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This weekend

On Saturday I went to do the Meall an t-Suidhe hill race in Fort William (prizes in the comments box for phonetic pronounciation of the hill it goes up). It's a short race - 5k - and a steep one - evil steep. It was also very hot. Needless to say, I did rather badly as I boiled on the hill and had to stop and sit down. I was saved by a nice lady from Lochaber who was carrying a wet pactowel with her and wrang some stream water down my neck.

I now have very sore quads and knees, but I have completed one of the Scottish Champs races for this season and it's good practice for next weekend.

The last two days have been spent in removing the green from my kitchen (The units were all green on Sunday morning). Two days and four coats of paint later, it looks like this. I am pleased.

Barra

A couple of weeks ago my other half did his Day Skipper course with a company based on Barra. I went out to join him for weekend and can highly recommend it. Barra and Vatersay are lovely, all white sand and blue sea.



I was meant to fly over on the saturday morning, but the conference I was meant to be at on the Friday was cancelled so instead I had a lovely train ride from Glasgow to Oban, then a sunshiney ferry trip up the Sound of Mull and across the Sea of the Hebrides. It was nearly a disaster as I discovered there's no O2 reception on Barra. Luckily he happened to walking past the ferry terminal as I arrived, so I properly surprised him.

We camped on the beach at Castlebay, as all the B&Bs were full, but you can camp almost anywhere as long as you ask - there's no official site and there are toilets in the Community Hall.

On Friday night we had tea at Kisimul Cafe (presumably named for the castle in the bay), which is a cafe by day and an Indian/Italian/sea food restaurant by night. I recommend the scallop pakoras.

On saturday we walked over the hills in the middle, past the Madonna on Sheabhal (Heaval) to the north of the island, then out to the Otter Cafe which doubles as the waiting room for the Eriskay ferry at Aird Mhor. About 6-7km in all. Had a nice toastie and cup of tea then caught the little bus back to Castlebay, changed to the other little bus and went down to the Vatersay Community Hall. This is on a narrow stretch of the island with big white beaches either side.

We walked around Vatersay on the marked trail, which takes you round the south part of the island in about 4km. The views to the outlying island are quite spectacular.



Two wrecks are commemorated on Vatersay, the Annie Jane (saling from Liverpool to Montreal) and the Catalina (flying out of RAF Oban).

Having hitched back to Castlebay, we went for a beer then dinner at the Castlebay Hotel. The food is much more traditional but just as delicious as the cafe.

Sunday was spent travelling home, as the ferry was at 9.20. This is where Barra is different to other Hebridean islands - it used to be the 'Catholic' one. Therefore there are sunday ferries and the Co-op in Castlebay is open in the afternoon.

Vegetable Patch

This is our veg patch.

From front to back of the photo we have:

Bed 1: Sweet peas and nasturtiums (not strictly veg, but nasturtium leaves are salad), 3 parsnips, broad beans, tomatoes, onions and parsley.

Bed 2: Asparagus (2 shoots, but you can only start eating it in the third growing season, so not until 2011), spinach, 1 carrot, tomatoes and onions.

Bed 3: Red onions, garlic, tomatoes, 1 random carrot (I think it's a carrot, but we didn't sow carrots in this bed), garlic and onions.

Bed 4: Potatoes.

The neighbourhood cats killed off the carrots and parsnips by using our nicely sown beds as litter trays.

The tomatoes are there as I had an error of germination. Last year none survived, this year I planted more and they all did. So, we're experimenting to find out if tomatoes grow outside in Aberdeen. They are in a warm spot, the wall faces west and holds the heat quite well and gets the sun most of the day. We've six in the cold frame as normal.

The orange and white thing? That's a Grampian Orienteers control marker kite, which was left behind after the Summer Series event I organised on Perwinnes Moss (part of the Scotstown Moor Local Nature Reserve and SSSI just over the field south of our house).

Sewing

Today, I made a skirt.

I used google to find a pattern and adapted it slightly. The pattern came from a Craftster member (see reply 3). I followed her instructions for working out the waist size and bottom hem width, but didn't put the middle panel upside down and added darts to accommodate my hips (thanks mum).

I think it's come out alright, if a little shorter than I meant - but it's summer so I'll convince myself that's okay...

A distinct lack of sea legs...

We went to Bute at the weekend to launch his dad's boat. That accomplished on Saturday evening, he insisted on taking me sailing on Sunday morning. While I wasn't feeling too bad on board, it took me until Monday lunchtime to stop going up and down...

Saturday run

Today the club run was at Millstone from the Donview Car Park. There was lovely sunshine again. I've picked the good weather weekends to go out.

The photo is the view of Mither Tap from the top of Millstone. The Bennachie range ridge stretches out of the left hand side of the picture to Craigshannoch and Oxen Craig. The whole range includes nine tops and has numerous trails for running, biking or even walking your granny.

Plants

I have been busy planting things in the garden.

So far I have planted

Ixia - tall white flowers from bulbs started in pots
Oxalis - red flowers with quatrefoilish leaves from bulbs started in pots
Anemone - mixed colours, but they haven't come up in the pots unlike the previous two, so I've shoved them in the ground for next year.
Agapanthus Donau - lilac I think. A root in a bag kind, but they've grown well in the pots

Lupin - white, from seed from a bought one.

Clematis Jackmanii - purple, famous, my dad has one.
Clematis Texensis Duchess of Albany - a posh name for pink clematis
Pulsatilla vulgaris rubra - a dark red alpine. I saw them on gardeners' world and thought they were pretty.
Sedum acre aureum - I presume the 'aureum' part of the name refers to the yellow tips and flowers
Lithodora diffusa - Blue alpine. I may have made an error with this one, BBC gardening says it's tender. I fear it may be doomed.
Hieracium maculatum leopard - a sort of hawkweed with yellow flowers and maroon and green speckled leaves
Pieris - what my neighbour calls a flame bush. A shrub with green leaves with red new growth.

I've also got a chocolate cosmos in a pot doing nothing yet, and some sweet pea and nasturtium seedlings in the propagator.

Veg wise, I have spinach, tomato and chilli seedlings to be dealt with. I planted out the broad beans at the weekend and the over wintered cabbage has well and truly bolted.

Garden

Inspired by Uphilldowndale (who takes wonderful photos), I have been playing with my camera and bothering the flowers...




These tulips came out of the same bag of bulbs. The first one is the only one that has come up the colour I was sold. The 'white' ones are also looking suspiciously red. I've no idea why there are three yellow ones. I can't even remember if I planted them...


This wallflower is proving defiantly biennial...

We've had a profusion of white flowers - Amalanchier, saxifrage, hyacinth.





And a good showing of my favourite blue grape hyacinths.


Though I may have to try taking a photo of these on a sunnier day, as the blue isn't showing up quite as blue as it actually is, despite my taking about ten different photos playing with the aperture etc. I'm clearly in need of more practice.

What we did on Bute

A regular feature of visits to Port Bannatyne is a game of petanque. There is a proper petanque piste, a club league and a committee to oversee them.

The park overlooks the new marina, which is beginning to take shape - the posts for the moorings are in now and I think they're aiming to open for the Easter holidays.

The village seems to be picking up a bit. Several of the tenement blocks are being refurbished, and a new 'multi-user' path is being made on the old tramway to Ettrick Bay. It might attract some of the tourists out of their coaches between there and Rothesay.

Saturday run

For once, I went on the Cosmic Saturday Run (Given the soreness of my left ankle and shin that may have been an error.). We went to Clachnaben for the race preview. I've never done the full route, and still haven't. It is quite a long way and the heather is quite tall. However, some men were seen burning patches around the grouse butts on Mount shade, so it might be better for the race itself.

I wasn't keeping up with the others so missed the traverse on the first hill and ended up wading through thigh deep heather to get back to the ridge. I returned through the lost valley between Mount Shade and Clachnaben, along the main path to the Glen Dye quarry car park and back to Greendams along the road. That was further than I thought...


A unusual view of Clachnaben, from the lost valley at the bottom of Mount Shade.

Glamaig

Me, some Cosmics and the bloke off the telly...

Ferry, Cross the...

Kyles of Bute, actually. Away to the In Laws for the weekend, involves a ride on the wee ferry at Colintraive.

Clever Bluetits

Our peanut feeder is a sort of rectangular one (short sides and top in wood and long sides and bottom in mesh) with a flap over a hole at one end to put the peanuts in through.

The Blue tits have worked out how to open this flap (it swing on a single nail) and lean in to get the nuts.

I like xkcd

A visitor

Not quite fairies at the bottom of the garden, but she'll do.

(Do excuse the state of my phone's zoom)

Is that it?

(Mrs Neighbour must want to go out - Mr Neighbour is shovelling their path)

This week I are mostly drawing

this..

Snow?

Roads

I was musing on the state of the roads in Aberdeen last night and I've come up with a theory.

I think the City Council can't afford Aberdeen and have decided to let the holes in the roads continue to open up until the city's swallowed whole and they don't have to worry about it anymore.

Either that or they're too chicken to ask First.