Lochs and Life Updates

It's been a while since I've written anything about anything other than food, so I thought I'd share a few pictures of today's day out and share a little life update.

On Tuesday this week I handed in my last big piece of work of the semester and, excitingly, of my masters! (other than the small issue of a 12,000 word dissertation, but that is next weeks problem). I have a big list of things I want to do - reply to emails, do some editing, read some blogs, bring the Easter baking ideas I've been dreaming of into the real world, clear out the mess that is my wardrobe... some of these things are more exciting than others!

But on Wednesday morning when the sunshine was tempting me out of the front door I decided that the to do list could wait until Thursday and Friday, and five of use headed for the hills and went for a wander around Loch Leven. It's only half an hour North of Edinburgh and it's absolutely beautiful. Sadly it was very late in the day before we arrived, so we didn't manage the whole 21km lap of the lake, but we'll definitely be back another day to complete the walk. The small part of the path we explored was peppered with hidden doors and secret pools so I can only try and imagine the rest of it.

I will be honest though, there was more tempting me out into the great outdoors than just the sunshine. For almost five years I've been living a very luxurious lifestyle, it has to be said. Yes there's been countless hours spent in the library, more bowls of lentils than I care to remember and that one time I sat on the floor of the lab and cried because there was seawater pouring everywhere and I didn't know how to stop it, but overall the student lifestyle is undeniably wonderful. Even as a science student your time is relatively flexible, and when the sun shines you can drop your plans and run to the nearest loch to explore.

However, I am very pleased to be able to say I have been offered a full time, "grown up" job. And whilst it's more than I ever could have hoped for, before graduation and within an organisation whose work combines so many of my passions I can't believe my luck, it does mean I'll have to wait until the weekends to head for the hills in the future.

So I'm trying to make the most of my last couple of weeks. Last weekend explored some more of Newcastle, I'm off to Amsterdam with Ben later this week, and then I'm going to spend a bit more time in the nooks and crannies of Edinburgh. It's been a long time since I visited Amsterdam so if you have any recommendations about what to do and where to eat I'd love to hear them.

And now I'm going to end this excessive amount of text now and leave you with some more pictures of a lovely day out. I hope the sun is showing its face where you are and that you're enjoying it too.

Pitmedden Gardens

After handing in our final piece of coursework last week, we felt like we deserved a day off before the revision for finals started. When we opened the curtains on Friday to discover glorious sunshine, we thought we'd take a drive to Pitmedden Gardens, just North of Aberdeen.

A glorious expanse of beautifully manicured grass and hedges greets you as you pass through the gates, and it's easy to see why these Oystercatchers chose to set up shop and nest in the gardens. Who wouldn't want to nest in the birdy equivalent of the Ritz?

Unfortunately that meant we couldn't get too close to the flowering beds, but I managed to find a few wall creepers to test out the close up capabilities of my new camera on. Thus far, I'm pretty impressed! When I've given it a proper work out I'll pop up a full post on it I think.

The gardens are accompanied by the original outbuildings and cottages, which you can still have a good nose around today. You can take your time, they're full to the brim of gardening and farming machinery, personal belongings and home furnishings, and it's a lovely way to while away an afternoon.

Taking full advantage of the sunshine, we made friends with some bunnies and tucked into a picnic - the first picnic of the year! We even managed to remember to take a photograph of ourselves, a true miracle.

How have you been enjoying the sunshine? I'm writing this post from the library in a little revision break, and I'd love to live vicariously through you!

Pitmedden Gardens are open 10 - 5:30pm daily, May - September. You can find more information here.

Fishy Business

I'd like to introduce you to the residents of Tynemouth Blue Reef Aquarium. We start with fairly standard aquarium stock. Piranhas. Fairly innocent looking fish that have a voracious appetite for meat. Starfish, with cute little tube feet that they use to source food, by smelling it!

  

Flounder, which look a little different from the familiar Disney fish, but put on a good show for us against the side of the glass, and beautiful candy floss pink anemones that will give you a nasty sting as soon as you touch them - so remember, anemones are enemies. Can you say that three times quickly? Anemones are enemies, anemones are enemies, anemones are enemies...

Check out that pout!

We found nemo!

 
Anemones may be enemies, but Ben made a friend in this pufferfish, who had such a lovely little face, as did the ray, and the axolotl. I've always wanted an axolotl as a pet, they're adorable, low maintenance and forever young! However, I'm trying to wait until I have a more permanent home before I make a commitment with any kind of pet. Other than goldfish. I can commit to goldfish.

With the terrapins, seals, sealions and otters the aquarium is branching out a bit, but they are water based. 

The same cannot be said for degus, monkeys and chickens! There wasn't any sort of explanation on display, but my old flatmate used to work here, and she said they quite often found animals just abandoned outside the aquarium, and the aquarium just does the best it can to look after them. This made me feel quite warm towards the aquarium, they clearly care about their animals and do the very best for them. I was also really impressed with the information available, it was a high standard (as a zoologist I found it interesting) but completely accessible for children and adults alike. Full marks, Tynemouth Blue Reef Aquarium, and thank you for a lovely day!