Midmarch, a lesser study of provincial life

This is so very Orkney.

Yesterday was sunny enough to make it pleasantly feasible to sit outside and eat lunch. The camping chairs were found, shaken for any overwintering spiderage and then deployed to the patio. OK, I was still wearing fleecy layers, but a little heat from the sun was definitely detectable.

The bulbs in our containers also took the opportunity to partake of the rays. This was only temporarily a good thing, because as I type (this afternoon) the wind speed is ramping up and it will be gusting storm force from the south west by tea time. Oh, those poor flowers.

However, it is still sunny enough to provide sufficiently good lighting to capture the occasional spontaneous wildlife moment. This is possibly the best photo of a male Hen Harrier I will ever manage. And it's from the kitchen window, although heavily-cropped.

Brown Hares are still visibly active during the day, maybe more so first thing and late afternoon. But this one ran by at lunchtime. Sadly, by the time I had grabbed my camera, it was departing through the adjacent field, scattering Rooks as it went. Then, when it did pause, there was an inconvenient fence post in the way. Gah! Both images through the patio window and again cropped.

The year is definitely inching towards Spring.

Thank phew.