Beautiful weather continues....

....and I'm out enjoying it!!  Will be back soon and will answer comments etc....sorry - sun is calling! Photo above is of Stromness harbour on Friday as the haar (sea mist) was burning off.

It's too hot!!

Not a phrase you hear in Orkney very often!! Yesterday top temperature was 20 degrees C/68F - which for Orkney is HOT!  Mid-summer temps sometimes get up to mid 70s F but considering last week we were feeling the cold in temperatures in the low 50s F you can understand why we are all saying we are too hot!  And the poor nesting birdies must be confused. Wind and rain one week, blazing sunshine the next!

These photos were taken by a friend, J,  on a walk to Markwick and she kindly let me reproduce them here.  These are the cliffs at Marwick Head. Some of you in the UK may have seen these in the recent "Coast" programme on BBC, as there was an episode almost entirely devoted to Orkney including the fateful last journey of the HMS Hampshire with Lord Kitchener on board which was sunk just ofshore.  There is a memorial tower on top of the cliffs called The Kitchener's Memorial

The cliffs are home to guillimots, kittiwakes, fulmars and sometimes puffins. All crammed on rock ledges. The noise (and - er  - smell) is amazing when you lean over the cliffs during the breeding season. Go up there out of season and the cliffs are silent. Spooky.

Top photo - looking at the cliffs of Markwick Head.

Here are the nesting birds! In a good season there may be up to 25,000 actually raising chicks "on the edge"!

And here is the lovely pink thrift that also clings resolutely to the edge of cliffs. I love this plant for it's bravery and tenacity.

Still here!

Oops not sure where the last week has gone!  Busy tonight gardening for real and then armchair gardening watching the Chelsea Flower Show on TV!  Meanwhile....another sunset..... see how far the sun has moved since the end of April......it's quietly moved across the entrance to Scapa Flow.

Back soon......!

Flotsam and jetsam.....

....got blown into the garden during the gale and torrential rain overnight.....

Flotsam above, and here is Jetsam - glad *someone* enjoys my garden bench! So far I've had little use of it....

As you can see they are enjoying their respite from the weather!  Neither were keen to leave but given my plants and veggies have a hard enough time battling weather and hens, I thought two sturdy ewes would be a step too far. Both got "shepherded" by C. into my field behind the house as they didn't seem to want to go far! I acted as "road-block" to prevent them running off.  This is probably more amusing if you know that I am only 4ft 8 inches tall.....

Wind has died down now and rain stopped. Garden looks battered from wind (sheep just enjoyed the grass). But everything seems to be intact so that's the main thing.

The wind was making the sea look like it was "smoking" last night.

Rainy days....

I was in the garden yesterday, sitting on my bench, drinking tea and contemplating summer. Then the wind and rain arrived last night. When I say "rain" - it's the torrential continuous rain that folk South in the UK have suffered for some time. The poor wee lambs will really suffer in this. Wind and cold they can deal with as long as they get a warm belly of milk.  The rain is another matter. Not a good time for farmers.

I promised recipes today. But I have an Evil Migraine so that event is postponed till my brain re-emerges from the fuzz that has enveloped it all day.  I'll get back to replying to comments then too.....

It's the middle of May and I'm looking forward to the Leek & Potato soup that is bubbling on the cooker just now......sigh.....

Meanwhile, take a look at this short film of the beautiful neighbouring island of Hoy through the seasons, by John Findlay

Sunrise on a Saturday.....

Much as I welcome the sun at any time, sunrise on a day off is something I would rather miss.... however some night's are like that.  And watching the sun rise with a cup of tea is as good a way as any to greet a morning if one has to ;-)  (Note..... I have never been a morning person!).

Sunrise today 4.48, sunset 9.27....... I love the long light days..... I also like a lie-in on a Saturday....needless to say Button the Cat has a lot to do with me being up at this hour of the day...... who'd have thought there were TWO 5 o'clocks in the same day.

Planting....

I'm valiantly carrying on planting seeds in the veg patch, despite low temperatures. Showers of rain today but there is some warmth in the sun, out of the wind. (Photo of sunset above was taken on Wednesday night).  But main temperatures are still in single figures....and it's the middle of MAY!  At least we haven't suffered the torrential rain and flooding of other parts of the UK. Even the grass seems to be slow growing this year. Which is fine for me as it means I can spend time gardening rather than mowing grass (no it doesn't count as gardening!).  But not good for crops or silage etc.

Anyway the strawberries are netted as they are coming in to flower now.

And carrots sown today and are cosy under their fleecy blanket! This helps keep carrot fly at bay - I keep the fleece on all through the season and it seems to work and I still get regular sized, tasty carrots!

Even in the walled garden I struggle with some herbs. They just don't survive the winter winds laden with salt spray. I've planted these two thyme plants near the compost bin.  I keep trying!

I've planted some trees in the garden. Here is a young Rowan tree (supposed to keep evil spirits away from the house or so legend tells!). It's not very big - the lovage is taller (just behind it).

Meanwhile Spring flowers are blooming. Aquilegia are my favourite. I have several in the garden.

The forget-me-nots are happy here. These are from Kentish stock (from a friend's garden) and have adapted well to the harsher Northern climate!  Happy little things

These bluebells have been here for many many years, long before I moved here. Each Spring they bloom despite being exposed to strong winds.

Time for a cuppa after all that work!