James and I have been talking about going on a boat trip just the two of us, and yesterday we did so. We went on the two hour trip on the Shearwater, which we have done several times, but every time there is plenty to see. The weather was warm and overcast, and unusually there weren’t very many people on the boat, which gave us room to spread out. We saw seals and gannets and cormorants and shags and terns. These last prompted the skipper to make a joke about marijuana washing up at a tern colony, hence the punchline “no tern left unstoned” based on the old music hall transpositional pun. Given the documentary we watched in BBC Alba recently where the skipper was mentioned, James and I exchanged a wry glance. However the highlight of the trip was seeing two large pods of dolphins. We are lucky to have seen dolphins many times before, and I am always struck by their seeming joy in life. They jumped right out of the water, singly and in groups, and I noticed that as they jump up in the air they twist round and re-enter the water on their sides.
This morning James got up early to go hill-walking with Cornel, and I had a pleasant day both inside and outside the cottage. Inside I did some housework and outside I sat in the warm sunshine and read my book. I also watched some of the men’s Wimbledon semi-finals; I would love to go to Wimbledon one day. James messaged to tell me that he would be home by 7 p.m. and five minutes later he phoned me to let me know that he had accidentally driven into a pot hole and the Land Rover’s front left tire had burst. He phoned the AA and after much delay, it became clear that a tire cannot be sourced and replaced until at least tomorrow. Cornel very kindly gave him a lift into Inverness, where he got something to eat and checked into a hotel. Meanwhile, back in Ullapool, I noticed that high tide was going to be just before 8 pm, so I nipped down to the estuary and went in for a swim. On this warm evening, the water didn’t even feel cold; it felt cool and silky. Near the shore, the grass and sea pinks were underwater, and it was so peaceful. As I swam, I saw a couple of fish jumping right out of the water, presumably to catch insects, and when I got out of the water, I realised that the insects were midges so I beat a hasty retreat back to the cottage for supper. I spoke to James on the phone later; understandably he is a bit frustrated about being stuck in Inverness. Let’s hope that a suitable tire can be found and he will arrive back in Ullapool tomorrow morning. So tonight it’s just me and the cats at home!
This morning James got up early to go hill-walking with Cornel, and I had a pleasant day both inside and outside the cottage. Inside I did some housework and outside I sat in the warm sunshine and read my book. I also watched some of the men’s Wimbledon semi-finals; I would love to go to Wimbledon one day. James messaged to tell me that he would be home by 7 p.m. and five minutes later he phoned me to let me know that he had accidentally driven into a pot hole and the Land Rover’s front left tire had burst. He phoned the AA and after much delay, it became clear that a tire cannot be sourced and replaced until at least tomorrow. Cornel very kindly gave him a lift into Inverness, where he got something to eat and checked into a hotel. Meanwhile, back in Ullapool, I noticed that high tide was going to be just before 8 pm, so I nipped down to the estuary and went in for a swim. On this warm evening, the water didn’t even feel cold; it felt cool and silky. Near the shore, the grass and sea pinks were underwater, and it was so peaceful. As I swam, I saw a couple of fish jumping right out of the water, presumably to catch insects, and when I got out of the water, I realised that the insects were midges so I beat a hasty retreat back to the cottage for supper. I spoke to James on the phone later; understandably he is a bit frustrated about being stuck in Inverness. Let’s hope that a suitable tire can be found and he will arrive back in Ullapool tomorrow morning. So tonight it’s just me and the cats at home!
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