It's.... Winter again.....

Another gale blew up late yesterday. Fortunately I was able to go over to Stromness and meet up with friends for lunch and get home before the worst of the weather hit. But today the wind is battering the house and I can hear it roaring around in the rafters of the loft. At least it's fairly bright and sunny. AND I don't have to go far today. Which is just as well as I seem to have a repeat of the virus I had at New Year and am losing my voice. Do I hear cheers from certain quarters on the island?? So I shall snuggle down with Button and read a book this afternoon and be glad I don't have to be outdoors. Well except when I go down to the boat at 4pm to pick up a package.

At least the days are lengthening now - well the daylight is, if you see what I mean. Sunrise this morning in Orkney was 0730 (and yes I was awake for it...) and sunset will be 17.22. That compares quite favourably with London now where sunrise there is 0702 and sunset at 17.27. Mid-winter there is an hour and a half difference between our sunrise and sunset times, but we are fast catching up London, and in March we will overtake them. Sorry - I just LOVE LOVE LOVE the long days in Orkney!

We have a boat to Stromness this weekend, but I'm staying put at home. However next week I'm hoping to go over to see the new exhibition at the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness which opens this weekend. It's an exhibition of work by new artists and designers from Orkney who have graduated with Art & Design decress since 2001.

Tuesday Button is to visit the vet to have her vaccinations and to be fitted with a microchip. The microchip will enable anyone finding her, should she get lost, to locate me. But I also want her microchipped as I have just purchased a cat flap that works on recognition of the cat's microchip. Thereby preventing other stray cats entering the house. It was recommended to me by a friend, unfortunately she said it doesn't scan for a cat carrying rodents........ So we shall shee how Button and I get on with it! I fostered a cat over on Hoy some years ago and she regularly brought in young bunnies. Bunny would run behind the range cooker and Baggins and Fitzi-cat would sit either end waiting for it to emerge...... eventually I would have to separate the cats and try and retrieve the bunny. Then take it across a couple of fields to release it - though I suspect the poor wee things died of shock eventually. Baggins had to remain shut in for a couple of hours so she couldn't go and locate said bunny and repeat process.