Natural highs and lows

I'm not big on plans, or perhaps more accurately, I am quite big on plans but even bigger on continuously re-assessing the situation with each new snippet of information, so that the initial plan morphs into something completely different. I am told that this is intensely annoying to any prospective plan-ee. So, last weekend, I did have a plan, a fairly simple plan, but it was a secret as the planned thing was a surprise. However, I had done a bit of groundwork mid-week, suggesting an outing once the Monday to Friday grind was over and I was now on the point of enacting said plan to synchronise people, place, time and space. Megan: "My friend S has just messaged, her and I are going to go for a walk on Saturday morning, just into town, over the brae, popping by the new cafe and then the deli. OK?" Me: [Inwardly] Aarghh! [Out loud] "Yeah, no worries... maybe we could have our walk tomorrow morning?" Also me: [Hastily checks weather forecast for Sunday] And so it ...

Hard on the heels of Storm Floris, another whirlwind made landfall in Orkney, as younger daughter and grandson came to visit for a week. Little Louis is not quite three years old and we had to take certain measures to keep him in the garden, but out of the pond. Fortunately, despite exploring absolutely everything else, he ignored the temporary fencing altogether. Phew. Everywhere we went, his faithful companions Duck and Lamby came too... At the play park On the beach (Lamby on the left, Duck on the right) Duck and Lamby are not to be confused with Scottish curling sweepers Hammy and Lammie... Hamilton (Hammy) McMillan on the left, Bobby Lammie on the right The beach was Louis' favourite place to go, digging holes in the sand, building  destroying sandcastles, exploring rock pools and paddling in the sea. A Hermit Crab. Birsay Rackwick, Hoy (with some mountains on the Scottish mainland just visible) Rackwick, Hoy Luckily, Louis didn't spot this shoe encrusted with Goose Barnac...

Since my previous blogpost, a funny thing has occurred. In tiny increments, day by day, Summer has happened. Yes, really. The upshot of this unexpected development is that there has been lots of wildlife watching, either whilst working, waiting for ferries or on days off. So here's a whistle stop tour of the last fortnight. Training evening. Megan invited me along as another pair of eyes on one of her evening walks for clients. This had the added benefit of me being able to see what she does in her "office", which on this day was the clifftop path at Burwick in South Ronaldsay. It benefitted the clients too, as we found more wildlife to show them, whilst also allowing me to practise the role, should I ever need to cover for Megan. A Common Rustic moth on a Ragwort flower (Thanks to HA for the ID) Everyone wants to see Puffins (although they won't be here for much longer, as now the breeding season is over, they are heading back out to sea). Scottish Primrose outing: W...

Since our house move, there's not been too much time for dedicated nature watching, as we instead navigate the peaks and valleys of cardboard boxes which seemingly fill every available space in home and garage.  Blogging has taken a bit of a back seat, so best I publish a 'catch-up' post to cover the days and weeks either side of the move. Immediately prior to completing the purchase (or settlement, as it's called up here), I was working in Shetland for a day. With a bit of time to kill before the ferry back to Orkney, I opted for a short wander in the hills near my last customer, rather than head into Lerwick and do battle with the hordes of cruise ship passengers from two huge vessels in the harbour. A once typical and increasingly rare Shetland scene because of the Viking Wind Farm project Bog Asphodel, a Sundew, Selfheal and Tormentil Sheep's-bit A species of Ragwort Possibly the warmest hour I have ever spent in Shetland, it was idyllic What I was unaware of, h...