Natural highs and lows

The title is a reference to a track from Moonchild, the debut album by Celtus back in 1997. Here in 2023, yesterday was a bit of a strange day. I awoke to the news that, during the small hours of the night, the Scotland Men's cricket team had secured a 10 wicket victory over Namibia in their latest ICC League 2 match. Astonishing as it was, it wasn't going to be the biggest shock of the day. Just before lunch, after a morning of work admin, I flicked over to social media to be stunned by the news that Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's First Minister, had announced her resignation. Now, I am not a particularly political animal, but to my mind, it is impossible to have lived through Brexit and a global pandemic without having developed a respect for such a straight talking, down to earth, empathetic and conscientious leader. She stood head and shoulders above many other politicians, both at home and abroad, in times when it was critical that she put her country first. Admittedly, ...

The weather today, and yesterday as it happens, has been pleasantly benign. No being buffeted by gales, no being machine-gunned by hail, no thorough dowsings by driving rain. In fact, it has been [whispers] almost Spring-like . This most romantic of mornings, I was roused from my slumbers by the song of a Blackbird, the first I have heard this year, staking his claim on a territory and broadcasting his prowess to any potential mate. In the last week or so, Oystercatcher numbers have rocketed as returning birds throng in the fields and on the shore, their journeys between the two filling the air with strident piping, as we settle into six months of noisycatchers . The Facebook feed of the Orkney Field Club is a delight at any time of year, but this morning's post was particularly apt as it informed me that in Mediaeval times, Valentine's Day was also known as Bird's Wedding Day. It went on to illustrate this with the first verse of a poem by Michael Drayton (1563-1631),  To ...

It's the middle of the night, the wee small hours, and I am awake. For some reason, sleep eludes me, so I have got up and gone through to the lounge to try and do something remotely useful to pass the time until slumber returns. I fire up my computer and try to add photos and videos to a proto-post about the last few weeks since I last blogged. Blogger itself has other ideas and manages to load the photos in reverse order, a skill it intermittently exhibits which baffles and maddens me in equal measure. The bare bones of it is that there has been a trip south. Megan and I stayed in a hotel in the Inverness area for a few days before I headed even further south to visit family whilst she caught up with friends and much more wildlife than I was ever going to see. We reunited for another weekend in Inverness, took in a show at the Eden Court Theatre and then returned to Orkney. Whilst I did improve the running total of my year list, I am no nearer to catching up with Megan and may eve...