The Butt & Beyond

Two months have gone by since the wedding, and I’m still not done with the name change thing, there are so many entities to notify: the driving license people; the passport people; the doctor’s surgery; the dentist; who else? all the various online sites (do I want a new URL for this one?); the tax office… I am now Eryl Gasper Dick on the electoral roll, so that’s something, but with only one marriage certificate it will take some time to deal with the non walking distance organisations who require such proof. Especially as we’re off next Tuesday to London for three and a half weeks.*


Last of the Honeymoon Snaps

Our trip to Lewis is now a distant memory, yet I still haven’t dealt with all the photographs I took. I may actually never do that now**, but to clear the decks a little, here are a few I’ve played with in the in-between moments of the last week or so.

The Butt of Lewis

Lighthouse Wall
The lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis is famous, amongst lighthouse enthusiasts and Pinterest users, and is much photographed. It’s also rather unattractive, unlike the flora on its wall, so I sought a less typical perspective.
Fulmars and Flora
Fulmars nesting on a rocky outcrop lush with sea-pinks.
Nesting fulmars at the Butt of Lewis.
A closer look at the fulmars.

 

Civic Amenity
Just what we came for!

Harris

Although Harris is divided from Lewis by mountains rather than water it is talked of as a separate island. We went on Sunday June 10, and this is all I wrote in my notebook:

Foray to Harris – saw two young sea-eagles not long after we left the house – several ravens when we stopped to look at Loch Seaforth, and now we are in Hotel Hebrides (good coffee and a contingent of Italian tourists whose inherent elegance is showing signs of unravelling) at Tarbert where, when we got out of the car, we heard a cuckoo then saw it being chased by a starling.

The store at Tarbert
I so wanted to rummage here, but it was closed on Sundays and Mondays.
Tarbert, Isle of Harris
Gads I love these structures!
A Less Travelled Road
I’m getting in a pickle with my pictures, but I think this is the east coast of Harris, home to some of the oldest rocks in the world.

Valtos and Uig

From my notebook:

June 12 – Yesterday we went west to Valtos and Uig. At Valtos we called in on an old colleague of D’s who seemed to be in the middle of a nervous breakdown.
The beach at Valtos pier was gorgeous – lots of small rock ‘islands’ dotting the shore; turquoise water; pale honey sands.
Saw a golden eagle feasting in a field twenty metres from the road.

Valtos Rocks

Rope Muppet
Valtos Pier
Hook Up
The combination of flaking paint and rust – two of my favourite things!

Lastly,

here are some random rocks I rather liked:

Humbug

Green Rock
I love this shade of green
Lichen
Lichen: what’s not to love?

Sea Worn


*We’re house-sitting for friends who are off to Hawaii for their son’s wedding, and I’m hoping to do a lot of work while we’re away from the distractions of home: I have heaps of poems to revise, for example.

**I still have the Kent-Essex-Wales-Gloucestershire trip shots to do!

 

2 thoughts on “The Butt & Beyond

  1. Just responded to a comment you left. I noticed the name change. You know, when I got married I took my wife’s name. You’re right! It WAS a pain in the ass. Mostly, nobody believed me. Did you enjoy signing your new name? It’s fun. Are you going to post from London? I sure hope so. WITH pics, if possible. My favorite town.

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    1. It’s weird to have a new signature at my age, but I’ve been practising for when I eventually get round to going to the bank to notify them. The list of seems to be endless.

      I’m hoping to post one observation every day: a few lines and a photo or two. An easy exercise in discipline that even I should be able to manage. Which reminds me, I must remember to pack my camera lead.

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