Mark's Journal

Recently I've been reading about the Roman attempts to extend the province of Britannia into what we now call Scotland. The most effective of the Roman Generals who took on the Caledonii, Novantae, Selgovae, Votadini, Damnonii, Venicones and Maeatae was Gnaeus Julius Agricola. His campaign ran from AD 78 to 82 and principally involved gaining a foothold between the existing border that ran between the Solway and the Tyne and what he hoped would be the new border between the Clyde and the Forth. Having done that he pushed on up the East coast as far as the Tay with the support of ships and marines and pushed the Caledonii tribe back along the Tay into the Cairngorms,   However, Rome was having problems on its Eastern border and the Emperor Domitian came to the throne in AD 81. He was not a military man like his father Vespasian and older brother Titus who were emperors before him and decided to recall Agricola in AD 82 before he became too popular with the Roman army. Domitian set a...

 The old blog has been a bit neglected of late but that's just because I've been busy in the real world, going to concerts, birdwatching, exploring, eating out and all of that. Online I created a companion blog which I share with Adrian Chenzbraun and Paul Toner, where we post some of our photographic results. For April there is a little post from me showing some of the great birds that visit here in the southwest of Scotland. You can find the whole post here and here are a couple of the photos to get you started.

 This year is a good one for seeing Aurorae as the Sun is coming down in activity from its eleven-year maximum. It's a tricky business though. I have an aurora alert app on my phone but, I need to respond instantly if I am to see the aurora as it doesn't last long. Last night I managed to get some scrappy aurora photos through a back bedroom window, picking up the camera immediately after a red alert on my phone. The aurora was visible above the street light of Dumfries but not as pretty as it would be from out in the countryside. The aurora is the greenish light with red blobs in it, but not the reflection on the window. 😀 Once I was sure I had some photos, I went downstairs, grabbed a coat and shoes and went to get a better view. that was all it took to miss the end of the show. the sky was beautiful, clear and starry but had no aurora in it. So - aurorae are a great challenge to hunt for but you need to be quick. I used the AuroraWatch UK app and the camera is a Fujifilm XT...

Bho chionn còig bliadhna bha mi a’ faicinn gu leòr. Cha robh mi a feumaidh speuclairean ach cuin bha mi a’ leughadh. Ge-tà Di-Mairt chaidh mi don bùth an fhradharcaiche air sgàth ’s chan e urrainn dhomh faicinn dè a tha mi a’ tarraing no cuin tha mi a’ cluich an ceòl. Chan e urrainn dhomh an obair agam. Chaidh mi do fhradharcaich ùr ach tha i gu h-iongantach an sean fradharcaich agam bho chionn trithead bliadhna. Tha an t-uabhas obair againn ri dhèanamh fhathast. Ach cuideachd lorg i an trioblaid agam. Cuir i òrdugh-cungaidh airson speuclairean vari-focal orm. Chan eil iad saor! Ach ’s toil leam a’ faicinn agus tha mi a’ coimhead air adhart ri a’ faighinn na speuclairean ùr an ath-sheachdain.

 I decided to take a short camping trip in Glentrool last week. It seemed like a good idea at the time as we'd had several weeks of unseasonally warm weather. Inevitably, the rain started in earnest as soon as I pitched my tent. However, that didn't spoil the fun as rain and the Scottish landscape can set each other off beautifully. I took a lot of images of rivers in full spate and probably have some of my best turbulent water shots from that trip.  

Bha mi 's Anna a' falbh gu Nirribhidh anns an t-Sultain agus lean Lochlannach beag sinne dhachaigh. Chunnaic sinn eun ùr anns an gàrradh. Bha brù-dhearg a' ruighinn gus do fuireach e don Geamhradh. Chuir e teicheadh air eòin eile gu luath. Bha e ag iarraidh uile biadh. An Dàmhair ràinig brù-dhearg eile agus thoisich spòrsail. Chuir fear teicheadh fear eile agus chuir iad teicheadh eòin eile. Bha e obair doirbh! À nis cha robh biadh ach aig an donnagan glas. Fhemaidh mi a' cuir an darna bord-eòin gus do bha biadh aig eòin eile. Ach bha feòragan air tilleadh ge-tà...

 I've been taking a few photos on the warmer May days and there's an interesting effect that comes with the skies over Dumfries and Galloway. Sometimes with all the heat haze they don't get coloured in. I thought at first that maybe this was due to the pale bright skies being overexposed but, if you look at the sky, you see this effect for yourself. There really are times when the sky is whited out on a warm day with not a snowstorm in sight. Often there is a reward for this when the air cools in the evening and then you can enjoy a wonderful sunset.