Success – at last!
I’ve spent 40 years as a photographer and had to face the constant indignity of people expressing their views on my photographs. …
Graand Owld Byre Volume One – The Michael Harcus Family – a review
When I first played the CD of Graand Owld Byre Volume One by The Michale Harcus Family I was in the car …
Rock ledges
The sedimentary rock on Westray breaks into hundreds of ledges where the layers of time wear them away.
Lines and circles
Rock lines and circles surround us in a sea cave on Westray.
Run, rabbit, run
If you’re interested in wildlife you may wonder why so much of it is so difficult to see. Why are animals so …
Barbed wire sunset
It’s only a small climb to the top of the field at Einar, but the view is so rewarding at this time …
The Limpet Twins
Limpets are a personal favourite of mine; especially with garlic. No, seriously I love the rock-licking kneecaps a great deal. Here they …
Raven over rooftops
There’s a Raven over my roof. Here it is with the top of my capped-off chimney below it. Its wingtips are lit …
Gannet
Walking along the Bay of Tafts I’m sad to see the body of a Gannet. Its fragile ribs and delicate feathers are …
Boulders on my border
The mini-boulders on Westray’s beaches are a never-ending source of stripes and spots of beautiful muted colours.
Urtica
There are lots of Nettles at Einar. Their scientific name is Urtica dioica, with urtica meaning to burn. They certainly do.
Cracks in the paving
I could stand and stare at the stone Orkney beaches for hours; and I sometimes do.
Leftovers
There’s very little left of this carcass at Noup Head.
The lost sock
There’s a lost sock impaled on the barbed wire at Noup Head. The other one is probably still inside your duvet cover …
The ruins remain
On Westray the ruins of old buildings litter the farming landscape. Memories of the lives lived in joy and hardship linger around …
Rock pool gardens
The rock pools of Westray are magnificent underwater gardens. Here, red Coral Weed makes a frondy jungle.
Razorbill
I didn’t even see this Razorbill on the cliffs last summer at Noup Head until The Puffin Whisperer pointed it out to …
Russian Corks
There are corks jammed tight into the cracks in the rock in this Westray cave.
Cormorants – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago on 17 August 1976, when I was a 12 year old boy, I saw Cormorants while on holiday in …
Fulmars
Fulmars look like gulls but aren’t. Look closer and they have strange adapted bills with tubes on their noses. Their countershading colouration …
Collapsing roof
With the weight of flagstones on the roof timbers, a Westray roof needs love and attention to keep it keeping the rain …