Snow, birds and flowers
Millybrown
Mark Hillmann
Fri 20 Jun 2008 09:52
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I know this is a sailing blog but some days the
forecast is north 4 to 5, there is 60 miles north to the next harbour,
you are ahead of time and a walk ashore seems easier.
 After the rain stopped I did get up to the snow-line, or at least to a patch in a gully.
I think the red colour is iron, like the St Bees
sandstone.
Although this stream was cutting its valley, the
landscape did not feel as old as much in the UK. All the bedding planes
are horizontal, the same as the Faroes, which indicates (to me) that
although it has been laid down as volcanic basalt, ash etc and weather by
glaciers, it has not been deep in the earth and folded like many UK
rocks.
 I was patrolled by two of these giving a repeated
single whistle that rose in tone every time I moved. If I stood still the
tone fell again.
Like a blackbird scolding a cat in the
garden. When I looked it up, it is a golden plover but in the much more
striking northern plumage.
 This was a whinchat which sat and sang at me as I
approached. A musical cheep cheep cheep cheep followed by a low scolding
chatter, clearly in Icelandic as I could not understand a word.
 Lastly, flowers, if you can see them there are four
species here:
A taller blue nettle-like flower, (fully 3"
high)
A taller yellow single headed
flower,
A low mound of yellow small flowers
and bottom left the blue flowered insect eating
plant that rolls its leaves up from the edges.
There is no flower book on the boat
and I do not know their names but identification would be
appreciated.
I expect Lorna will tell me that we have a
pink version of each in the garden.
This will take a long time to transmit, too many
pictures and the satellite speed is very slow.
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