There's still a lot of weather about....

Last week was a fairly quiet one for me as I had sinusitis and really did not want to play at all!  The weather was also still very rough with high winds, rain etc.  But in Winter with rain we get beautiful rainbows.

Above a rainbow from the "back door" of Sandside.  Looking towards Stromness, with Hoy High lighthouse to the right.

Meanwhile the ferry that sails between Scrabster on the North of Scotland and Stromness came "up the Flow" - which is a more sheltered sail for it.  So the MV Graemsay and the ship had a bit of a race into harbour. Haha!  Actually the laws of the sea mean that the Hamnavoe had precedence so won that particular race.

And a sail home from town last week, among choppy seas and darkened skies.

There are still some wildflowers in the wildflower patch in the garden. This is a particularly sheltered spot.  The rest of the garden has been blackened or blasted to smithereens with the wind.

On really bad weather days the hens stay in the henny house. They have plenty of food and water in there and rootle around amongst the hay that I use for bedding, or just sit on the perches.  If the weather calms down a bit then they will go into the byres of find shelter in the shrubbery. Now the days have shortened only a couple of young hens are laying eggs. The rest have stopped for winter.  But I don't begrudge them a rest!

Meanwhile Madam Button spends more time snoozing!! With the odd foray out if I go to feed the wild birds or down to the shore.  But only if it is NOT too windy! Neither of us are keen on getting up in the morning these darker days...

And now Winter is here I am back into baking mode.  These are flapjacks, but made with locally milled Orkney bere meal, oats, dried fruit, nuts and seeds.  A very healthy snack.  Well apart from the sugar and butter!

I'm hoping for a calmer week weather wise so I can get out and about a bit more - and have something to blog about!!