Winter is upon us.

Well winter is upon us, the evenings are closing in and we are getting more storms,
Jill's leg is a lot better,she can walk without the stick, she went into  Kirkwall on Monday morning to see the specialist from Aberdeen Hospital, He was very pleased with her progress and there was no need to see him again, unfortunately the weather turned very windy so the police closed the barriers to traffic. Jill caught the two o'clock bus but this was turned back at No 1 Barrier, as the waves were still to rough and coming over the road, they eventually opened the road at four o'clock and Jill arrived home at five o'clock ,nine hours after leaving home.
Buster is growing fast, Jill measured him the other day and he was 86cm long and 34cm around the belly, we have been unable to weigh  him as he will not keep still.

The bird watching has been very good, with north easterly wind's bringing in migrants from Scandinavia .
and all the winter birds returning ,the fields are filling with Golden Plover,Lapwing and a whole lot more.

Waxwing

Pectoral sandpiper.














Last but not Least.
Jill will be returning to Bristol for Christmas , she will arrive on the 17th of December and return on the 7th January ,I will be staying here as I do not think it is right to put a puppy in kennels for three weeks.
Marcus has decided to return with Jill on the 7th and stay for ten days.

Well that's all for now, cant think of anything else, so will post again before Christmas.

Family Visit's and Buster

 An Eventful Month

Well this has been an eventful month, First off Jill went into Hospital in Aberdeen on the 1st, Jean Dave & Mum arrived on the 2nd for a week’s stay, Damien arrived on the 19th for a for a week and then Buster arrived.

Jill's Right Leg.

Jill flew to Aberdeen on the 1stfor what was supposed to be a three-day stay to have her damaged kneecap replaced, this turned out to be seven days for a full knee replacement. All went well and she is now on the road to full recovery although this will be a long process.

Family Visit.

The day after Jill entered Hospital Jean Dave & Mum arrived for a week’s holiday.
They stayed at the Orkney Hotel in Kirkwall and made the Thirty mile round trip each day to our place. The weather was good and it stayed bright & sunny although very blustery for the week, only raining on the morning, they left. Throughout their stay, we travelled all around Mainland Orkney and the length & add breadth of South Ronaldsay, taking in as much of the area and Bird life as possible, covering a distance of over four hundred miles. A great time was had by all but it was a shame that Jill was not here as well, Dave promised to return again in the Spring for another Bird watching trip.

Damien's Visit

On Sunday 19th I went to Kirkwall airport to meet Damien, who was coming to stay for seven days, we picked up the hire car and made the short trip to the house, this was the first time Damien had driven in Orkney and found it a refreshing change from the chaos of city driving.
Although the weather was not that good, Strong winds and heavy showers, we managed to get out most days. Damien enjoyed the Bird watching and managed to add six new birds to his list. While staying with us Damien booked his next holiday, this time a Bird watching & wildlife trip to India in February , not bad, China 2009, Nepal 2010, India & New Zealand 2011

On his last evening, Damien drove Jill into Kirkwall to pick up Buster the latest addition to our family. Buster is a three month old Chocolate and white Cocker Spaniel. He is going to require a lot of love and attention over the coming months so will keep us both busy over the winter months.

Buster

Grand Children.

Well it’s down south again on Wednesday, time to take Alanta & Mitchell back home. They have spent the last two weeks with us, its been hard graft at times but well worth it, They have enjoyed their time here and the weather has been good, with only Occasional rain and some very warm sunny days. Keeping them busy is the hard bit, visits to Kirkwall Museum & the Bishops Palace, Stromness Harbour and the Museum, they enjoyed Seal watching around the Islands, but I think they enjoyed themselves most when playing about on the beaches looking for Crabs.

Plenty of long walks and fresh air, and still they are not tired.

Alanta & Mitchell accompanied Jill to Kirkwall on two occasions to view some Springer Spaniel puppies that are two weeks old, Jill has picked a Chocolate male ,which the kids have called Buster, It will be ready to collect around the end of September.

The Garden ( Yard)

All Jill's own work. not bad for a rush job
next summer a bit more planing.

Back Garden (Yard)

 

More Birds

Juvenile Common Gulls



Well the breeding season is over, most juvenile bird's are now on the wing.
It's strange ,how after the breeding season all the birds disappear, only to reappear in a few months time.

More Interior shots & a little bit of garden.

Just a few pictures of the inside of the house. just finished building storage under the stairs.There are also a few pictures of Jill's garden.

Only a small garden.