Er.... back in end April/beginning of May....

Yes, I know that was a while ago, but I am behind with blogging and there were some glorious skies at the beginning of May so you get to enjoy them now in June... when it's cloudy and breezy....  There was one particular week where every night had a different but still spectacular display.....

This photo was taken by a friend in Orphir on the Orkney Mainland, you can see Hoy High light on the headland....

And below, is the same view of the sunset from my house (the lighthouse would be further to my right).

/The sun sets much further to the right in June than in this photo in May.

Early in May I had a slight altercation with this very handsome Ram and some of his lady friends.  I hadn't realised the ram was out with the ewes.  I thought they had just escaped from their enclosure and went to move them out of the walled garden when the Ram appeared.... I hastily retreated and phoned the farmer!

The ladies love him!

Erm, no really I would rather prefer you stayed out the garden, but um... I won't argue....

"It's OK ladies, I've sorted it - we can stay here as long as we like...."

This hen was very happy to accompany me when I was digging in the garden (this was end April).

Guard cat..... no good at herding sheep...

A lovely evening.  Bit of an optical illusion of the arc of cloud as this is a panoramic shot.

Hen and bluebells!

Button back at the end of April when there was room to get under the garden bench before everything grew up around it!

Sandside bay.....

Charlie the barn cat out enjoying the sunshine...

Some tulips, one in the garden, one rescued for the house....

Love the petals on this, it had a beautiful perfume too.....

Hope you enjoyed these older photos.  I'm not out and about much during lockdown, so not so many to share at the moment...

Back in May......

A quick trip round the island in my car to a) make sure it keeps running and b) to post a letter!

An old quarry to the right of the top photo, it was full of marsh marigolds. Beautiful golden flowers.

Looking West.....

Earlier in the day the sun had shone and the sky was beautifully patterned with clouds.

Meanwhile in the garden Button finds a sunny spot that is sheltered from any breeze...

I love the patterns on this hen's feathers..... she is a Cuckoo Maran cross.  She's one of the elderly hens too.....

This young sycamore tree is doing well.  It's grown much bigger in the last few weeks since this photo was taken.

I love these Welsh poppies....

These aquilegia (Grannies bonnets or Columbines) look magnificent this year.....

Erm.... I seem to have a hen who randomly drops her eggs.  Sometimes they are in the hen house under her perch, sometimes in the garden.  Obviously not been doing her pelvic floor exercises!

These ladies are finishing breakfast in one of the barns...

Hmmm overcrowding on Graemsay!  Two hens in one nest.  No it's not an official nest... this is the old stable, and this "box" is where the horse's oats would have been put each day.  Hens love it though....

And my garden got the seal of approval from an Oystercatcher!

Button wanders over in the hope of a light lunch.....

The next day it rained.....

Button was unimpressed....

In preparation for the bad weather I had gathered these late flowering narcissi in from the garden....

And even in late May the nights were really light - this was about 10.30 pm.  I love going to bed when it is light.  It feels really decadent!

Um... it's June....

..... which if the song were true should be bustin' out all over - reference to song from the musical Carousel there. And life feels a bit like being on a carousel at the moment, dizzy from going round and round in the same space, with ups and downs along the way. Ho Hum.  But we all continue to remain well on the island so that is really good news.  Scotland is being more cautious in coming out of the Covid-19 lockdown than in England and I think most people are happy with that.  There was another confirmed case in Orkney last week, but so far only 8 cases, though sadly two deaths. 

But on a much brighter note last weekend was gorgeous, so warm, well hot even! OK, probably only 18 degrees C, though in the walled garden it was in the low 20s C. When gardening I had to work on the north facing border as it slowly went into the shade!  The hens joined in too of course....

These two sisters are about 9 years old now.  One is nearly blind and rarely ventures far but if her sibling is around she will go with her for a wander to the garden.....

Last Sunday I was quite concerned about Button.  She wasn't her usual self and slept for 12 hours solid.  She did eat a little food if I brought it to her, but she wasn't interested in doing anything at all.  Thankfully she brightened up in the evening.  She wouldn't let me stroke her back or back legs so I think she may have injured herself.  No bites - though vet thought she may have been in a fight with another cat (and Charlie is the dominant one around these parts).  Anyway thankfully she has recovered almost back to normal now.  She's just not risking jumping about too much, up onto windowsills etc.  Though she is back to her usual vocal self.  A silent Button is a very sad Button.

So I was delighted when on Monday she was happy to get onto the bench to soak up some of the warmth from the sun....

Now this photo looks worse than it is. Haha!

Button decided to go for a bit of a wander as the hens put in an appearance....

Tallulah, the black hen on the right is a very nervous hen and wasn't sure where she wanted to go....  fortunately they soon sorted themselves out....  Button has great respect of hens as they make a lot of noise, have pecky beaks and very sharp claws!  She prefers her chicken on a plate all prepared...

The weather today.... well we have 40 mph Northerly winds which means it is blooming chilly, and rain - though we do need the rain for the garden and the fields.... but it would be nice if we could have it a wee bit warmer.... please.....