Tuesday 10 September

It was overcast and not too cold today - in other words, unremarkable in terms of weather.

I have updated the sidebar and front picture of this blog, which I had not really attended to over the past three months. I had not even switched the seasonal picture over from spring to summer; I could immediately post an autumn pic, in this case of the spider I spotted on Sunday. Sunday's pictures also provided the front pic, which is the blog header. Tomorrow is 9/11, so you will only get two posts in memory of two of the victims of 9/11. The posts are scheduled to appear at 1.46pm BST or 8.46am EDT, the time that the first attack on the WTC in New York took place on 11 September 2001. I intend to update this blog more regularly from now on; October will see the 5th anniversary of this blog and the 9th anniversary of my blogging activities. I commenced my first blog, Northern Trip, on 8 October 2004 at Kyleakin, Isle of Skye, some 75 miles southeast of my current position in Stornoway. At the time, I only had one blog. There are now have 69 blogs on my Blogger account, most of them static, doubling as websites. I also have one or two blogs outside Blogger.

Monday 9 September

The cruiseliner season comes to a close with a visit from the Marco Polo, its 4th visit this season.The day started with a flat calm, which allowed the big spider outside to weave an even more impressive web. Although cloud bubbled up through the morning, it did stay dry. I made further progress with my sixth short story, as well as research into the WW1 casualties from North Uist. In the afternoon, it was reported that Matheson Road in Stornoway was closed following a collision at the junction with Church Street. Later pictures showed that the crash must have happened at quite some speed.

Sunday 8 September

A beautifully sunny day, with only a few fluffball clouds and the mercury at a pleasant 16C / 60F. It was very nice and warm sitting in the sun and out of whatever wind was blowing. A large spider had woven a web and was busy catching wee flies. Bumble bees were flitting about the flowers - a nice late summer's day.

Saturday 7 September

11 degrees this morning with this northerly breeze. Bit nippy. I'm pretty good, even if I say so myself, at working public transport timetables. They can be tricky, certainly in parts of these islands. So I was quite proud to be able to help a visitor who wanted to go to a beach, Callanish and Harris today. No mean feat on a Saturday. By 6 o'clock, the cloud and rain had moved away, leaving us with a nice evening.

Friday 6 September

Fairly bright today, but mainly overcast. Just watched the ferry coming in on the last day this summer that we have three sailings - on Wednesday and Fridays from late June till early September. Normal service, two a day except Sunday, will resume tomorrow. The cessation of the 3 a day service will really mark the end of summer for me. The tourist season will continue until the mid-term holiday in late October. The weather is nice enough, but decidedly autumnal. How about the mushrooms out the back? The starlings are flocking, the days growing shorter. The equinox is nigh, what else to expect?