Each week the Rampant Scotland Newsletter includes a number of photographs which illustrate the weather and the seasons, plus the flora and fauna of the current week around Scotland. This separate "colour supplement" displays some more pictures, in a larger format. Here is this week's crop of Scottish views!
Greater spotted woodpeckers are not particularly rare birds in Scotland - though being shy and with only an estimated 25,000-30,000 breeding pairs in the whole of the UK, they are not often seen near houses. So I was delighted when this one turned up in my garden and spent some time tucking into the peanut feeder. This woodpecker is about the size of a blackbird and became extinct in Scotland but returned from the south at the end of the 19th century. I'm glad to say that this was not a one-off visit and it has returned for a meal again since this picture was taken.
The current entrance to Scone Palace is along a very long driveway which sweeps up to the building from the side. But in days gone by, when horse-drawn carriages rather than motor cars brought visitors to Scone Palace, there was a more direct route - through this magnificent archway, built in the 16th century. Of course, just in case those approaching were not welcome, you can see the "gun loops" at each side through which muskets could be poked!
There are many golden yellow flowers that bloom in July and August but Inula has to be the one that typifies warm, summer days, with its large sun-like blooms. The taller varieties, like this one at Scone Palace, grow to over three feet and produce a mass of flowers.
The sailing ship "Tenacious" is the world's largest wooden tall ship. She sailed up the Clyde to take a starring role in the Glasgow River Festival last weekend. The tall ship was moored for most of the week beside the even taller Finnieston Crane, not far from the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre - that's the Clyde Auditorium (known as the Armadillo locally, because of its architecture) on the left.
Further down the river from the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre is the massive new Glasgow Harbour development. Full of expensive apartments - with views across the river to the noisy Govan shipyards on the southern bank - Glasgow Harbour and its associated retail and entertainment outlets is transforming that stretch of the riverside. The cranes and structural steel, visible in this view nearer the camera, are from the early construction work on the new Glasgow Transport Museum.
Scone Palace has had peacocks strutting in its grounds for over 200 years. The estate is also home to a group of pure white peacocks. Any feathers that drop out are much in demand by florists and design artists.
If you want to look back at earlier editions of this Colour Supplement, there is an Index Page
