Ragged Robin

So, it's Friday Funday and where do we go? Penicuik Storehouse for coffee and scones - they have a great new range of scones, like salted caramel apple, which were deliciously moist. 

After that we investigated more of the Leadburn Community Woodland, this was introduced to us by Nadine and we had walked part of it and wanted to see more. My blip comes from a patch near the entrance where I spotted ragged robin (Silene flos-cuculi) - I was surprised to see them still in flower. My entry for Flower Friday, thanks to BikerBear for hosting.

We walked right to the end of the Leadburn Way via the Cottongrass Loop, then back-tracked to the Dolphinton Way, cutting back opposite the Laboratory Pond to return on the Grass Path.

Apart from drifts of rosebay willow herb the main flower supporting insects were devil's bit scabious, and numerous red admirals were feeding, also a solitary peacock and small tortoiseshell; a red damselfly crossed our path, too. In the warm sunshine and gentle breeze this walk was most enjoyable.

The extra photo we took with us, albeit unwittingly - when parking in Penicuik I noticed the snail tucked into the front corner of the passenger window; by the time we had finished our walk it had crawled up onto the windscreen and was admiring its reflection in the glass. I could not resist a photo but have to report that it did not return home, as we felt it would be happier with a whole Community Woodland to explore.