Meanwhile on a nearby beach, the girls had a great time
DSC04376 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
DSC04380 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
DSC04388 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
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Y’see, vicious!
She’d have yer arm off.
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That trawler was legendary
They did play prog once but a group of Whales appeared and started ramming the trawler to sink it.
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Given the size of Wakeman these days that was the original lineup from Yes I presume.
Really lovely today, the wind dropped overnight and the sun put in a welcome appearance.
A walk to Aith with the girls was first up and meadow pipits seemed to be everywhere
DSC04570 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
Some colourful piglets en route
DSC04562 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
Back home and drove across to the East side of the island and up the track to telegraph This single mast enables all of the communications on the island, telephone, broadband (or narrow band!) mobile signals (sometimes even 4g 
) etc. etc. It was hit by a lightning strike last year and due to the storm lasting several days we were without any connection to the outside world - even landlines were down!
_DSC4614 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
The views from up here are amazing on a fine day.
Looking North with Unst in the distance
_DSC4605 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
Due East is Hascosay (a small uninhabited island) with Yell in the background
_DSC4607 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
This high moorland terrain is the breeding ground for ringed plovers and they are on territory now.
DSC04648 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
A skylark was taking a dust bath on the track back down and stayed long enough to have its picture taken.
DSC04706 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
Not everyone (or everything) makes it back down from here…
DSC04732 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
Halfway down to the road gave a lovely view of Brough Lodge (and the adjacent folly I spoke about the other day)
DSC04621 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
Then it was down to the small shingle beach near Brough Lodge where an abandoned boat is slowly surrendering to the elements.
_DSC4735 1 by Paul Macklam, on Flickr
All told an enjoyable day out. Hopefully this spell of good weather will hang around for a few more days.
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Lovely photgraphs Paul. Beautiful if somewhat austere terrain. The colour of the water is amazing.
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Love it !
A probably very random question Paul but something occurs to me looking at these pics.
Is this object I’ve circled a tree? If it is, how many others are there on the island?
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Pampas
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It’s the hardy, high northern latitude version of weed, see how it’s destroyed the polytunnel it was originally grown in. Tough stuff. Problem is you need a wood chipper to harvest it.
Looks like it is so big you might need to skin it up with a sleeping bag.
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Yes, willow trees in my garden. There are about 9 of them, very slow growing and we’ve lost two to severe storms since moving here.
There are a few trees in gardens, most notably in the old manse where there are a lot of ancient sycamores. There is also a “plantation” along Feal Burn which is predominantly coniferous but with some young willows too.
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Just FYI, Shetland used to be covered in trees until about 5,000 years ago. The arrival of humans soon began to have a devastating effect on them as they were felled for fuel. The introduction of sheep created another problem as they prevented natural regeneration by eating the growing saplings.
I believe there is only one surviving native tree (a hazel) at Catfirth on the Mainland.
Shetland Amenity Trust has a replanting programme but, as you can imagine, it’s a very long term plan.
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I’ve put a few pounds on since that outing.
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A lead grey morning turned into a lovely sunny afternoon.
Drumming Snipe were out in force trying to attract their mate
A close encounter with a Lesser-black-backed gull
Close would not be appropriate for this barn swallow, pretty scarce on this island
This red-throated diver was also quite distant
Although this one was rather more obliging on Funzie Loch (one of a breeding pair)
By the time I got to Tresta the weather (and the light!) had improved
One of the many variations of the introduced local rabbits
A pod of around 12 Risso’s Dolphins came into the Wick of Tresta, although they were always distant
Lamb Hoga always looks a little more inviting with a bit of sun on it.
The forecast is quite promising for the next few days so I’m looking forward to spending most of my time outdoors.
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I’m sure there’s a song in there somewhere 
Awesome. A fantastic lifestyle and obviously making great use of your camera gear.
Not at all envious, no sir, not at all 