Darren Woodhead's exhibition at Waterston House

Yesterday I took some time off Christmas shopping to visit Waterston House, the headquarters of the Scottish Ornithologists' Club. This very attractive building is perched on the edge of Aberlady Bay, in  a perfect position to see the water birds that live there and in particular, the comings and goings of the geese.
What drew me there is an exhibition of Darren Woodhead's watercolour paintings which are on display until 25 January. Darren paints all his pieces outdoors, even in the worst of Scotlands weather. He has a keen eye for wildlife and his exhibition of East Lothian's  wild birds in their natural habitat is first class. Darren wanders all over East Lothian accompanied by his dog  paints wonderful landscapes with the bird life a natural part of them. The paintings are often large with intimate depictions of the birds. They feel close by and fully alive. Two books of paintings and descriptions of the places they were painted called 'Up  river - song of the Esk' and 'From Dawn to Dusk'  are available to look at or buy.

This is an excellent exhibition of Scottish wildlife, water colour painting shown is a pleasing setting... get along and see it if you can.


One of the many paintings at the exhibition

Taking Advantage

Harvey and I took full advantage of the good weather this week end. On Saturday we did a canter up Trapprain Law. There were some great views over to Aberlady Bay and across to the Lammermuir Hills. While we  were on the top we took the a look around. Over by the quarry, where the Law race comes up, there is a new fence being built. You can imagine the Volalandi tribe living up there when you trapse around a bit. I had an ulterior motive for picking the Law for our walk. I have been painting a panoramic view of the Law from the south looking north. It gave me a chance to have a look at the point where the photo of the view was taken from!

Trapprain Law Cairn looking towards North Berwick

Aberlady Bay at full tide

Earlier today I took part in the Borders Cross Country race at Lauder. The whole race took place in brilliant sunshine and no wind... ideal conditions. Underfoot it was pretty muddy and I was glad I took the decision to wear my Ron Hill shoes... made me feel confident on the hills slippery hills. My last race was on 27 February which co-incidentally was the last of 2010/11 Borders Cross Country series. One of the reasons for not racing much this year has been a troublesome achillies ankle. I still have a problem with it, but with stretching and some massage it is being held in check. I felt great during the run and had a bit of puff left to race in at the end. Not a fast time but being able to put in a good effort and enjoying the race and the buzz was a real bonus.

Aberlady Bay

Just before the snow came down!