More Walks (1)

 Well, only two really. 

Here are some photos I took at Happy Valley after we had got over the shock of encountering the stoat killers. 

 

Obviously the draw at this time of the year is the bluebells, but there were plenty of daffodils still out. 

Blue, pink AND white! 

would be arty-crafty photo of moss on tree trunk!

new carved stone. there were a few of these dotted about

a perfect 'Enid Blyton' den! 

the elusive (on Orkney) running water that isn't just field drainage! 

the place seems a lot lighter than usual. maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the late arrival of leaves on the trees.

It's a lovely place for a gentle walk and one I shall miss. 

After we left Happy Valley we continued on to the Ring of Brodgar, not that we particularly wanted to see that again but in case any of the World Heritage Site Ranges were there. A friend of ours, who retired as a Ranger at the end of last summer died very suddenly a couple of weeks ago and we were hoping to find someone who could tell us something about a funeral/memorial service. By the time we got to the Ring the Rangers had packed up and gone for the day and we're still no wiser about any memorial service. We sort of hope there will be one, and before we leave Orkney so that we can attend. Since we had flogged all the way from the Ring car park, which is not as near to the actual site as you might think,  we did have a wander around the Ring itself, not nearly as interesting as it used to be when you could walk wherever you liked and actually touch the stones, not a thing you're allowed to get close enough to do these days. And although I have many many photographs of the Ring of Brodgar I couldn't resist taking a few more. At least the place wasn't full of cruise ship hordes.

The Stoat Killers of Orkney

 

This is their one of their many vans, three of which were parked at Happy Valley when we went there for a walk on Tuesday.

You can't see what it says on the side but obviously they don't brand their vans as being Orkney Stoat Killers. They call themselves the Orkney Native Wildlife Project. This obviously sounds much nicer. but they are basically stoat killers. They were set up solely  to exterminate stoats on Orkney, a non native species that first appeared on Orkney in 2010. The 2010 is according to them. I don't think there is any independent verification of that. To this end they have been given humungous amounts of money from  amongst others, the local council and the RSPB. 

They say stoats are a danger to the many ground nesting birds we have in Orkney - which may well be so, but if that is the case you would think that they would produce some statistics to prove it. Of course, it would be a bit tricky because bird populations in Orkney of all types have been falling since before 2010; when we moved here in 2005 there weren't the numbers of birds there had been when we first holidayed here. So producing stats that adjusted  for the general decline in all species, perhaps with some evidence about why that was happening and showing that ground nesting birds had been more affected since 2010 due presumably tot he stoats, assuming that is when they first arrived, would back up their agenda and go some way to justifying their funding. Such stats may have been produced ( although I doubt it) but if they do, they haven't been made publicly available. 

For their 'work' they use poisoned traps, tunnel like things with bait at one end and a small entrance at the other, which are too narrow to turn around in. Guess what? It's not only stoats that get trapped in them. Small rabbits, voles, feral kittens have all been reported as turning up in stoat traps. Are there any statistics produced about how many other species as opposed to stoats are caught in these traps. Are there chuff. 

When the project was first set up the justification for exterminating stoats was simply that they were a non-native species. When various people pointed out that so was the hare but nobody seemed to be bothered about eradicating that, then the story about the ground nesting birds emerged and was given prominence. 

The large group of ONWP people at Happy Valley the other day seemed to be training dogs to catch stoats, laughing and joking as they tried to get the dog to catch a ( toy? stuffed? ) stoat on a stick that they waved around.  Ha ha. 

I'm not saying that stoats aren't a danger to ground nesting birds. I don't know - because no-one has made an effort to prove it. I'm not saying that the traps aren't the best or the only way to do it, although I sincerely doubt it. I do know they are trapping things other than their target stoats and I think they should come out and admit that. And produce some numbers - although to be honest  I wouldn't trust any figure that came out of their office because they have an agenda and they won't be shaken from it.  But these people are getting large sums of public money and they should be held accountable. I think they should also admit that, given their own comments about the fertility rates of stoats, they are on a hiding to nothing. They will not be able to eradicate stoats because I reckon the task is well nigh impossible, but while they continue to maintain that it is and that they are working hard to achieve it they have very secure jobs. 

I took some lovely pictures in Happy Valley although the trip was overshadowed somewhat by seeing the Stoat Killers and I'll post some of them another day. 

Two Nice Things

 A good friend, having heard about Markko,  got her niece to drop these in to show she was thinking of us. 

Wasn't that lovely?They were still tightly shut when delivered but slowly opened up yesterday and this is how they looked today. Such a beautiful colour. 

And then today I made this (aided and abetted by the OH who is very good at separating eggs). 

Had I remembered how big this was I'd have done half quantities, but it's a very long time since I made it, so that's my excuse. Well not excuse really, just the reason that it's huge. I did this to make a start on pre-move freezer emptying; this is some of last year's raspberry crop. I must cast  an eye over how many we have left and decide how many more fools, pavlovas, trifles and crumbles with raspberries I will need to produce to use them all up. 

And yes, I am finally daring to believe that the move is really going to happen. Tomorrow the valuer for our buyer's lender is coming to give the house the once over , but for various reasons that shouldn't be any sort of a problem. Currently we are looking at a completion date of 23rd May  and moving in to the new house on 24th. I hope writing that down hasn't jinxed anything. 

He didn't often sit in a box ...

 but just occasionally he would surprise us

We were saddened and shocked yesterday to lose Markko, the last of our cats, bar the visiting Alessandro. The OH took him to the vet for a check up, as he had been losing a bit of weight and was fairly lethargic. We thought it was that thyroid disorder that is common in elderly male cats and involves you in a daily struggle to get a pill down their throats, somehow or anyhow. But it wasn't. The vet diagnosed  a large tumour, and said it was best to put him to sleep. Had I known this would be the outcome I would have gone with them but as I say it was a total surprise so I had stayed at home. 

Years ago Markko used to hang around the house, occasionally slipping in to grab food from the plates of the cats we already had. We never knew where he came from but assumed he had been either lost or dumped as he knew about litter trays. He had been picked up at some stage by the local feral cat people and taken to the vets to be neutered and then let go again; we could tell from the nick on his left ear. . When I went to my first conference, in Gdansk in 2014, I remember saying ' I don't want to come back and find that that black cat has taken up residence in the house'. But, as inevitably as rainbows follow rain, when I got back from Gdansk that was exactly what had happened. 

Because of this I called him Interloper at first, and then Greebo after the cat in the Discworld but we eventually settled on Markko. It's odd that all the cats we have named for ourselves have ended up with names ending in O. 

He wasn't a particularly snuggly cat, which was another reason why we thought he might have been dumped. It took years before he would sit on a human knee and I could count the number of times he did that to me on the fingers of one hand. The OH, and Son No 2when here, were much luckier int hat respect. But he must have liked it here because he never wandered off; whether it was the company of other cats, the warmth, the plentiful summer  supply  of rabbits, the food on demand or the large numbers of comfortable spots to curl up and sleep I don't know. But he stayed. 

And now he's gone, and he was the last of them. We won't get any more but that doesn't mean that all the ones we have had over the years aren't remembered and kept close in our hearts. 

Spring is Sprung, the Grass is Riz

 and there is no need to wonder where the birdies is, because they are all over the  shop making the most appalling racket. 

Sorry for the lack of enthusiasm re birdsong there, but the sale of our house continues to be a very stressful process and it's having an effect. 

Today wasn't very spring like to be honest but we have had some lovely days recently; warm, sunny and blue so we've been tempted out for gentle walks. And walks mean photos, naturally. 

First up was The Gloup, which is one of my favourite walks, because it can be as long or as short as you like. You can do the path from the car park to the cliff edge and the Gloup itself, and leave it at that, or you can extend it by walking along the cliffs as far as you feel like. There's a lower path nearer the edge which has better views of the cliff and a higher one from where you can see further and which tends to be slightly drier after wet weather. 

The Gloup is part of the Mull Head Nature Reserve and the cliffs are a great spot for fulmars to nest. I'd say there are more pairs there now than  we've seen in many years and if I'm right that's a good sign. Orkney is still a good place for bird watching but not nearly as good as it was when we first moved here. 

Next up was a trip to Gurness, which is one of my favourite places in Orkney. we didn't go to the Broch this time ( we've been lots and lots of times as it is)  but we  had a wander on the beach which is huge and flat but sadly very smelly. 

We went via Finstown which is where Firth Park is situated - another favourite. Always something to photograph there whatever the season. 

Yesterday we went to Olav's Wood which wasn't as much fun as it usually is. This was partly because the wind was very cold, partly because I was feeling very down about the house and partly because it was a bit too early in the year for the trees to be coming to life. Still took pictures though. 

Today as I've said was grey and horrid and the only place we went was the supermarket. Where I didn't take any photos at all!! 

ROH Filmcasts

 We've seen a  couple of these recently and I didn't write up the first one which was Swan Lake. What can I say? It was a very traditional production with very traditional sets (think a courtyard that could have come straight out of something lived in by Mad King Ludwig of Bavaria, and a lakeside that could have come straight from any lateC18/early C19  watercolour by an artist desperately attempting to picture The Sublime.) Couldn't fault the dancing much, although the corps de ballet weren't always quite in sync. I did learn a couple of things though. Firstly the pas de deux in Act 3 is called the Black Swan  and it's phenomenal. And secondly I prefer my ballet to tell a more complex story  but in a more straightforward way. This is possibly/probably down to my ignorance of a lot of the techniques and narrative modes of classical ballet. Summed up as, I wouldn't rush off to sit through Swan Lake again but give me another  chance to see A Streetcar Named Desire ( which I wrote about here ) and I'll be at the top of the queue. 

And yesterday we went to see Turandot. We've never seen it live and the only other time I saw it was many years ago on TV and I don't remember a great deal about that. Considering how long it is I'm surprised it was televised at all really. Anyway, again, what can I say about this one. Sumptuous production, and great singing; it didn't get all those rave reviews recently for nothing. But all in the service of a nasty and silly story. All that talent deserves a better vehicle really. I'm really glad we went but I wouldn't be desperate to see the opera again, it leaves a very nasty taste in the mouth. 

On both occasions we were irritated as always by the girl with the mike, and the crocodile teeth exposed by a meaningless smile,  doing trite interviews with cast members and production staff. I appreciate that the ROH is mindful that some people might be unfamiliar with the plot of the opera/ballet they are about to see. So put up a screen at the beginning with a synopsis and spare us the patronising nodding blonde; this would also considerably cut the running time which came in about 40 minutes longer then necessary yesterday. 

Sorry there's no photo today but I didn't have the time/patience to source one that was copyright free. I probably have a photo I've taken myself with a few swans on it but goodness knows how long it might take to find. However, tomorrow I intend to celebrate the coming of spring, so there will be lots of photos for that. 

The Influx Begins

 

As hinted previously I have *some yarn* scheduled to arrive in April and this was the first lot to arrive. 

The people at Lay Family Yarn occasionally ask someone they know who has a YouTube or presumably Instagram following to come and guest dye a new colour for them and last month it was Paula, the Stitched  by Mrs D You Tuber, who we follow mainly on the basis that she has a cat who she trained to ring a bell for cat treats. 

Paula's colourway was inspired by her wedding colours; blue hydrangeas in her bouquet and Cath Kidston bunting. I've never bought any of the guest colours before, but we like Paula and I liked the colours and I'd seen a pattern that I thought it would be good for so I splashed out. Now that I've seen the mini skein I'm less convinced about the pattern , but we'll see how it turns out. Eventually. 

Stupidly Ambitious Thing

 This is the name I have given on Ravelry to the project I referred to recently as 'a very lacy scarf that takes a lot of concentration'. A couple of days ago I finally finished Section 1 or the 'set up' section as the pattern refers to it. This felt like such an achievement I took a photo.

Because the first yarn is so dark it's quite difficult to see the lace in all its horror  loveliness, but that will become visible as I work my way through the lighter coloured yarns. Look out for monthly progress photos beside those of the Earthdancer cross stitch. 

The whole project is a half advent set from 2023. Dyers are starting to release details of their advents for this year and the OH is keen for me to choose one for my Christmas present, but I feel that I ought to use up/finish using  some of the advents I already have before committing to any more. I saw the box with this one on the shelves in my craft room recently and thought 'is that an advent?' and when I saw which one it was I naively thought, well that's only a half one I can blast through that. I was wrong. It's going to be a long and painful process but when it's finished it will be beautiful. So beautiful and so difficult to produce I'll probably never dare wear it! 

Happy Mail - Not Yarn!

 

So a little while ago, as reported on here,  I bought a new  rucksack style Yoshi bag in this new design. Just before Mother's Day I got  a marketing e-mail from Yoshi offering me 20% off plus free postage as a Mother's Day deal if I ordered before midnight on a certain date and I swithered and havered and then gave in made a decision and about two hours before the deadline expired I ordered the above. 

The keyring is for the keys to the new house (when we get there) and because it seemed silly just to buy a keyring I ordered a matching wallet as well. I'm not a total completist, or I would have a lot more Yoshi, indeed I would have  a lot more stuff in general, but I do like a bit of a matching set. Anyway what I got off the wallet paid for the keyring so I'm putting that down as a win. 

A Happy Day for the OH

 

Long time readers will know exactly what that picture means! Geris' Ice Cream parlour is open for the summer.

Yet again we didn't get to go on opening day, as before the date was announced I had arranged for a friend to come round for coffee that day. But we did go on day 2 which was yesterday. The choc mint sundae is his and my cone had a scoop of vanilla and a scoop of Beyla's (sp?) raspberry gin. Both were delicious and it's lovely to have Geri's open again. 

It's as well we have something to cheer us up as we are yet again getting stressed with matters related to our house sale. I know that, in that well worn phrase, it will all be worth it in the end, but there are days when I do wonder....

March Wool stats and other crafty stuff

 I did well in March with only 100g of wool coming in and 547g going out. Net stash decrease for the year thus far is 3333g, which is pleasingly symmetrical or something. I would be happier if I wasn't aware that April will be - shall we say - less good?

Some of the 547g was given away, some went into a long term scrappy project and I finished three pairs of socks. Two were for me; the top pair from the Yarn Unique Degas yarn which came in January and the second pair was one of the socks sets from Stitch and the Skein's weekly advent. The bottom pair was for the OH and the wool came from what I understand is referred to as 'deep stash' i.e. it had bene kicking about for years. They are more red than the pink it shows in the photo. 

It doesn't seem much for  a month's work but I have been working on two other projects as well; a very lacy scarf which takes so much concentration I can only do 6 rows a day or it goes horribly wrong ( ask me how I know) and a small scarf cum shawl thing where you change colour every two rows. had I known how fiddly/irritating either of these projects would be I would not have cast them on. However the deed is now done ....

Having recently finished off and used some old, and small, cross stitch projects I picked up an old and very large one and I've been working on that too. This is slow work as I have to wear a head magnifier. Notwithstanding the fact that the optometrist told me what an excellent job the surgeons had done on my cataracts - and don't get me wrong, they did) working over 2x2 threads on 36 count linen is not something I can do with the naked eye. Twenty years ago, yes. Now, no. So that's a bit uncomfortable and I can't spend very long at a time wearing it. That said here  is the piece as at the end of March

there is no point taking daily or even weekly photos of it as progress would look infinitesimal but I'm hoping if I do one at the end of each month then it will be more noticeable, and encouraging.