Burnt Hills

The idea for this wall hanging came a decade ago when I was travelling in Northern Spain.
A large area of land had been severely scorched by fire the previous year.The explanation given by
a local man was that the fire had been started by a "tourist". Apparently the first
plants to reappear the next Spring were wild asparagus.

Burnt hills, taken from the bus  -  Catalonia.

The artwork is painted and stitched on linen, measuring about 1.5 meters square.
As often happens the work was not begun for a few years and still needs some finishing touches.

Detail

Moorland, near Loch Tay.

In Scotland controlled heather burning is carried out yearly to promote new plant growth.

These blackface sheep are standing on a patch of ground which is regenerating after fire.
Although this is mostly for the benefit of the grouse,which are a valuable source of income for
land owners during the Grouse Shooting Season, the sheep also enjoy the nutritious young plants.
Grouse Shoots are let for large sums of money so it's important to keep the land well stocked.

Image source Wikipedia.

Red grouse in it's native habitat surrounded by young blaeberry and heather plants.
They feed on shoots,seeds,mountain berries and heather flowers.

Heather plants in August.

Thank you for visiting




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Allotments

I'm fascinated by the displays in these allotments and often peer through the fence when
I dog walk in this Edinburgh city park.

The photos were taken at various times between June and August.

There are twenty one allotment sites around the city and  plots measuring about 10x20 meters are
available to rent by local people without gardens.

Access to the gardens is limited to allotment holders only and the gates are locked at all times.
The hedge of  vegetation (thorny shrubs and nettles) on the outside of the perimeter fence
sometimes made it a bit tricky taking photos through the wires.

Central pathway between the two access gates.

Outside the park,the building at the end of the street is a well known private school built in the 1860s
in the Scottish baronial style and designed by architect David Bryce.

Thank you for visiting.