Heat, A Hill of Rock and Gorsh, a great invention, and some Monkey Business...

Been a roasting week!, summer has properly arrived!. Today topped 21C at 3pm when i left work. Us pale skinned Scots ain't used to such heat!, though i could get used to the big sky views today at work...

Cycling to work in a T shirt at 5.30am... -:)

Early morning haze...

How quick is a day working at at Whitekirk feel?, 8 1/2 hours flies by in about the time it takes you to read this blog...
It just fly`s... Mowing the greens and aprons (surrounds or approaches away from the Scottish East coast) aprons is the traditional name because of their shape...

View from the trig point at 6.30am. 260 feet up gives great views.  I need to repaint it, and add a map to the top...

Out in the Forth the morning Harr covers the Bass Rock...

Fairways and semi rough all sprayed for weeds last week, first time ever at Whitekirk - the reformation has begun, mowing will remove them forever...

Greens mowing at 4mm, i never go lower here when you have easterly salt air winds and westerly prevailing winds. They look wooly because of the meadow grass seeding. Greens should not look lush green with dark stripes like you see on the TV in USA competitions. If they do they have far too much Nitrogen and excessive water which in time will cause all sorts of problems from being too soft, to thatch and then diseases like Fusarium. My greens have had no disease for 4 years, a Links style attitude to a coastal parkland course...

Rock and Gorsh, a unique environment here in East Lothian for a Golf Course. The rock is volcanic and more seen in the NW of Scotland than here in the SE Coast...

Tacit  Mesh wind flags are the only flags that withstand the wind here on the hill.
Traditional Scottish east coast are 9 red out, then 9 yellow flags home. I have them reversed, just to be different.
Pin design is   `Machrihanish`. I also like to be modern thinking with new designs that work...

See the burned Pine tress and Gorsh from the cold easterlies in April and early May...

Sea harr out in the Forth burns away as the day warms...

Big Sky day at Whitekirk...

No shortage of wildlife here...

4 Signets this year from our resident swans, i plan to feed them and get them real tame...

Sadly the pair have struggled in the last two years to raise young...

You may remember this from a 3 years back....

swans and signets... from coastkid71 on Vimeo.

Loads of Pheasants and Mallard up here too...

20 minute break, then on with the work. Today some strimming, always stuff to strim...

The strimmer was invented in 1970 by a George Ballas in Houston Texas and was called the `string trimmer`
Today's strimmers are light, reliable and have a self feed head , and are a long way from the first strimmers i used in the 1980s...

Mowing the semi rough is a superb bit of kit - a tow behind Canadian Progressive 120

Me?, i am happy with my Sthil strimmer -:) ...

Superb views today...

RAF were up today...

1pm already, 10 mins on the computer down at the office and then set  up some watering of newly turfed areas...

The day was still hotting up ...

Before you know it , its 2.30pm and home time!. 8 1/2 hour day done just like that, job and finished. I love it and so do the guys. Time for a detour home on the SURLY Karate Monkey 29er...

Even got a fly by from the RAF...

I headed for a loop around my local woods...

And a couple of hours silence as i cruised around the woods with only the sound of bird song for company , it was nice and cool in here out of the heat of the day. I met one person walking. Peace and quiet...

Bruce`s Circle, not named after myself but `The Bruce` , Robert King of Scots...

Pick a trail, loads to choose from, and mostly dry this now...

Back out into the daylight, 22c now...

Head home and its only 4pm -:) ...

See you again soon...