Random April photos...

It's the last day of April today (how did that happen?) so here are some pictures taken over the last few days.  As you can see the weather has been mixed!  Today was bright and sunny and warm, but this evening the temperature has dropped now the sea mist has rolled in.  But the sun was over the in last night at sunset so Spring is well and truly here!!

Yesterday I took a walk across the field in front of the house which is full of ewes and lambs as some tourist walkers had spotted a ewe on her back.  Well she must have sorted herself out by the time I had got my boots and coat on and tramped across the field as they were all the correct way up when I looked.  But always wise to check as ewes can die if left on their backs too long as the gas builds up in their stomachs if they don't chew the cud, or the birds get to them.  And no they aren't my sheep but my neighbours, but I was near at hand so took a wander....

A walk to the shore on Saturday. The water is so clear... the old stone pier on the left and the Hamnavoe ferry sailing into Stromness in the distance.

Up by the old quarry on the Kirk road today.

Believe it or not this is a tree.... a very tiny tree I give you that.  It is (apparently) Creeping Willow Salix repens. There is a veritable forest of the stuff up by the old quarry..

And lovely zingy common dog violet

And back towards Sandside.....

Button and the girls enjoying a quiet Sunday morning.  Button is waiting for clear access to the garden as she avoids pecky beaks and flappy wings!

And speaking of pecky beaks and flappy wings....  remind me again why I provide nesting boxes for the girls to lay their eggs in?

Over by the kirk......

Looking over to Hoy

Last weekend I headed over to the kirk as the weather was so lovely.  Sadly the kirk is in poor repair now and falling down which is sad to see.  But the view from there is just gorgeous...

And the kirk....

The sun through the roof onto the old walls...

And inside.....

And randomly..... Charlie my barn cat put in an appearance last weekend having been absent for some weeks.  I was delighted to see him - I knew he'd been around as his food was going and although the hens will help themselves sometimes they don't clear it quite like Charlie!  He was originally to live in the house with Button but he chose to be a barn cat, and has lived happily out there for 10 years among the hay bales, getting fed daily of course.

And he certainly gets plenty of food...ahem...

Easter weekend

Daffs are over but trees with fresh leaves..

I know I'm late!  But last weekend we had some lovely weather here in Orkney and I made the most of it with some gardening, a walk on the beach and general "pottering" around... Here are a few photos of that weekend and.... my "helpers"!

A walk to the shore....

Tide is out! The old stone pier...

Blue sky.....

Gorgeous sky....

The old sail shed at Sandside....

Cat on a mission....

We all love beach time!

A wee lamb watching us walking home...

Closer look!

Meanwhile in the garden.... the old verbascum stems that I left for the birds and insects over the winter.  Time to pull them up now...

How is this helping Button?

The same border after I'd done some weeding helped by my garden fairy, Sue.

Dig border, plant five hens, feed and water sparingly....

Then Pecky Hen finds time for a nap in the sun. It's all right for some!

Another lovely weekend this weekend after a blustery and chilly few days during the week.  Time for more gardening!

Around about.....

The last few days have been grey and chilly, but earlier in the week we had some lovely warm weather and it felt particularly Spring like.

Looking across Sandside Bay

There are lambs appearing in the fields now...

Catkins on the willows.....

Spring flowers in the garden.....

Tulips.....

I forget what these are called but they are remarkably robust.... and close up when the sun is not on them....

Anemones

And trusty old ride on mower is off for a Spring service and clean up at the farm.  Big John Deere and baby John Deere tractors!

Hens love the warmer days..... as does Button

After a wander about I left Button contemplating life....

Kirkwall archaeology

Some roadworks in the centre of Kirkwall have exposed some of the remains of the old Kirkwall Castle.

To the uninitiated (like me!) it appears to be a pile of rubble, but to those in the know it was an exciting find.  The picture above is how Kirkwall was thought to have looked at the time. St Magnus Cathedral standing proud and the castle behind it. Picture reproduced from the book "Black Pate" about Earl Patrick Steward by Dr Peter Anderson.

From an information board at the site:

"The castle was built in the late 14th Century by Earl Henry Sinclair when Orkney was still ruled by Scandinavian Kings. It was said to be one of the strongest castles in the realm. It was besieged in 1614 by forces of the Scottish King and defended by the rebellious Stewart Earls. The Castle was dismantled in 1615.  Final demolition was complete in 1865 when Castle Street was built."

As you can see in the picture at the top of this post, the sea came right up to the castle.  A lot of land has been reclaimed now and the sea pushed well back.  Love the "looking back in time".  They say in Orkney, scratch the surface and it bleeds archaeology.