381. Haar rolling in

On Sunday afternoon Johnshaven was bathed in scorching sunshine, but from the top of the road it was clear to see a bank of haar slightly further to the south.  This photo was taken from the layby beside Balandro Cottages.  The lighting conditions weren't great - bright sunshine reflecting off the sea and cloud - so the photos don't really show it too well.
Hopefully you'll be able to see how the haar was encroaching on Seagreens, and probably the beaches at St Cyrus and Montrose too.

380. Beat the tide

I was out looking for beach glass in yesterday's gorgeous evening sunshine when this boat, which had been sitting calmly out at sea, suddenly sped through the water to get back to the harbour before the tide went out any further.  

The following photos show it coming in to the harbour and tying up.  

If I'd planned this a bit better you could have printed them off, cut them out and made a flick-book out of them!

379. All in a row

A row of boats lined up in the inner harbour.

378. Thrift

I think this plant is called thrift.  This lovely photo was taken by Kirsty on Sunday.
She was down on the beach, looking up towards the house at The Narrows.

377. Snow White

Last night there were some evil goings on in the Village Hall courtesy of my daughter, the Wicked Queen Kirsty.  She and her friend Katy (Snow White) wrote a short play for the Brownies & Guides to perform at an annual event hosted by the Church Guild to raise money for Christian Aid.  

  

Guide leader Carol was the face in the mirror!

Some of the pupils from Johnshaven Primary School also entertained us with a selection of songs.

376. Wow!

This photo was taken by my friend (and newest Starfish employee!) Jane Henderson from her bedroom window.  Beautiful isn't it?

375. Working in the rain

On this soggy Thursday morning there's lots of work going on at the Crab House.  The walls etc have been constructed off-site so now it's a case of fitting together a very large and complicated jigsaw puzzle.

374. Crabs

These boxes of crabs were sitting on the pier a few evenings ago.

373. They're back!

Our temporary residents are back and busily building this year's nest in the window recess above Starfish Studio.  If you sit on the bench outside the shop you may like to sit over towards the right hand side - just in case!

372. Beach Art

Yesterday evening my daughter and I went for a walk along the beach.  She found a piece of charcoal and started drawing on stones and before long we had created a small stoney woodland.
 
It rained heavily this morning so I imagine there's just a row of blank stones there now!

Beach art is fun to make and great to stumble across.  Give it a go :)

371. No railings

Not a pretty sunny photo, but the railings at the harbour have been removed this morning so I thought I'd capture the moment for posterity.  Presumably there will be a temporary replacement whilst work is carried out to avoid anyone driving into the sea!

370. Not just a seagull

Lessons from Dad continue - until our walk the other day I'd called them all seagulls (whilst regularly telling myself that I should make an effort to learn the differences between the various species).
This, he tells me, is an immature herring gull.

369. Sycamore in bud

Recently I've been able to go for walks with my Dad, who has an excellent knowledge of wildlife, plants and all things natural.  Sadly very little of this has rubbed off on me over the years, so it's lovely to have things identified by him.

This morning, as we passed this tree a short distance beyond the caravan site, he said, "That's a sycamore."  I'm not too bad on tree identification if I can actually see the leaves, but when it's just twigs, branches and buds I haven't a clue, so I was extremely impressed!  On closer inspection of an opening bud, he was able to prove that he's right.  Of course he's right - he's my Dad :)

368. New Starfish sign

A sign at the harbour pointing up towards Starfish Studio is essential, so with my original one in danger of falling to pieces it was time to invest in a newer model.  The old one didn't stand up well to strong winds, and often clattered to the ground when caught by a gust.  As a result it was very damaged and where the paint had come off it was horribly rusty.  Combined with the salty sea air causing the screws to rust and fall out, and the fact that at least one car had driven into it, it was time to say 'goodbye'.

This new one, from Signs Express in Aberdeen, is wind proof (or so I'm told) and has wheels so I can trundle it up and down Anchor Lane.

The old one went in the metal recycling skip yesterday :(