Orkney sunshine
Orkney sunshine in the playground.
Real dedication
There’s a beautiful collection of desiccated woodlice in the upturned light shade. It shows real dedication that they crawled all the way across the floor, up the wall and along the ceiling before dying in my light shade.
Rainbows, Peregrine, Traybakes and Fancies, Moonlit Cycling
The 14 mile return cycle to The Wheeling Steen Gallery is either getting easier or I’m getting more blasé about it. So …
Look at the halteres on that!
Craneflies have such an unpredictable wobbly flight. Their flight would be a lot worse if they didn’t have such big halteres to …
Poppy
The last red poppy on wasteland at Rack Wick.
The Puffins are here!
The Puffins are here! I thought that I would have just missed them, but tonight, there they were, like flying boats at …
Pecking order
My first evening here and I’m desperate to get out and about on my bike. Starlings flutter and shuffle their elaborate pecking …
Mice nibble… #2
Slippers Just when I was thinking I’d like to get my cold feet into some snug slippers in this Orkney Summer I …
Sugar and spice and everything nice…
… that’s what Westray is made of. Slugs and snails. That’s what my house is made of. Here’s an adventurous slug who …
Is that on the inside or the outside?
Is that fly on the inside or the outside of the window? I really can’t tell. If it’s on the inside, then …
Cockles on the beach
Cockles on the shell-sand beach in Pierowall.
Lay me down in a field of daisies
A trek to Noup Head Lighthouse and time to rest and use my Spinner 360 camera to capture the scene. “Lay me …
Lawyers’ Wigs and a bug’s-eye
The fields on the ride to Noup are covered in Lawyers’ Wigs, no not the wigs of lawyers, but a mushroom also …
Birds’ nests look so simple
Birds’ nests look so simple until you try to imagine making them with only your mouth and feet.
For the love of Rhubarb
It’s time for a cycle trip to the Westray shops – all three of them – to see what rhubarb treats they …
Rough grazing
Wind and weather conspire together to make Westray’s grass rough and tough. That’s essential for the ponies in my field. When the …
Driftwood and whalebone
The lack of trees on Orkney has meant that generations of people have relied upon driftwood and whalebone for building materials. Orkney’s …
Summer Visitors
It’s wonderful to see that the Swallows who visit Orkney in the Summer to breed have done so well. There are at …
The Sands of Woo
Worm casts at the Sands of Woo.
An afternoon with an Otter
A cycle ride to Mae Sands and a picnic of bread, cheese and water with a nice apple. Mae Sands is so …
Pitter patter on the window
It’s late at night and I’m sitting on the wide window ledge in the kitchen. The light is on and the curtains …
Running away to the circus
No, not that kind of circus. I mean Circus cyaneus, the Hen Harrier. Sitting in the window seat looking over the fields …
Gannets
Gannets have started breeding on the Noup Head cliffs and are taking over many of the narrow ledges and expanding the number …
Weather and wildlife strip the carcase clean
A 16 metre-long adult Sperm Whale beaching its carcase on the Bay of Tuquoy in 2007 was a source of much excitement …
Slugs and Fine China
When you move to an abandoned house there are always inhabitants who need to be evicted. Some are simply guests. Some are …
Common Seals on a Grey Day
Common seals strike ridiculous poses in Pierowall Bay. Apparently Common Seals have a characteristic ‘head-up, tail-up’ posture when they are hauled out. …
Dunlin on the Tide Line
Dunlin are wary birds. As I walk along the Bay of Tafts they jerk in nervous motion and skit further along the …
Flatfish on Feet
Idyllic weather in Orkney? T-shirt and shorts on the beach? It must be August and it must be a fluke, surely? Westray …
Stoneware Goblets, Punctures, Oatcakes and Missed Otters
Another day, another cycling trip to the shops. Having no fridge means buying fresh and Westray is full of fresh produce. This …