I am still up, the stinging is a little less but still no point in going to bed, sleep will be impossible. Only one mast light out there tonight although I think there are 5 boats in.

Interesting characters come and go, earlier last week we had three days of very windy weather, two yachts were here one on anchor the other on the mooring for a few days. I was fitting Crown Estate tags to the moorings between gales and was chatting to Yacht Naughtybuoy, two guys aboard, one a sail maker the other I never did find out, cruising and working ‘from home’, the yacht was their home.

You cannot see his necklace but I’m sure you could have moored the boat to it, good guys. On the other was a French Lady sailing alone around the UK. Tough girl and really nice.

Like a lot of ‘unusual’ sailors, she had sailed around the world, I had a good chat with her and was having a look at her web site “Les Tutos De La Croisiere” just now . Worth a look if your French is good but Google translate does it for you.

As I say the weather was poor the bay full of yachts last Saturday night, I think we had 11, perhaps that was where the sewage build up came from? But the good news is I found lots of Chanterelle mushrooms in the forest by our house, the weather suiting growth. The field out front despite the deer grazing has lots of wildflowers in it this year.

Tuesday this week we left early for Inverness, Helen and Chris off Yacht Bliss caught me on the pontoon, 7am, as they were ready to leave. Helen rowed ashore with my first retirement present, a really nice bottle of wine and lovely card, it is real we are retiring!!!! Lovely to see them yet again and we gave them details of our new address, so perhaps we will see them as it is not too far from the sea. We had appointments in Dingwall/Inverness so an early start to get away before the tourists leave their BnBs and campsites.

Lorraine had a bone scan in Dingwall, we discovered she had two fractured vertebrae, no wonder the poor girl was complaining of a very sore back, then onto Inverness for hearing aids (at last) for me. My early morning walk when staying away took me again to Brahan, this time I was wanting to walk to Contin. This walk would take me past where I saw my first Capercaillie, many years ago, where I stayed with my first wife and kids one very cold winter and over Knockfarrel into Jamestown. I was looking forward to it very much and hoped to see more wildlife than my walk there a month ago.

Sadly I was again dissappointed to see little in the way of wildlife, in fac it was only near ‘home’ that I saw most, the Red Squirrel in Jamestown and rabbits at Coul Farm, much more life around there with a lot of bird activity but the forest was pretty dead. Not a sign of deer, pine martens or a smell of a fox, changed days. The lack of rabbits for sure is having a big affect on naturee I think.

Back home tea time Wednesday and Ewen’s daughter Orlaigh took the wheel whilst he took the fish and chips. And finally.

We get on fine with the yachting fraternity, we have made many good friends in their ranks but now and again there are some who spoil it all and these two on this old timer above did just that tonight. I was heading down to have my swim with jellyfish and found a sailor standing inside the gate to the Lodge, he was looking for showers. I told him no showers anymore, since Covid, have a swim I said. Then drove off thinking it was odd his manner, then at the shore I thought where was his pal? I had seen two coming ashore. But Lorraine was coming down so she would see what was going on. Sure enough Lorraine spotted his pal having a shower with the garden hose behind the generator shed. So she went to see what he was actually doing (he was dressed by the time she got there thankfully) and of course they thought no one was here, the Lodge is locked, so they took full advantage after snooping about. That really annoys us for all sorts of reasons mainly their selfish attitude and cheek. I guess if that happened on their property they would be less than happy, they did however leave a doination, a whole £1.50, perhaps that was to pay for the 5 gallon drum of water they lugged onto their dinghy, no shame these freeloaders. I woint miss this behaviour.