Now I have yet another ... and its not because I have lost interest in updating. Im afraid I sold my soul back to the devil :-o
I have started work again. Its real work and not pooch painting work. My last employer contacted me and asked if I would help out for a while. I agreed and signed the dotted line for a three month contract. I have therefore been very busy taking the dog a walk at 5.30am before heading for the office. When I return home, its dog walk time again then catch up on my outstanding pooch painting orders. However the money will soon top up my savings that I spent during the past six months of living in the "promised land". OK ... Excuses over, its now time to update the Ailsa Craig blog.
No sooner had I stepped on land than I almost got egg in my face by nearly stepping on a bird's nest.
Not surprising really as the island is a bird sanctuary and is the third largest gannet colony in the world.
The nest didn't belong to a gannet..but perhaps it belonged to these two love birds that were debating whether the water was warm enough for swimming.
These are a pair of Eider Ducks.
I had to side step over another nest and all this was within 100 yards of the landing point.
Our plan was to explore the area around the lighthouse, climb to the top of the Ailsa Craig, then do a boat tour round the island before heading for the mainland.
The shore around the lighthouse area is called the "Fisherman's Camp" because of the many indentations dug in the rocky beach. In days gone by, fishermen often landed here to shelter from the storms. They draped sails over spars laid across the indentations to form crude tents to shelter from the wind and rain.
You can clearly see one of the many indentations in this photograph.
As if by magic, just to add to the atmosphere of the landing area.. a real sailing ship passed by the Ailsa Craig.
To be continued..tomorrow ... assuming I can think of no other excuses !! :-D
No comments:
Post a Comment