Natural highs and lows

When we attended the Valtos gig in Edinburgh in September, Megan was full of cold and couldn't really enjoy the experience. So a pre-Christmas jaunt was organised to see the band again, this time in Inverness at a new venue An Seomar (The Room). Due to my advancing years, I qualify for free bus travel, so with the addition of a couple of ferry vouchers, we were able to make the journey on public transport at a much-reduced cost. All credit to the Scottish Government for these initiatives. Rather than awake at some ungodly hour to catch the 06.30 sailing from Stromness, we opted to make use of the B+B facility on the boat, checking in at 21.30 the night before sailing. This allowed for a few leisurely glasses of wine and nibbles in the Magnus Lounge before retiring to our cabin for the night.  Following breakfast and a smooth crossing of the Pentland Firth, we had a short wait at the terminal in Scrabster until our bus arrived for the journey to Inverness. Scrabster sunrise twixt bo...

Autumn has seemed to carry on where Summer left off, with the occasional pleasant day crowded out by a welter of wetness. At least I have been able to keep dry this week, with trips to Caithness and Shetland avoiding the worst of the rain and gales. Out and about in Orkney on All Souls Day, I found this newly-emerged moth as I was leaving a customer's property. It's an Angle Shades whose wings have not yet fully extended. I relocated it from a window frame to some sheltered vegetation.  Bonfire Night and its fireworks hold no great charm for me, but I was delighted to see this huge clump of Ivy in flower whilst on a walk in Finstown, which was a mass of exploding rockets as it provided a useful source of nectar late in the year. Nearby were a couple of Blackcaps, a male and a female, diligently foraging through the leaves and stems for food. However, before I could photograph the warblers, a muffled shout alerted me to an even greater wonder. Above us, in the branches of the tr...