A Canal Walk

What could be better on a cold, dreich Scottish morning than a coffee? Well Anna likes cappuccino so had the decorative skills of the barista. I am boring and just had an Americano. It was a good reward for our brisk walk along the canal bank from Bishopbriggs to Kirkintilloch.

On the way back and despite the weather I managed some decent autumnal photos:

Canal Wildlife: Common Toad

From the distance I was from the creature swimming through the canal's placid water I thought I was going to see a water vole but when I looked at the photo taken with the telephoto lens it turned out to be a common toad which I always think bears a wonderful name:Bufo bufo.

Canal Wildlife: Damsel Flies

Along the bank of the canal was so much wildlife that I would have taken for granted but for my years of wandering with CJ. There were mayflies galore and I managed to photograph this couple. Unfortunately they were a couple of metres away and over the water and I had to rely on the camera's telephoto capabilities with some loss of sharp detail. However I was not too displeased. More wildlife will follow when I can next blog.

A Canal Walk

Today has been a very hot - by Glasgow standards - day with temperatures just below 30 deg C (86 deg F) and very high humidity. I love the heat but not when it's humid and not when I'm not dressed appropriately. Anyway this morning Anna and I went for a walk along the Forth and Clyde Canal not far from Bishopbriggs. We started at The Stables, a pub, on the A803 Kirkintilloch Road where it crosses the Canal, where we had coffee. The weather was very bright and quite sunny although the photos don't seem to reflect that: