October days and nights

We are enjoying such a fine spell of weather.  It is October, and it is warm, and it is so bright.  So wonderful after the mixed weather of last month.

Farmer even found himself swimming on Sunday morning down below the farmhouse.

A solitary Thrift flowering on October 3rd.  We also saw Devils bit scabious, Ragged robin and a daisy flowering on the same day.

Some wonderful sunrises.

Some wonderful night skies.

Some clear blue day skies.

Pahoehoe lava from a Mull Geology guided walk.  Fascinating!

Red Admiral enjoying the Hebe on 6th October.

A Silver Y moth doing the same on the same day.

More night skies and northern lights.

More wonderful rock.

Bank holiday weekends

For the Farmer it is just like any other weekend.  For the family and friends it is blissful having a more relaxed timetable during the day, and being able to chill out a bit.  We have friends staying so we dragged Farmer away from his chores yesterday afternoon and headed for the beach.  

Earlier in the week we had some sunshine - and beautifully calm school run dog walks on the beach at Calgary.

One afternoon, Farmer had to go and check the tups - I went with him. The hares have been slightly put off by Coco being off the lead and so are not venturing into the garden as much as they did last year, so it was really nice to see 2 different pairs, one of them had a lot more white than the others so we knew we were not seeing the same pair twice!

Pellets and primroses.

Brownie is not afraid of coming up to say hello.

After the lovely beach walk yesterday afternoon in the mist, I went to see if I could see the hares again.  

There was a blood moon yesterday for those who were in the right place to see it.  I did get a lovely view of the fullness of the moon but through the mist and it wasnt red!  

Later before I went to bed I went to let Coco out and saw my first ever moonbow.  What a magical magical sight.  I am so grateful once again that we have such wonderful dark skies here.  It lingered much longer than a rainbow normally does, or perhaps that was because there wasn't much of a wind, but I stood outside for quite some time watching it and listening to the occasional sound of a seabird along the shore.  

Expectations versus the reality

11 years ago we were living in the Studio and renting out the farmhouse. That year was the last high point in the 11 year Aurora Borealis cycle.   The family who had booked the house this particular week came from a city and they said their children had never seen stars.   At about 10.30pm one night, Farmer looked out of the window and saw that the northern lights were dancing, and as the lights were on in the house, he went and told them so that they could look at them too.    They came out and had a quick look and went back indoors again. It was difficult to know if they had experienced it as being something really special or not. 

                  This was the first aurora I photographed - in March 2013

I had always dreamed of seeing the northern lights before I moved to Mull. They were something rare and wonderful to my mind.  Like seeing a shooting star on a clear night or coming across an otter while walking along the shore.  We have been lucky and seen them several times in the 19 years we have lived here. Standing under dark skies watching an almost psychedelic spectacle, fingers of green luminescent lights reaching up to the stars.  I never took photographs of them.  

As the digital camera picks up more aurora activity than the human eye can see we have been treated to a stronger visual image of the Aurora than we can often detect with our own eyes. I worry that the advent of digital photography and the easy access to seeing thousands of images of the Aurora from all over the northern hemisphere will affect our enjoyment and feeling of wonder when we see them with the naked eye. We begin to feel that the images we have seen are what the Aurora is - but in reality, certainly here at Treshnish as opposed to Iceland or Norway, it is very different.  

 

I recall feeling slightly disappointed in March this year when I saw the northern lights again for the first time in a long time, that they were not as bright or dramatic as I had remembered or expected them to be.   It was only a fleeting feeling as soon the magic of being outside in the cold night air under the stars, absorbing my surroundings and experiencing the night, whilst watching the delicate dancing fingers and the glowing green aura of the Aurora replaced the 'memory' I had of the digital Aurora, and I was able to re-adjust my expectations, and to enjoy the spectacle I was experiencing.  For it is still very special, even if visually it might be very faint.  

I count each sighting of the Aurora as being a magical moment but they vary in intensity hugely.  The night of 14th October is one I won't forget. It was the most magical experience I have had watching the aurora.  The lights were really bright and easily visible by the naked eye. I witnessed a fireball explode over Calgary Hill, almost too bright and fast to be real, but I later heard others had seen it too. The moon was bright, lighting up the landscape around me - no need for a torch. Standing under the stars, watching the glowing skies and colours reflecting in the sea below, listening to stags roaring on the hill, and gentle waves slowly lapping the rocky shore.  Apart from the unseen fishermen on the boat in the bay, I was on my own and it was awesome.  

Watching and looking for the Aurora has got me out of doors at night, and enjoying the night landscape.   And learning a little bit more about night time moonlit photography.

Three nights ago, I photographed the faintest of Aurora, reds in a sparkling star lit sky, barely noticeable except as a glow over the sea.  Still, I was out in the cold fresh night air, hearing the wind in the trees and watching the stars.  Another magical moment but perhaps only because I have tempered my expectations. 

This winter is going to have more aurora events than usual.  The successful sighting obviously depends on a combination of a strong forecast for aurora activity and good clear skies to the north.  Obviously that is really difficult to predict.   Earlier in the week we had a strong aurora forecast coupled with reasonably clear skies but I couldn't see a thing.  

An autumn break

The weather is being to turn today. It is windier and overcast, though there is still no sign of rain. 

I had errands to do yesterday which took me along Loch na Keal.  It was so clear you could see the houses on Iona from just beyond Ulva Ferry.

Farmer was at home with an equally long list of tasks, including spiking the silage areas so that when it rains again the ground where the wheels have compacted the soil, will drain better.  That is the hope any way.

Last night I was hoping for more northern lights, as the forecast was good. A faint but lovely glow was all I saw.  We are really so lucky here that there is no light pollution. The moon was strong and the stars were bright so I wandered around, whilst everyone else was asleep, practising my night time photographs.

Farmer and his family are taking a break tomorrow, but will be back soon.  We have an army of different helpers looking after sheep and cows, dogs, hens, cats and cottages.

The moon, the stars and the aurora borealis - and Walter

As mentioned in a previous blog, we were waiting for a new helper to arrive.  Well here he is.  Walter. 10 months old, a Beardie cross, whose owner has retired and Walter needed a good home to go to, where he would be worked.

The clear cloudless skies of the last few days have given way to these beauties.  This was at about 6pm on my way to collect Daughter from the celebrations in Dervaig, post Mull Rally.

I had time to stop on the beach and I am so glad I did.  I have been missing my school run walks.  I will have to do better.

Then alerted to the aurora forecast, I kept a look out.   The moon was really bright.  I have not done moon light photographs before.

At the Ensay road end.

And then further down towards Calgary.

It was so still and quiet. I could hear the waves gently rolling against the rocky shoreline below.  The stags were roaring in different parts of the hill above, and I could picture the wars being played out as the stronger stags chase off the younger ones, and fight their equals. The moon was bright, occasionally going behind the cloud, which cast shadow on the ground.

A perfect night.