Hedgehog

In wet weather (over an inch of rain since yesterday evening), what else is there to do except curl up and hope it stops. I was out because my dog needed his walk, but it was good to get back in the warm and the dry, especially after I discovered, as I waded through a foot of water where there is normally about an inch or two in a burn which crosses the track I was on, that one of my wellies has sprung a leak :-(
As The Times newspaper put it  yesterday: "There has been an Arab Spring. Now we must have a British Summer". Yes, please.
Malcolm

Wet sycamore buds

Taken in pouring rain the other day.  Carl

Not much happening!

Regular readers, of which we know we have many, will have noticed the paucity of posts of late. The main posters, Carl, Becky, Mark and myself, are either away (Becky, Carl), have just been away (me), or have left the island (Mark), resulting in the present drought. However, a drought is not what has been happening outside in the last few days with 32 mm of rain in the last 36 hours, and another 20 mm in the previous three days. That's over 2 inches in old money, and not only is the island saturated, but photography has been fairly pointless, too. Where I live in Bruichladdich I normally have a view across Loch Indaal to Bowmore. From Friday evening until mid-afternoon today (Sunday), Bowmore was invisible because of the thick mist enveloping the island. And even now, the hills are still shrouded.
So here's what my view is just now. Sunny Islay it is not!
Malcolm

Taking pictures in the rain is quite tricky

I am sure everybody is bored looking at nice sunny pictures of Islay, so I have determined to try posting a few grey rainy ones.  Taking pictures in the rain is actually quite tricky for a number of reasons.  We will have to see how the project develops...  :-)

A flight of Teal got up from Smelly Corner at Carnain this evening as I stopped the bike to put my wholly ineffective raincoat on.  A couple of minutes after this picture was taken your correspondent was absolutely soaked...  The showers were mixed in with a few brighter spells and the odd rainbow, but shots of those would be too cheerful for this posting so they will have to wait for another day...
Carl

A short break in the clouds

Yesterday evening there was a short break in the rain and a little colour in the sky for the rooks to admire, but it soon closed in again and rained for most of the night.  It has also rained for most of today.