Hens, sun and garden

Wonderful cloud over the Hoy hills.....  and again below disappearing into the mist!

And then Hoy disappears completely.... as does half of Graemsay!

And Hoy High lighthouse disappears into the mist.... (no foghorn fortunately for me as a neighbour...)

But earlier in the day the sun had shone on our wee island....

And a lovely ethereal sunset....

Yeah I know, the windows need cleaning... but lovely to watch the sunset anyway...

The girls just hanging about..... they often do this when the grass is very wet, they like somewhere dry to preen and rest...

As no one was answering the back door they thought they would try the front door!

Tallulah!  (So named as her top knot of feathers reminds me of a showgirl in a speakeasy in the US movies!)

Hmmmmm cheeky hens!  That's MY bench....

OK it's Button's bench and she lets me use it sometimes...

Button AND the hens enjoying the sun......

And the girls enjoying some sunbathing together....

And of course the hens inspect the garden - excellent pest control!

Talking of pest control.....sigh.... this was taken a few weeks ago - the broad beans just coming through. Button was telling me I needed to get watering them as they looked a little dry.  And I'd been wondering why the radishes were slow to grow (she's standing om them...)

This border has done well this year. Love the lupins!!

Aquilegia (Columbines) and yellow Welsh poppies...

Button and Charlie (barn cat), hens and garden as well as walks to the shore and sunsets have been my solace these last 3 months of lockdown.  Restrictions are easing in Scotland now (slower than England I am happy to say), but as I am shielding I still am advised to stay home with daily walks when possible until the end of July.  Some days that is easy to deal with, others not.  But I'm very fortunate to be living here, and I am safe and well so I have a lot to be grateful for.  Stay safe folks, wherever you are.

A sunset walk to the beach

One day last week the mist cleared in the evening and Button and I took a walk to the shore.....  it was calm, warm and magnificent!

The old buildings disappearing underneath the grass and cow parsley.  Very little seaweed on the shore now.

Button decided to wander out on the rocks.  She went almost to meet the tide.

Sun setting behind Black Craig on the West Mainland of Orkney

Even I might be tempted to swim in this natural pool near the old lighthouse pier.... still too chilly for me though.  Water needs to be the temperature of a warm bath before I will dip more than a toe in!

I love the sea thrift...  I know it's summer when they are in bloom.

Button wanted to stay out longer (she could have if she'd really wanted to - like I could have made her do otherwise!)

She eventually conceded it was probably supper time...

Hoy High light peering above a very low cliff on the shore...

Across Sandside Bay

And home before the sun finally disappeared for the night...

And earlier in the day... up the road... looking back at Sandside and Hoy High lighthouse

While in the garden Red Admiral butterflies were flitting about.  There seem to have been an influx of them on the East winds we have had this week.

Summer solstice

We've had several days of mist, so I was delighted yesterday (Saturday) when the sun shone in the afternoon.  I was hoping it would last into the evening sunset as it was the Summer Solstice and thankfully it did.  Photo above was taken at 10.30.  It was still fairly light at midnight, though the clouds reappeared and this morning it was raining.  But we had a beautiful day for the solstice....

Button and I had spent the afternoon in the garden.  The damp misty days have made everything grow wonderfully, particularly the weeds - well ok they are wildflowers in the wrong place but they are choking some of my perennials so some rescue work was needed.  Button supervised as usual....

This weigelia is flowering well this year - yes that's cow parsley growing through it.  That's ok.  Once it has flowered I will cut the cow parsley back.  But the bees love it...

This is one of the borders - panoramic shot so a bit distorted....

I love the evening light on these poppies....

There have been lots of fledglings about, starlings, sparrows, wrens, and blackbirds.... this is a juvenile blackbird (I think).

And my pride and joy - an orchid growing in the middle of my "lawn". Oh this fair makes my heart sing.  This summer my garden has been blessed by wonderful bugs and bees, birds and now this.

I mentioned misty and cloud last week....

But there were still a couple of lovely evenings....

Sun setting before the cloud bank moved in...

Hope you were able to enjoy the solstice wherever you are in the world.  Stay safe in these strange times..

Sunset.....

June is my favourite month.  In Orkney it barely gets dark at night (blackout blinds help sleep!).  And the sunsets are amazing.  So here are some photos from the other night..... (Sunrise today was 4am and sunset will be 22.28, but as I say it barely gets dark).

It had been a lovely day and I'd taken a drive round the island (didn't take long ha!)

And then it went all pink and purple, just beautiful!

And then the next day.... mist..... for two days.... someone stole my landscape.....

Though it did look very picturesque when it cleared a bit...before returning again.....

But the garden has enjoyed the added moisture form the mist, we've not had that much rain (shhhh) and at least it saved me watering!!