2nd August – In 2020 Orkney Islands Council went shopping in Norway and purchased Nordic Sea as a replacement passenger ferry for the Westray/Papay route.
It was quickly realised that it was not suitable for the intended route and was effectively put into mothballs. This summer it was dusted down and put on to provide a service from Stromness to Lyness on Hoy and to the oil terminal on Flotta.
As it was a nice morning I went with our Dounby friends, Terry and Judith, on the run down to Lyness. As an indicator of the route’s popularity, there were eight passengers outbound and just the three of us inbound.
People can be extremely silly when they have the boat to themselves. We were hoping to see some fins but no luck. We did, however, see a Golden Eagle over Hoy.
Here I take the opportunity to explain quantum string theory to Terry (who’s from Macclesfield!).
7th August – Last year I built a small pond, using a pre-formed plastic liner. Put some pond plants in and left it to overwinter. Despite an icy covering it came through and seems to have settled in nicely.
I gauge its success by the number of residents it now has. As Kevin Costner said “build it and they will come”.
We now have a thriving population of froglets and tadpoles in various stages of development. The cold start to year has meant that they are later than usual, I just hope they can grow enough to survive an Orkney winter.
14th August – During a break in the recent stormy weather we took a trip to the Ness of Brodgar. This week marks the end of the archaeological works on the site for the foreseeable future, this weekend the gates will be locked and the excavations covered over for the last time.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy5ppxgg5wo
The work here has been the biggest archaeology project in Orkney for years and has been running since 2003. This final week is drawing large crowds, here a large group are being shown the works in progress.
The site looks like a quarry in this photo but other views reveal the intricate masonry that was laid down some 5000 years ago.
Of course, we couldn’t visit the Ness of Brodgar without bumping into Jeanne Rose, here she is in her element, painting the structures as they are uncovered.
An interesting supplementary to the Neolithic story arose this week with the revelation that one of the large stones at Stonehenge came from north of Scotland and not Wales, as previously thought.
- Subsequent to this story, scientists have confirmed that the Altar Stone is not from Orkney.
22nd August – It’s that time of year when there is a “super” moon. It looks great if there’s a clear sky. It does bring tides that are higher than usual and flood warnings were issued, thankfully unnecessarily in Stromness.
24th August – The frogs in the little pond continue to grow and are becoming more adventurous. They will soon be up and away, hopefully keeping garden pests under control.
27th August – A blast from the past. This handsome three masted barquentine has been visiting Stromness. Thalassa is a Dutch training ship and often visits Orkney, it’s a good looking vessel, it’s a shame they don’t set sail until they’re out into open water.
31st August – The sun rose over Stromness at 06:35 this morning, the forecast is for a lovely day. Unfortunately, as tomorrow is September, these days are becoming shorter and fewer.
The day fulfilled its early promise and gave us a beautiful sunny afternoon. We were invited to tea and cakes in Terry and Judith’s garden in Dounby.
The couple either side of yours truly are Marilyn and Kevin Bell, from Stenness. They are fellow Shorewatchers and cover the Tuesday and Thursday shifts.
Scapa Views 
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