One foggy morn

I was out with the Hassie for this, enjoying the quietude of he village and seeing what it looked like that day. It looked like this there.

Hunt dogs

Ooof, there they were, walking prettily behind the big creatures with their little humans on top. Out hunting a good time with the Tolsta Hunt. I hope they hunted down that good time - but not before I took this pot-shot at them.

Tolsta Hunt

I heard the clippidy clop from up the road first. Then the first creature's head appeared over the top of the hill with its diminutive rider. Then a few more four legged creatures and personages of all sizes and types.
The local Hunt was out - hunting for late easter eggs I shouldn't wonder. Or a smile and a wave from a bystander. I hope they hunted out both.

Murray

Murray of this parish, local crofter and Mr nice guy sprints off to avoid a photo event ruining his day. He didn't go quick enough and it didn't ruin his day but made mine.

My former dance teacher

Oooof, a nice snap I found of Sonja, Karmina - my former dance teacher and Eve out for a stroll one island summers day.

 Yesterday was such a day and Eve and I took off in the car with bikes loaded so I could have a ride in another area. What a lovely ride we have in North Lochs, wandering through and getting lost in the small back roads of that area. Eve rode back home again afterwards but I was more than pleased to have done 33kms - even if it was on Eve's nice red ebike :-)

Wonky

Been in the darkroom again just to see if could remeber things. I did remember but got the edges all wrong it seems - or maybe that was the phone snap i took of the toned print - on Kentmere rc.

Please don't judge me.

Two

I'm feeling better now

These images and everything.
Makes me feel better. Not sure why i have not been doing them.
I shall be going in the darkroom again soon once the man has finished nailing an extension on it for the bikes.

reverting to type

I admit, I have nothing in my head, nothing new anyway. Since I have committed to wasting film at an inordinate rate and showing some of the resulting images here, the images are reverting to type as it were. Blurry cyclists and everything.

At least some of these have been taken whilst out on my ebike with Eve. The bike that is electrified of which I write is an old old Kona - a lovely machine in its day but sporting a few too many battle scars. With the addition of the electric front wheel and the battery it all weighs a ton - or at least half a ton. Can barely lift the thing at all. Just hope the battery doesn't run out while out on a ride and I have to push the blimin thing up the hill into the village here.

Anyway, we had a fine ride yesterday along the coast - not that there is any choice from here. However, the sun shone a bit, the rain dampened us a bit and I had a nice rest afterwards.

small white house

Minolta A3

Yes, was out playing with the Minolta A3 rangefinder camera and Polypan-f film.
And yes, I enjoyed myself

Small black horse under a big black cloud

 The weather has been somewhat variable but this little horse stands there all the same. Rain, wind and sun seems not to bother it at all. Or maybe I don't understand enough horse.

We went this way

We did both, that is Eve and I, went this way and the other way.

We went the other way first on foot then back again before going this way, Eve by pedal bike and me by car.

It is the most delicious place and all the more for not having been there for some months.

I have been riding my bikes mind. Just not this day. Wrong sort of rain and all that.

That day

Oh please

Sometimes, I think I'm onto something but then.......

potentialities

Had a fine little lock-down stand-off meeting-ette with some co-snappers and a writer to put together a possibility of a potential project proposal. I was so animated afterwards, I shot out with a camera and some cheap as chips [were] film and shot these.

I quite enjoyed it

I am looking forward to a visit down here again.

It's not so very far away as it happens - but more than 5 allowed miles currently.
I was here working this day but I did have the camera with me and felt compelled to stop at this corner. I might be compelled again - soonish hopefully.

fencescape

bikeration

Ahha, you thought I was telling porkies when I said I have been on the bike. Well, look here you lot, this here is a nearly self portrait of my arm as Eve rides along on her Winter bike. She's on her other bike these days on account of something or other - the actuality of which evades me currently.

Anyway, you can see I have a good cyclists arm can't you? Hanging on the dear life as my old e-partially powered mountain of a certain vintage bike carries me along. Have loved it and have been getting fitter [and tireder] by the day. Only now, I adjusted the bike thing and it's now out of commission for a few days.

Swimming

Surprisingly, there's a fair bit of sea swimming going on up here in what is usually chilly if not cold waters. Eve and I have done this although not recently. We have been more disposed towards bicycles on land.

it's nearly July. How did that happen?

I know, I know, but I stumbled upon this snap in the folds of my external hard disk. Obviously from my earlier days on the island.

It's just over there [pointing] along that road and down a bit. Would love to go there right now but we can't yet. Anyway, there might be another person there and we have three big clean white empty beaches round about the village even though they are not sepia coloured (in the main).

back on the same day [as yesterday's day]

It's all coming back to me now.
That nice bloke off the tv  was there at the show teaching the locals the southern skill of tickling the coows. Oh how we laughed. Oh how the coows wiggled and tiggled.

Then it didn't rain. I mention that because it always rained at this show - but not this year . 2011 it was. What a year. It's rained ever since. Probably.

Back in the day

Waiting for the sheeps rugby match to start. This was a sort of team Bisheepslon whereby each team of sheeps took part in a rugby game and Highland sheeps dancing.

The cheviots won I'm told.

When you can go no further than 5 miles

It's 2 miles actually.

Yup, Tolsta again

Lock-down has not gone [at the time of writing] so Tolsta is on the menu for a stroll again. This is the other side. The side you don't always see - which is a pity as it looks different from the side I usually see.

Beyond Back

 Beyond Back although perhaps not quite the Back of beyond. It did feel like  it at times as we passed the wreck of the day. The track was lovely though. I mean, really lovely. I was smiling - albeit inwardly in an attempt to allay fears of me having wind.

 Toots, one of our guides for the stroll stopped and withdrew some excess pixels from the place at this point. This may well be for the Edge of the Back of Beyond project. Who knows?

We crossed a bridge. By a sign saying erected by Oxford University for some reason. Not sure if that was the bridge or the sign.

Gala days

Ooooof, this image does it for me.
Came across it the other day when trawling through my files. Yes, it's a film image taken with a a Fed Zarya and Industar lens on film.

Barvas Gala if I'm not mistaken when it was held on the machair at Barvas. It's held -w ehn it is on - on Community Centre carpark now. Less interesting, less photogenic but far more practical.

Russian

I was going to say this was taken with a borrowed Leica Barnack camera but looking at the darkness on the right side of the snap, it was probably my Zorki 6 camera. That was possibly why this obliging Russian water-borne worker allowed me to capture his likeness.

Tractors

There are tractors here - and not from Chelsea either in the main. Tractors have been known to gather in swarms at times and I managed to catch such a gatheration - albeit small some time back.

Can't recall the occasion to well but looks like second best tractor day rather than the best one. Oh yes, one doesn't have just one tractor does one?
Best amount of tractors to own = tractors you have +1.

see here for Mr Four tractors [who often has more than 4 tractors]

Of course it's Poland

Honestly, not sure why I bother.
Yes, Poland. I think it was anyway. It was where we were meant to be at the time - some years back an all.
I must have been on a roll at the time. No idea how I did it since I can hardly recall the time - apart from we liked it there and had a fine time.

ahh. Yes I am still here

The weather has been good up here on this rock in the Atlantic. Sun and everything. And when I say everything I include the flippin midges which is not quite so good. Despite that, had a lovely walk with the Toots' -a couple or three days ago which rather wiped me out. However, I did manage a little - and here I mean very short - bike ride today.

Hopefully I might sleep tonight. Too little exercise and I won't sleep. too much and I won't sleep. Such are the delights of CFS.

It was hot then too

Poland

peats

the cut peats for fuel are nearly all in due to the dry weather.

All the world needs a text

from a trip to Abroadland

no, not today or yesterday

Didn't go this way yesterday, instead i did a nice ebike ride to Toots' and Bac for tea, bourbons and drizzle cake. Lovely.
We did pass here though. Twice and Eve four times on her extended ride

Keith has two now

Keith Akabilly used to have one small quiet bell. Now he has two bells, one of which is louder - thankfully.
I shall leave it there.

Horse

See that/ That's there is an horse. Lives just o'er the road with its pal and another little shrunken horse at the bottom of that croft. I think they like it there.

How I managed this snap I'll never know as I shot the 400 film at 100 but just realised it before I did the developing bit. Sloshed it in Hydrofen. seems to have worked.

Plastic here too

Yes, it's everywhere. On the beaches, of the land and in the air. Sadly.

been messing.

An old image of delightful Sam at the Velodrome happily played wif on the pooter on a rainy day.

I did develop a film too - but it was blank - hadn't gone through the camera :-(