A mixed bag of Spring Weather!

The weather forecasters always talk of "April showers" - well there has been rain, hail, sleet and snow for the last week!  But lots of sunshine too.  The sun is now setting past the tip of Graemsay so I KNOW Spring is here.  And the days are definitely longer now.  Sunset will be 20.54 tonight.

And there are lambs in the field!  I feel so sorry for them though in this changeable weather.  I want to bring them all indoors!  Here are just a couple.  The ewes and lambs are numbered so the farmer can tell which lamb belongs to which mother when doing the head count.

When the sun comes out there is warmth in it and it is a joy to see. AND we are having more sun than not.  This next photo was taken on a calm day....  This is the "main road" round the island! A single track of tarmac. There are no "formal" passing places so you need to judge your direction just right at boat times or there's a lot of frantic reversing so folk can get to the pier in time.

The hens enjoy being out in the sun, and the grass is coming through nicely in front of my house so they are happy to peck away at that.  In the background of this photo is Stromness, across the blue water.  Lots of sky in the photo is deliberate.  I love big skies!

And a wandering male pheasant!  Not native to Orkney but introduced to the island some years ago.  Not prolific breeders (or at least not successfully!) but there are always a few around.

And then there is the weather over the last few days..... choppy seas, fluffy clouds and blue skies during a gale yesterday.

Hail/sleet shower over Hoy in the distance.

Hail battering the study window at the back of the house yesterday.

And a slightly warmer reminder to finish this post - a sunset. with the sky ablaze.