SUE'S SPONSORED CANCER RESEARCH WALK!

"THE WALK"

(click on any photograph to enlarge it)

Gracious me - now here's a change - it's Sue here for 

the first time in nearly a year!

I wanted to document a sponsored walk done for Cancer Research

on Saturday 7th July 2018.
In the main I did it on my own but one of my neighbours, Sue,
very kindly came along and joined me for 6 miles for moral support!

The weather was absolutely ideal, not too hot and for most of
the day there was some sunshine and a light breeze.
Starting at 0600 hours there was simply nobody about and
some fabulous views as I headed off towards Dunvegan!

Both these views look towards Roag, the Tables and the sea!

At 0900 hours Sue and I then set off from Roskhill Barn
and did the 'Harlosh Loop' together. 
This is one of the views on the way round.  Look at that blue sky!!!!

Towards the end of the loop the Tables loomed into view again!
The wild flowers were also resplendent in the sunshine....

Leaving Sue back at Roskhill I then headed off towards
Orbost and then on towards Glendale
before then turning off en-route to Dunvegan and
stopping for lunch on a bench overlooking the Loch!

This was taken shortly after turning right at the the Orbost T-junction
and looks back towards the coast through the trees.
(See if you can spot the Yurt!)
Below is the tree lined lane with sun dappled trees and vegetation!

This is the view I had over Loch Dunvegan whilst having lunch!
A tad cloudy at that time though....

Then it was down into the village and up through
Dunvegan Woods and over moorland to the main road.

Below is the view along the track as it opens out into open countryside.

.... and here looking back
across the moorland towards Dunvegan Woods

The last stretch took me along the main road and then
across the single track section in the direction of Roskhill again.
My 26 miles had been done in just over 10 hours!
What a remarkable day and with no ill effects either .....
apart from the odd blister !!!! :)

Sparkling Skye

Most of the UK is basking in glorious summer sunshine at the moment - and for once, so are we, here on Skye! The island is just stunning right now. The vegetation has benefited from the warm, dry weather and gale-free spring, and the tall grasses and wild flowers are better than ever. The sea is impossibly blue, while the hills and moors are as green as they ever get.

Thankfully, we are not roasting in the 30C+ temperatures being experienced in some parts. Our northerly latitude, and a gentle breeze off the Atlantic keeps things sensible here, but we are becoming accustomed to going out without a waterproof jacket, and seldom need a fleece either...!!!

I've taken a few photos around our garden and allotment today, and also took Puss out for a stretch of her wheels...

Midges - dos and don'ts

I'm offering a few words in this post about our teeny flying friends...

Midge Season in the Highlands is usually mid-May to late September. Even in this period – sometimes, there are none at all. Other times, there are zillions.

Highland midges are teeny-weeny flying insects (wingspan >2mm) and can occur in swarms. They are attracted to mammals by the CO2 that we exhale. At their worst, they can get into your eyes, nose, ears and hair. They feed on blood, and a bite on a human can leave a small red spot which is VERY itchy for two or three days. If you are aware you have been bitten, rubbing Anthisan cream into the bitten area as soon as possible will lessen the irritation.

If badly bitten (this is, you have a lot of bites), over-the-counter anti-histamine tablets such as Piriton may help reduce the itching – but these tablets can cause drowsiness or dizziness in some people, so beware if driving.

In midge season…

DO…

·         Stay indoors on calm and damp (or humid) mornings and evenings.

·         Keep doors and windows closed. It is better to be a bit warm and stuffy than to invite a swarm of midges into your house…!!!

If you HAVE to go out…

·         Use midge repellent on all exposed skin. I favour ‘Jungle Formula’ which comes as a spray, roll-on or lotion, in ‘normal’ or ‘extra’ strength. The ‘extra’ can sting a bit when applying, but it is VERY effective, and remains so for many hours. I understand a product called ‘Smidge’ is also very effective, but I haven’t used it myself. Some people swear by Avon ‘Skin So Soft’ – I am not convinced!

·         Wear long-sleeved tops and long trousers. Tuck your trousers into your socks and keep your collar buttoned up tight. You won’t look silly – everyone else will look the same… If you are going to be outside for a long time, get yourself a midge hood or midge jacket.

·         Keep moving. Midges have a maximum flying speed of about 2mph, so if you keep walking briskly, they can’t keep up with you!

·         Only go out when there is a breeze. Midges can only fly if the wind speed is under about 5mph, so where there is a breeze, you will not be troubled by midges.

·         Keep a can of fly-spray in the car. After getting into your car on a midgy morning/evening, you may find several hundred of them have come in with you. A few puffs of fly spray will eradicate most of them – and they are so tiny, you will never find the bodies.

DON’T…

·         Sit about outside when there is no breeze, especially under trees or close to bushy vegetation.

·         Wear loose clothing – especially a kilt….!!!

·         Leave the bedroom window open overnight.

·         Even THINK about having a BBQ on that warm, quiet evening…

·         And don’t hate midges – they were on the planet before humans!

Man-Caves…

I’ve recently been working in my shed – I refer to the BIG shed at Summer Cottage. (I’m a bit of a shed collector - I also have a scattering of smaller sheds – one at Summer, three at the Barn…)

The BIG shed is brilliant. It was built as an agricultural building. It is very sturdily constructed with a timber frame, externally clad with weatherproofed timber and having a corrugated composite pitched roof. The floor is concrete, which I have covered with recycled carpet.

Internally, it is about 18 feet square. It has a pedestrian door and window to one side, and 7ft wide barn doors to the front. There are a couple of clear plastic panels in the roof which provide internal daylight. The roof leaks a bit in a storm when rainwater is driven upwards by the wind and then drips from inside the ridge. In spite of installing eaves filler and expanding foam, I have never completely cured the leak problem, so now, some strategically placed corrugated plastic panels inside the roof direct any internal drips to non-important places. Otherwise, the shed is dry and well-ventilated.

This shed has a proper electricity supply, with its own consumer unit, several power sockets and plenty of lights. It also has a mains water supply, with an outside tap, and inside, a little ‘ensuite’, with WC and wash basin. (!!!!)  There’s no hot water though….

Lining the insides of the shed I currently have an awful lot of junk, most of which we have accumulated as the result of closing a couple of our holiday lets - and the left-over stuff just came here. My current task is to sort all this out…. Urrrgggh!  Are humans programmed to create and then keep junk…???

Having recently had the kitchen at Lochview replaced, I have recycled the old kitchen, and installed most of the floor and wall units and worktop in the BIG shed. This provides some neat storage space so I can finally untangle the muddled stacks of ‘stuff’, unpack the boxes of junk, get rid of the REALLY useless items, and store the marginally less useless items more tidily, and where they are easily accessible if needed.

There’s still a bit of a way to go, but I feel I am making progress. Even in our busy life – it’s good to have a man-cave!

The BIG shed

BIG shed - side entrance

The ex-Lochview kitchen units in place
I'm not going to re-fit the doors, as it is better to be able to see the contents at a glance

Somewhere to pause when I've had enough of cutting grass...

OK, so the colours don't match -
but how many sheds have a working wc and wash basin...?