5% of the population ?

Snow on the hills on the far side of the bay. Here it's three degrees and what might ( in these latitudes ) pass for warm.

We're joined on our morning walk by the two Jack Russells. One of them has found an old potato. She's keen to have us spend the rest of our day throwing it for her.

The farmers eldest son is busy on the fork lift hoisting the last of the hay bales into the barn. There was a time when hay was cheap. Now it's shot up in price and is a useful additional source of income for the farm. The lad starts the new semester in Edinburgh in ten days time and he's busy working to keep in his fathers good books ahead of the trip to the World Cup. The travel agent has told him that 250,000 Scots will be heading off to the US this summer. That's 5% of the population which , at both first and second sight, seems high. All flights to Orlando are booked solid so it's probable that wives and children will be deposited there while husbands head off to follow the team. We're also told that the local postman had saved up £25,000 for a new kitchen but has convinced his girlfriend that they should go to the US for a dream holiday. She's interpreted this as a sign that he's going to propose. I'm guessing their respective views on what makes the perfect 'dream' holiday aren't perfectly aligned.

Three large anti-submarine warfare aircraft fly low overhead . They're off towards  the busy shipping lanes . A little reminder that not everywhere is as quiet and calm as our small corner of the world.

I didn't know about this :https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/time-when-new-york-city-seriously-considered-seceding-from-united-states-180987838/

Another of those studies :https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/health-and-human-nature/202601/the-truth-behind-red-wines-effect-on-health