1st January – A Happy New Year to family and friends. We are having a great day here, it’s actually warm and sunny!
If the day couldn’t get any better, we had a visit from the 27s Orca pod at Ness Point.

These visits attract a lot of attention locally and it wasn’t long before there were dozens of people arrive to see the orca.

I cobbled together a short clip of breaching from the photos, it’s not great but gives an idea of the power of these animals.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vTJESLAM6qJBFZAw6

Hopefully this is a good omen for the coming year and we will have many such sightings.

6th January – Here we are again, on the Gaza ceasefire vigil in Kirkwall. Sadly there is no sign of an end to the suffering of the Palestinians trapped in the rubble of their homes.

With better weather there was a good turnout today. Mostly older folk, it would nice to see more younger people getting involved.

13th January – One of our vigilistas, Susie Shearer, is an artist and she sat and did a painting of our little gathering. She has captured the cathedral nicely.

14th January – Tried to do a Shorewatch this morning but kept getting caught in snowy squalls. Not good for me but my colleague seemed to be fine with it. Not sure if he saw anything, I didn’t like to ask!

16th January – We are getting a good covering of snow now. Only the hardiest of folk are out walking.

With the combination of the weather and as the ferry Hamnavoe is away for a refit and the Pentalina has mechanical problems, the shops are running out of fresh goods. Northlink are putting on extra visits from the Aberdeen boats. Tesco has suspended home deliveries until things improve. With a full store cupboard, I think we can survive until about Easter.

22nd January – Storm Isha arrived with a vengeance last night. The strongest winds hit us around 3:00am and we feared for the roof! Last nights wind speeds have been issued for Scotland and of the top fifteen, five were recorded in Orkney. The highest wind speed being 105.5 mph, recorded at Black Craig, 2.6 miles from my solar panels!

We were at the Stromness Surgery this morning and noticed a few areas of property damage en route, some fence panels down and one roofless shed! We’ve checked our estate and don’t appear to have any trees down, so fingers crossed that’s the worst over…till the next storm!

26th January – In the lull between the gales we have had some nice days. An interesting sky over Hoy, followed by an impressive sunset over the golf course.

30th January – Well, January started well and is going out with a flourish (from a Shorewatch perspective), Orca on the 1st and Humpback on the 30th! They produce a powerful blow.

A beautiful day for it too.

1st December – Orkney’s hi-tech experimental mail drone met a watery end yesterday as the machine fell from the sky into the sea, where it promptly sank. I think it unlikely that it can be retrieved.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0j29yy4yp3o

2nd December – Another Peace Vigil at St Magnus’ Cathedral, attended by the LibDem MP for Orkney and Shetland, Alistair Carmichael. Might be worth watching this peedie video from The Orkney News.

“The eyes of the world – and the eyes of history – are watching.” #Gaza

3rd December – The days are very short now and we are still three weeks away from the shortest. This photo of the harbour was taken around 4pm. The harbour lights must seem very inviting to ships arriving on stormy nights.

The dark evenings and the calm sea always enhance the moonrise light. One of my favourite scenes, moonlight on water.

8th December – We visited the Christmas Exhibition at the Pier Art Centre today. As usual there is a lot of great art on display, clearly a lot of talented people in Orkney. I was particularly impressed by this, rather more prosaic piece by Joanne Holdinga.

Clever stitching shows a blank image when viewed face-on but viewed from an angle it shows the Orcadian phrases “Whit like the day” and “Beuybeuy”.

Well it amused me anyway.

16th December – An horrendous morning here, really strong wind and heavy rain. H and I got soaked on the first half of our vigil but it cleared up enough to venture from the shelter of the cathedral to take a photo.

The weather reduced the turnout but, as this is week six and the weather is awful, it’s pretty good.

19th December – Had some errands to do in Stromness this afternoon, it was nice to see some of the Christmassy windows and shops lit up. This is looking up Victoria Street towards Argo’s Bakery, we were lucky to catch a lull in the shopping crowds to get this photo!

Victoria Street rivals Regent Street in London for its bright lights and the Christmas gaeity.

Further along, in Graham Place, the Northlight Gallery always provides festive windows with their collection of Santa’s.

23rd December – Here we are again, sadly no progress of note being made in Gaza, so the vigils are being continued. Despite the driving sleet there is another good turnout in front of the cathedral. H is well wrapped up but really felt the cold today.

This sleet was falling as snow between Kirkwall and Stenness and the road was quite tricky. However there was no snow to be seen in Stromness and the cloud is too low to see if Hoy is white.

28th December – St Magnus Cathedral during a lull in the storms.

We had an appointment at the Balfour, so we took advantage of the trip to have a look around Kirkwall with it’s Christmas lights.

1st November – There’s a definite drop in temperature now. Winter is upon us. Recent storms have stripped the leaves off most of the shrubs and the birds are finding it trickier to locate food. We had some waxwings in the GMB garden this morning looking for the cotoneaster berries, it was nice to be able to sit in the warmth watching them.

4th November – A beautiful day with hardly a breath of wind nor a cloud in the sky, nicely rounded off with this sunset.

8th November – A little article from the BBC on the possible introduction of electric aircraft for freight deliveries to the islands. They’ve used a nice photo of Stromness to illustrate the piece.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2k21xwk2eo

9th November – Last night (Wednesday 8 November), urbanists from across the UK and Europe gathered at the Blue Fin Building, Southwark, for the Urbanism Awards Ceremony. Following a programme of public nomination, member-led shortlisting panels and in-person finalist assessment visits, the Academy of Urbanism (AoU) announced the winning Great Place, Great Street, Great Neighbourhood, Great Town, European City of the Year for 2023.

Representatives from 13 of the 14 shortlisted places attended the event, where finalists were celebrated by poems, written and performed by Poet-in-Residence Ian McMillan, accompanied by illustrations by Artist-in-Residence David Rudlin AoU. Great Town finalist Stromness was represented in spirit, as a local event prevented in-person attendance.

https://www.theaou.org/articles/the-urbanism-awards-2023-winners#:~:text=Stromness%2C%20in%20the%20Scottish%20Orkney,above%20its%20size%20and%20weight.

10th November – The starlings in our garden are particularly tame and this pair were happy to pose for a photo so they could show off their stunning plumage. Who said starlings were drab?

Although today has been fairly calm with very little wind the sea still has quite a bit of energy in it. This breaker is crashing in past Hoy but the surrounding water is fairly flat.

12th November – A mixed bag of weather today, mainly dry but the occasional shower is producing magnificent rainbows.

15th November – It was great to have a sighting at Ness Point today, the first for a long time.

A pod of common dolphins were feeding for around an hour this morning. The sharp-eyed amongst you will spot two youngsters in the pod.

18th November – Despite the wet and windy weather, H and I were able to attend a vigil at St Magnus Cathedral to raise awareness of the terrible plight of the population of Gaza. It was well attended as were the hundreds of other vigils held around the country today.

16th October – Halfway through October and this is my first post of the month. Mostly the weather has been appalling and we’ve not ventured out much. But there’s no rain today and the wind has eased (a bit). Decided to do a Shorewatch, the first since June. I didn’t see anything but it was good to get out.

Went for a quick walk and to post a letter and spotted this little seal pulled out on a rock in front of the double cottages. Not sure how it gets on to this rock, unless he waits for the tide.

19th October – As Storm Babet passes by it is getting a bit breezy. We probably won’t venture far today. Although the wind on the Stromness peninsula will hit 70mph we’re not expecting the heavy rain until Saturday.

21st October – Torrential rain all day long. Possibly the most rain in a single day since we moved here. This about sums it up:

22nd October – After the deluge, a bright spell with the customary rainbow. We even managed to hang some washing out without worrying that it would end up in Shetland.

23rd October – I try to avoid using other peoples photos here but I think this is worth breaking that rule. Roger Houghton was visiting Baikies Stores in Finstown and spotted some waxwings in the bushes. This is an exceptional photo.

It’s been a brighter day today with very little wind, so the Royal Mail are able to get their drone in operation from the golf course to Graemsay and Hoy.

It seems such a lightweight and flimsy thing for the crossing but it looks like the postmen have faith in it.

29th October – The storms haven’t let up throughout October. Outdoor activities have been severely curtailed. This is the view from our window last night.

A high tide and 40mph southeasterly winds driving the waves up and across the road. There is no sign of this easing before next Thursday.

4th September – It’s Autumn now but the forecast is for a September heatwave. Hopefully that will prolong things in the garden for a few more weeks.

Stromness has an unusual visitor at the moment, a hoopoe has found its way to Orkney! Normally only a seasonal visitor to the south coast of England it has been seen on Stromness golf course. This terrific shot is by a local RSPB chap and posted on Blipfoto. Needless to say I haven’t seen it! Fingers crossed.

To give an idea of how unusual this is, here is the normal extent of its seasonal range.

10th September – Bahamian registered cruise ship, Scenic Eclipse II, anchored in Cairston Roads, Stromness, today. A 17,500 tonnes vessel carrying 260 passengers, for comparison MV Hamnavoe is 8,700 tonnes and carries 600 passengers ( plus vehicles ). Note the helicopter ferrying people to and fro. Is this sustainable travel?

11th September – At the opposite end of the eco spectrum from Scenic Eclipse II, Orkney is flagged to trial two new electric ferries. Built in Belfast, these look very futuristic. If successful they could form part of a fleet of electic and/or hydrogen vessels.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-66773416

12th September – Unloading the crab catch at Tingwall. You know it’s a glorious day when even the fishermen shed their ganseys.

14th September – Another sunny day, H captured the honeysuckle with a nice backdrop of sea and sky.

1st August – This month sees the start of Orkney’s high tech postal service. Smaller items of mail are to be delivered to remote areas using a drone.

Initially it will fly between Kirkwall and Stromness and also Stromness to Graemsay and Hoy.

I’m looking forward to getting my new blacksmith’s anvil delivered.

(Photos pinched from the BBC website)

6th August – August is the month for the farmers. All the agricultural shows are held around the county this month and various farming skill competitions are held such as plooin’ (ploughing). There is a tradition in Orkney where young boys dress up as the plough horses in costumes that are passed down through their families.

Doubtless the boys love participating and there are no tantrums, whatsoever, getting them into their outfits!

8th August – We had a delightful visit from a pod of common dolphins this morning. For over two hours they swam up and down in front of the house, presumably feeding. They didn’t seem at all fazed by the shipping passing through.

10th August – After a really slow start to the season, the roses are doing their thing now. We particularly like the richness of this floribunda rose, Trumpeter (Mactu).

11th August – H is creating a patchwork quilt. Here she has created about half of the required patches and is laying them out to get a preview. It’s looking good so far but she still has a lot of work in front of her.

27th August – As reports come in of a diminutive gardener missing in an overgrown herbaceous border, the Coastguard swoop in to join the search. Fortunately H rang the dinner gong and the diminutive gardener reappeared.

We assumed they were on a training exercise but it landed nearby, which is unusual, I’ll update this post if I hear different.

31st August – Tonight was a blue moon/super moon, it’s tricky to get the balance right on these pics but here it is rising over Stenness, across the bay.

1st July – A bright enough start to July. H has paused on her walk to watch birds and boats. This is the slip where the local ladies go wild swimming, the floated rope acts as a guide for them.

2nd July – Our neighbour, Marion, dropped these mackerel fillets in for us. Freshly caught by her son, there was too much for her own use. They really are a beautiful fish.

Interesting report on the BBC. OIC are not happy at being sidelined by London and Edinburgh and are looking to Oslo for some attention. Just trying to make a point, I think.

3rd July – Found this Poplar Hawkmoth in the fennel this afternoon. I’m not sure if they are common in Orkney considering the lack of poplar trees! Apparently they like willow too, which we have plenty of, so that may explain its presence.

8th July – Another nice day. A slightly different angle in this pic. Looking past the colourful art installation in the GMB garden as the Graemsay sets off on one of it’s regular runs.

News quickly gets around amongst the starlings that a new shipment of mealworms has been delivered!

13th July – About four years ago I noticed an unusual seed in Monty’s dish. Out of curiosity, I put it in a pot of compost. It germinated and started producing a lot of leafy stems and finally, this year, some buds.

Apparently it is Peruvian Lily, the Lily of the Incas. I’m told it spreads readily, so hopefully I will get a few more.

16th July – It’s the start of Stromness Shopping Week, even the Hamnavoe is decked out in bunting. Albeit small bunting!

18th July – It’s the raft race this evening. A decent evening after last year’s heavy rain. There is a good turnout of rafts and spectators.

The French crew got off to a disappointing start, sinking as soon as they put their raft into the water.

But by the simple expediency of sacking half the crew, converting the raft into a canoe and paddling like crazy, they went on to win the race!

Perhaps not entirely in the spirit of the event but that’s those pesky Europeans for you!

22nd July – It’s the final day of the 2023 Stromness Shopping Week and there is the usual parade of floats through the town. This one is having a dig at the hapless Pentland Ferries, a local ferry company that has recently had a couple of unfortunate groundings. I liked the “cowboys” maintaining the engine!

The final event is the fireworks display on Copland’s Dock, we get a good view of the display each year.

26th July – There’s not a breath of wind today, Hoy Sound is like a millpond, broken only by passing porpoises. Perfect conditions for a kayak trip to Graemsay.

5th June – Another Harbour Porpoise sighting today. I’m not sure if numbers are increasing or I’m just getting better at spotting them. There were two animals passing by today but only got one in shot.

8th June – We had a visit from the entire Shorewatch team from Spey Bay and some members of the WDC management team. It was great to meet them all and put faces to names.

A doubly successful visit as three Harbour Porpoises turned up as well and cruised passed the site.

12th June – A glorious day here in Stromness and the front border is basking in the sunshine.

Nice to see a Red Admiral enjoying the nectar in the sea pinks. Things have been late flowering this year so the butterflies and bees have some catching up to do.

19th June – Our friends, Kevin and Marilyn from Stenness, were travelling to Scrabster on the Hamnavoe this morning. As they passed by they spotted me sitting on the bench and managed to get a photo. Considering it was taken through the ferry’s grubby window it’s not a bad shot.

It’s an interesting perspective as it shows a lot of the buildings at the Ness Battery, which you can’t actually see from the house.

21st June – The warm, sunny weather is continuing unabated. We were passing through Orphir this afternoon and spotted these ponies enjoying the sunshine in a field of buttercups.

3rd May – Although this photo shows a bright morning it soon clouded over and stayed that way. I’ll be collecting Heather from Kirkwall Airport later as she is visiting for a couple of weeks.

5th May – Orkney has been covered in low cloud for a few days now and quite windy. We thought we’d go to Kirbuster Farm Museum to enjoy the smoky peat fire. On arrival we were greeted by this, rather vocal, North Ronaldsay sheep.

9th May – We are still covered in low cloud, although the sun is trying hard to break through. the haar produces some nice effects, such as this image of a ghostly Hamnavoe arriving in Stromness.

10th May – Meanwhile in Kirkwall, the fog has lifted and the cruise ships are in the harbour. It’s always difficult to tell the visitors apart from the locals, they are so inconspicuous.

12th May – The Stromness lifeboat was called out this afternoon following reports of a distress beacon being triggered thirty miles west of Orkney. Fortunately it was a false alarm as the beacon had been triggered accidentally. The crew are always prepared though and do excellent work.

Nice to see Lady of Avenal back in Stromness. A 102ft brigantine square rigger, this boat takes small groups of passengers around the north of Scotland. It is a regular visitor to Stromness.

13th May – A successful morning at Ness Point, we managed to spot two harbour porpoise passing through Hoy Sound. Nice to have a sighting for Heather while she is with us.

They are very small and difficult to photograph, they vanish underwater for several minutes at a time, so they are hard to track. It’s still a thrill to to see them.

15th May – A beautiful sunny day here today. It’s so warm that the tugs have got to cool each other down!

16th May – Heather’s holiday has ended, far too quickly. We took her to Kirkwall Airport for her flight to London. A kindly tail wind delivered her into London City Airport a half hour early, so a successful holiday.

This week is the Orkney Nature Festival and WDC have been represented with Emma hosting an open session at Ness Point to highlight Shorewatch and the work of WDC. The event was well attended but unfortunately not by dolphins.

A couple passing by, unaware of the WDC presentation, had in their car an old teddy bear that they bought sixteen years ago. It had the old WDCS logo which none of the team had seen before. A strange coincidence.

17th May – It’s that time of year again, when Kirkwall welcomes our Norwegian neighbours to celebrate their Independence Day. On 17th May 1814 the Storting (parliament) signed their Constitution. In 1905, the Storting dissolved the union with their larger neighbour, Sweden. Here is their delegation marking the occasion outside St Magnus’ cathedral in Kirkwall.

21st May – Its been a glorious day here today, so, as is my wont, I went shorewatching. Managed to spot another couple of harbour porpoise, I don’t know if these are the same as we’ve seen recently.

27th May – It’s the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, the folk festival is in full swing and one young woman is undergoing a ritual blackening. Blackenings are a tradition in parts of the north of Scotland to mark a forthcoming wedding. Both bride and groom are “kidnapped”, separately, by their friends and paraded around the town covered in flour, treacle and various disgusting substances.

Accompanied by tooting horns, whistle blowing and the banging of saucepans, you always get advanced warning of an approaching blackening.

Normally only the prospective bride or groom receives the treatment but the bridesmaids here seemed to have taken more than their fair share of the messy gunge!

28th May – A coterie of colourful kayakers passing by this afternoon. The dive boat, Jean Elaine, providing the backdrop.

30th May – Today began bright and sunny but the gloom descended just in time for the arrival of Stromness’ first cruise ship of the season.

Too big to berth in the harbour, Hanseatic Spirit has to anchor in Cairston Roads and run a shuttle service for the passengers into the town.

1st April – While farmers have sheepdogs, here in Orkney, the fishermen have crabdogs. Trained to seek out crab and lobster, the dogs indicate the best places to drop creels.

7th April – I’ve finally finished the downstairs shower room. I think I made a decent job of the work and H is pretty pleased with my craftsmanship.

( errm… I’d like to take this opportunity to give a big thankyou to the designer (H), the plumber, the electrician, the painter and decorator and the flooring guys for their input!)

Before and after.

15th April – A cracking morning for a Shorewatch at Ness Point. Just captured the Hamnavoe arriving from Scrabster.

There is still a distinct lack of marine mammals to record, I’m not sure where they’ve all gone.

16th April – It was a nice day, so we thought we’d have a change of scenery. We drove over to Evie and the Broch of Gurness. This is one of the Shorewatch sites, so I managed a couple of watches. This is looking across Eynhallow Sound towards the island of Rousay. Known for its abundance of archeological sites, Rousay is often referred to as “the Egypt of the North”. The only difference being sheep instead of camels.

26th April – Nearly into May and we are still getting snow! Orkney is sitting in a stream of very cold air coming from the north and it’s delivering a few wintry showers. Still too soon to put out tender plants.

28th April – Great video from local whalewatcher, Graham Campbell, of a bull Orca coming in extremely close to the pier at St, Mary’s, Holm. Whether it was just curious or scouting for seals, I’m not sure. The sight must have been thrilling for the spectators.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-65417673

This clip was downloaded from the BBC news website.