A nip to the wind.

Elder sister arrives at the kitchen door and announces her presence. She is allowed into the kitchen where a Jacobs Cream Cracker awaits. There is a decided nip to the wind today so her sister has opted to forego adventure and linger a little longer by the farmhouse  AGA.  

The boiler maintenance man came yesterday. He pottered around for an hour, replaced a part and left. When the boiler maintenance man shows up you know the year is barreling along. We have our first conversation about whether it's time to turn on the heating. It's decided to give it a day or two in the hope the sun reappears.  When the sea mist blows away we may get up to 15 degrees.

Last night we were both surprised to find that it was pitch dark ( as opposed to merely dark ) by nine thirty. After months of no darkness at all the sudden change is startling. Villagers taking their dogs out for a pre-bedtime stroll have taken to wearing those head band lights to guide them along the track past the doocot and towards the tatty barns. From a distance they look like large lumbering fireflies. The church elder with the King Charles Spaniel was the first to buy a miners light and now every dog owner in the village - with the exception of the farmers wife -  has one.

A young Scottie is out for a morning walk. 

The Scotties 'Grandfather' is following proudly on behind in a tartan trolley.

The fancy hotel that has turned into a coffee rendezvous for the dog walkers is empty this morning. It's too cold to dawdle. The weather doesn't deter a group of Spanish tourists who stand by the bandstand and look over a deserted beach. Their guide is of the enthusiastic variety and regales them with tales of Scottish history - many of them true.

The lavender swarming with bees. There's also a few on the dark mulleins but they've lost most of their flowers in yesterdays north easterly wind. The bees are hard at work from dawn to dusk. They know the summer is drifting to a close.

The younger locals continue to dress for summer but their parents and grandparents have transitioned to jackets and jumpers. The American couples that have moved into the rental properties by the village hall comment on how 'fresh' the weather is. Little do they know what awaits them in October. One  of them has bought a three year old Vauxhall to commute into town. It is a stick shift. The crunching of gears signals when they're heading off or returning.

Today will be spent supervising the workmen who are getting the house in town ready for the new tenants who arrive at the start of the month. Fire extinguishers and smoke alarms need to be checked as does every electrical appliance. The university takes Health and Safety seriously.

Orwells birthplace :https://davidoks.substack.com/p/brief-notes-on-visiting-bihar

South Dakota and ring-necked pheasants :https://birdhistory.substack.com/p/home-on-the-range

Todays bizarre reading matter :https://www.overcomingbias.com/p/many-big-pre-sputnik-earth-orbit?hide_intro_popup=true

For our trip to the far far North in November a dinner reservation has been made here. Who in their right mind makes a resrevation two and a bit months in advance ? " People heading to a small town near the Arctic Circle " comes the reply :https://fiskekompani.no/en/