Tales From The Riverbank
It was a good start to December, a cold day but a fine one with winter blue skies and a slither of ice under foot as Kirstin and I took a wander along the Water of Leith footpath, the Roseburn to Stockbridge section of which is rapidly becoming one of my favourite routes through the City.
By the AIDS Memorial
The river itself was fairly fast flowing. It was not high but there were recent signs of where it had been. Still, there were plenty of placid pools and backwashes where ducks gathered including, I was pleased to see, a growing population of goosanders amongst the usual mallards.
Although my old Mitchell Beazley guide, oddly, suggests that goosanders are “usually quiet” the males in this lot were aggressively chasing each other around in displays of oneupduckship to impress the (distinctly unimpressed) females.
The path was damp and in places slippy but it wasn’t especially clarty save for mounds of oak leaves rapidly turning into leafmould. As only appropriate today, the AIDS memorial near the Gallery of Modern Art prompted a moment of two of reflection before we continued to Stockbridge where we enjoyed a late lunch in Hector’s, late enough that I had no hesitation in washing it down with a decent IPA.
After we got home I spent some time out in the Manshed writing a little before it got too cold. The electricity should be finally sorted on Monday (lights and plug sockets are in together with a local RCD fusebox, it just needs to be connected into the main fuseboard). I need to write something up about the shed as what I have is very different from what I thought I was going to have when I first started planning it although I’m happy with where I ended up.
What was noticeable tonight, though, was that as I typed I could hear something outside snuffling and snorting – probably a cat or a fox but possbily something far older and stranger, with vicious teeth and devious claws, looking for a way in. Mwah hah hah haaaaaa….
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