Been a bit of a strange week. We had one of the best days on Wednesday, then Thursday it was so dull, still, wet and midgie. A good for nothing day, or so I thought. It felt like a Saturday morning after a busy work week. we had been invited out to Dave and Alison’s motor boat the previous night, MV Barron Kelvin and had been royally entertained, so much so that Thursday was a bit hungover.

Clear Day Tuesday

At the beginning of the week the weather had been perfect, the air was clear and the view stunning as per usual. Going back and fore to Dry Harbour is always a pleasing trip.

Promising

I had been South looking for deer late at night and despite the summer cold I had picked up the week before, it was a good evening to go for a prowl. The sunset was very promising for the next day but I was on another mission, not photography!!

Angus and john Cookery Prep School

Angus and John whom I have known for as long as I have been here had arrived the previous evening and as usual helped with a Rona task, this time it was fencing and in a lifetime of farming Angus had never put in posts as easily and quickly, peat is good for that. I had been out fishing first thing and had some crab for tea so they were keen for a lesson in dressing crab. So in the glorious sunshine we had a wee demonstration. We had a lot of crab but it was not long before the cat appeared. He seems to have a nose for shellfish and always turns up when we have it in the kitchen.

George Waiting Patiently

He would have been on the table in a shot but maybe he was a bit wary of the knife.

Impatient George

Looks like he was not getting enough tit bits. Angus and John departed and John and Carol arrived, off Yacht ‘Cinquante’, all the way from Cornwall. We had a very enjoyable hour swapping stories and they had been lucky to have the best day so far this year on Rona. Just perfect weather. They wee intrigued at the Green Isle fishing crab in the bay and were telling us about the number of yachts and boats along the South coast, we are very lucky here for sure.

Cinquante et Green Isle

They left for Torridon and hoping for another sunny day, but next day it was the complete opposite. So depressing, atmospheric we say here!! So miserable that the lambs were camped out in the porch, out front.

Moving in

We were just talking about having an easier day and I said I had one outside job to do, fix a hasp to the new gate and that would be that. So I set off and was just about done when two yachtsmen appeared. The news was that the mooring buoy had parted company from the mooring strop when they tried to lift it and had disappeared. I was puzzled because the strop used to float but on searching for half an hour there was no sign. We tried various methods then decided on the ‘lookdownyscope’. I cannot remember at what part of the proceedings I stumbled on the bow of the boat and took a header into the sea. But it was around the next photo.

Searching for the Mooring

I see a bit of damp on the lens. As it was I only half fell in, I managed to grab the rail on the way down and hung on until my rescuers lifted me in. Of course I was wearing a life jacket!!!!

Found at Last, the guilty party!!!

After another ten minutes the boys found the strop and hooked it with the grapple, a new arrangement and it was back to normal. Steven and Alastair were on Yacht Countess of Sleat, it is a Skye Yachts charter boat but Steven is the owner and although we have seen it many times we had never met him so it was  good to say hello (a bit wet) and it was good to get the crack as they say. Alastair is the Estate Manager at GlenFinnan so we were quickly swapping stories.

Friday afternoon now, suns out but we are in the kitchen, we have guests tonight and it is the very last piece of 2013/14 season venison, brisket!!! There a no steaks left.