fruit is a drupe 2-3 cm in diameter and yellow or red colour; it is edible, and reaches maturity from mid-August to mid-September.
The fruit can be eaten fresh in some forms, being sweet with a good flavour, while others are sour, but excellent for jam making.
Cherry Plum is a very popular ornamental tree in gardens, grown for its very early flowering. Numerous cultivars have been developed, many of them selected for purple foliage and pink flowers, such as Prunus cerasifera 'Pissardii' and 'Nigra'. These purple-foliage forms also have dark purple fruit, which make an attractive, intensely coloured jam. Others, such as 'Lindsayae', have pale pink flowers and green foliage.
I have a stand in my garden which provide red and yellow fruit, originally grown as rootstock for other plum grafts but left to mature providing profuse yields.

Cherry plum blossom closer in on the same tree.


Ornamental Cherry Blossom in a Newburgh garden.

The Birches, Cupar house for sale.

The Birches, East Road, Cupar for sale.
Offers over £360,000
* Property Type : Semi-detached
* Public Rooms : 2
* Bedrooms : 5
* Bathrooms : 2
* Garden : yes
* Garage : yes
Handsome, traditional stone built semi-detached property situated in sought after location. Full of character and beautifully refurbished the impressive accommodation comprises Entrance Vestibule, Reception Hall, Elegant Sitting/Dining Room, large Conservatory, luxury Kitchen with "Aga", Utility Room, four double Bedrooms, Study/Bedroom 5 and two Bathrooms. Gas central heating. Gardens. Tandem garage. Off-street parking.
Photographs.
Details.
Contact Ref. North Fife Blog.
Murray Donald Drummond Cook
Solicitors and Estate Agents
17-21 Bell Street
St Andrews
Fife
Scotland
KY16 9UR
Tel : 01334 474200
Fax : 01334 476366

E-mail : propertyadmin@mddc.co.uk
Website : www.mddcproperty.co.uk

Hollydene, Freuchie, North Fife, House for sale.

Hollydene, Dykeside, Freuchie house for sale, North Fife.
Offers over £275,000
* Property Type : Semi-detached
* Public Rooms : 3
* Bedrooms : 4
* Bathrooms : 2
* Garden : yes
* Garage : yes

Delightful south west facing semi detached mid 19th century cottage with stunning uninterrupted views over countryside to the Lomond Hills. Bright spacious accommodation comprises entrance porch, sitting room, dining hall, sun room, country style dining kitchen, laundry room, master bedroom with en suite bathroom, three further double bedrooms, shower room, cloakroom and WC. Gas central heating. Partial double and secondary glazing. Integral single garage. Garden. Driveway parking.
Photographs
Contact. Ref, North Fife Blog.
St Andrews Property Department
17-21 Bell Street
St Andrews
Fife
Scotland
KY16 9UR

Property Tel : 01334 474200

Spring Flowers Newburgh North Fife

Cherry Blossom Newburgh North Fife.



Spring Flowers in Newburgh, North Fife. At the East end of the town there is space for a floral display, here now, defunct coble boats once used for salmon fishing are put to use as large planters. Civic pride is in the ascendant and through local initiative Newburgh is looking good all the year round.

Spring North Fife 2010

Spring, It has been a long winter and suddenly with the warmth of the last few days everything is bursting out and quite soon all will be in leaf. A good feeling, as always when the sap rises though today there is a distinct sulphurous atmosphere from the Icelandic volcano eruption.

Cherry Plum, Prunus cerasifera Blossom. We have many in the Garden, they provide a good root stock for grafting other prunus types.

Ash flower buds.

Willow flowers, sometimes called pussy willow, now being visited by bees, butterflies and other insects. Willows are dioecious with male and female flowers appearing as catkins on different plants; the catkins are produced early in the spring, often before the leaves, or as the new leaves open.
The staminate (male) flowers are without either calyx or corolla; they consist simply of stamens, varying in number from two to ten, accompanied by a nectariferous gland and inserted on the base of a scale which is itself borne on the rachis of a drooping raceme called a catkin, or ament. This scale is oval and entire and very hairy. The anthers are rose colored in the bud but orange or purple after the flower opens, they are two-celled and the cells open longitudinally. The filaments are threadlike, usually pale yellow, and often hairy.
The pistillate (female) flowers are also without calyx or corolla; and consist of a single ovary accompanied by a small flat nectar gland and inserted on the base of a scale which is likewise borne on the rachis of a catkin. The ovary is one-celled, the style two-lobed, and the ovules numerous.

Horse chestnut flower bud, yet to reach its full magnificence.

Sea Buckthorn, worth growing for the berries which are medicinal too, make good relishes.

Lesser Celandine is a native perennial common throughout the UK in damp meadows, woods, lawns, hedgebanks and beside streams and ditches. It thrives in nutrient rich soil and is a troublesome garden weed. It is shade tolerant and in woodland lesser celandine forms part of the pre-vernal community. It grows on soils with a pH of 4.4 to 6.9. Growth is poor in dry conditions but the plant dies down in summer and then becomes resistant to drought. It grows in my garden in local woodlands, here photographed on a roadside verge.

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Our home, the Earth is in constant change sometimes unobtrusively, other times with violence. Both are happening the now. Here in North Fife there are the remains of ancient volcanoes, the Lomonds for instance and across the water Dundee Law. Geologically Fife is rich.

"Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes, Third Edition" brings the excitement of an ever-changing field of science to the fore-front. With the increase in natural disasters in recent years, the burgeoning world population is clearly expanding faster than our disaster reduction technology. This new edition provides a single source on historical earthquakes and volcanic eruptions from throughout the world. Updated with the most current information, this illustrated resource includes not only new geologic events, but also as many examples of historical earthquakes as possible for contrast or comparison. Coverage in the Middle East has been significantly expanded to include recent natural disasters, as well as events such as landslides and avalanches. Also, many tables were added to supplement the content and put the recent disasters into historical context. To Buy Now:> Encyclopedia of Earthquakes and Volcanoes (Science Encyclopedia)

Volcanic Ash Fife

Today was naturally spring like, enhanced by the absence of overflying aircraft due to the Volcanic ash Plume spreading towards the UK and Northern Europe. I thought the sunset tonight would be enhanced but alas not, here anyway.

An image made available by NEODASS/University of Dundee, just over the River Tay from where I sit, which shows the volcanic ash plume from Iceland, top left, to the north of Britain as received by NASA's Terra Satellite at 11.39 GMT Thursday April 15, 2010. All flights in and out of the UK and several other European countries have been suspended as ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland moves south. The UK's air traffic control service (Nats) said no flights would be allowed in UK airspace until at least 0700 BST on Friday amid fears of engine damage. The airspace restriction was the worst in living memory, a spokesman said. Pumice, acidic and abrasive volcanic ash, natural pollution. As if there isn't enough about.

Last evening April 14th over The Tay.

Spring, a time of renewal, a point of change and regrowth as in these emerging horse chestnut leaves, soft, limp, vibrant.

Sycamore flowers, the fronds turn and hang down with the growth of leaves yielding the seeds that we are more familiar with. Just now fresh green growth bursting through, an uplifting time of the year.

Cupar House for sale 20 Meadowside Road

Cupar House for sale, 20 Meadowside Rd.
Offers over £295,000

* Property Ref : 20meadowside
* Property Type : Detached
* Public Rooms : 3
* Bedrooms : 4
* Garage : yes
* Garden : yes

* Home report available

An individually designed villa with integral double garage offering a flexible layout and extensive landscaped gardens. Ideal central location for town and station. Internal viewing highly recommended. Lounge. Sitting room. Kitchen. Sun room. 4 bedrooms. Bathroom. 2 en-suites. WC. Utility . Gardens
An individually designed Detached Villa located in a sought after area of Cupar. The property has been well maintained by the present owners and is positioned within an impressive garden offering fine views over the town. The accommodation comprises of reception hallway, lounge, family room, breakfasting kitchen, utility, downstairs W.C., sun room/ dining room and guest bedroom with en-suite. Upstairs is the master bedroom with en-suite and two further bedrooms and a family bathroom. There is gas central heating and double glazing throughout. There is an integral double garage with access to the property via the utility room. Externally there are extensively landscaped gardens to front and rear. The front gardens are principally laid to lawn with a wide driveway, which provides off street parking for several vehicles. The gardens to the rear are terraced and have been well laid out and stocked with herbaceous plants, trees and shrubs, with various level areas for seating etc. Viewing is highly recommended to fully appreciate the size of the plot and the flexible layout of the property and an appointment to view can be made by contacting Pagan Osborne.
Photographs:-
Meadowside Road is a popular area of Cupar and is convenient for shopping at the Tesco supermarket, primary schooling and the railway station. Cupar also has excellent leisure facilities with a fitness centre and swimming pool. There is also a rugby club and golf club. For the commuter, Cupar is in a central location for travel throughout Fife and has a mainline railway station and regular bus services for throughout Fife and on to Edinburgh.

Travel Directions
From the office in Cross Gate, travel round into South Bridge. Turn right at the junction and follow the road round going past the Tesco supermarket. Just after that turn left into St Michaels Drive, then first left into Meadowside Road. Number 20 is located on the right hand side, as numbered and indicated by our For Sale Board.

Pagan Osborne Property Services
Solicitors and Estate Agents
1 Crossgate
Cupar
Fife
KY15 4HA
Telephone 01334 653777

Forgotten Skills of Cooking

At this time of the year the roads almost awash with pheasants, not the brightest of birds, it needs considerable caution to avoid hitting them. This one jumped up to the roadside stone wall as I came to a halt. A hen, dowdy compared to the cock but still attractive. Many meet their end on the roads, I'm not averse to picking up road kills if they're in relatively good condition, it's either me or the local raptors. This cookbook provides recipes to cover such gain.



Forgotten Skills of Cooking. Author: Darina Allen
In this much-needed new book, which has already sought high appraisal by winning the Andre Simon Food Book Award, Darina reconnects you with the cooking skills that missed a generation or two. The book is divided into chapters such as 'Dairy', 'Hens and Eggs', 'Bread and Preserving' and forgotten processes such as smoking mackerel, curing bacon and making yoghurt and butter which are explained in the simplest terms. The delicious recipes show you how to use your home-made produce to its best, and include ideas for using forgotten cut of meat, baking bread and cakes and even eating food from the wild. The Vegetables and Herbs chapter is stuffed with growing tips to satisfy even those with the smallest garden plot or window box, and there are plenty of suggestions for using gluts of vegetables. You'll even discover how to keep a few chickens in the garden. With over 700 recipes, this is the definitive modern guide to traditional cookery skills. Click to Buy.Forgotten Skills of Cooking: The time-honoured ways are the best - over 700 recipes show you why

The Master Chef Cookbook

Our household have been captivated by this BBC cooking competition series, informative, full of wonderful dishes. My personal weak point is presentation but at the end of the day it's the food that counts. Great show and now a book of recipes.

The Master Chef Cookbook. Get into your kitchen and cook up the best from BBC’s MasterChef If you are a MasterChef fan and have an appetite for cooking, you’ll want to get your hands on some of the best recipes from the series. Find over 250 of them, covering mouth-watering starters, mains and fabulous desserts – all featured on the hit BBC show. Packed full of step-by-step techniques, bursting with wisdom from the MasterChef professionals and with Greg and John's customary wit and wisdom peppered throughout, it's what MasterChef fans have been waiting for. To Buy > The "Masterchef" Cookbook