Sea Shore

More photos from the recent sunny spell. I love walking along the shore near the house.

Down at the pier are lots of sand eels - good for the local bird and sealife!  Favourite puffin food too! We don't have puffins nesting on the island but I often see them in flight when on the boat.

Rock pools are full of interesting things

And an amazing variety of seaweed too

And the seals are always curious about us land based folk!

Interesting geology here.....

Here is evidence of an old "midden" (rubbish tip) by one of the ruined croft cottages. It's thought there has been a croft here for several hundred years.

And the "Hamnavoe" sailing out of Stromness again!

Glorious weather continues....

Well temperatures have dropped but it's still sunny!  Though farmers are desperate for rain to wash fertilizer into the fields and to help crops grow.  But I'm making the most of the lovely weather!  Last Saturday there were 16.2 hours of sunshine and temperatures reached 24 degrees C (76 F).

Above - photo of the "Hamnavoe" boat sailing out of Stromness on it's way to Scrabster on the Scottish Mainland, with Stromness in the background.

And here you can see Graemsay with Hoy High lighthouse!

Last weekend I went for a short walk "up the road". It was just glorious in the warm sun.

The house with Stromness in the background.

Sheep wondering what on earth I am doing... the lambs are growing fast now.

Lesser celandine growing in the ditch.

Looking across the turquoise entrance to Scapa Flow to the West Mainland of Orkney.

The ruined croft of Moan, with a scarecrow in the field! The scarecrow was to ward off crows and the like when the sheep and young lambs were in the field.

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