Professional help called in.

Just ashore from the Varuna and have a battery changing beside me which should solve my week-long problems. I never claim to be any sort of engineer and owning some kind of fishing boat for almost 30 years with only minor hiccups I consider to something of a minor miracle. Also very lucky that I am not embarrassed by my ignorance. Changed the gear box a couple of times and managed to get it off the boat single-handed and put it back on, well impressed that time. Anyway Ewen came out to fit and line up the clutch for me after work and that he did although he reckoned it could have done with another shim so have to check bolts tomorrow evening.

One good thing about blog photos they do show up the dirt. Seemingly you could eat a meal of the floor of my Dads engine room…not mine but a clean is on the cards.That is I get the right batteries charged up. Usually if there are two options I take the wrong one and as I have two banks of batteries and discovered too late that one of the chargers does not work I ended up with only two charged batteries and one in each bank and you cannot put the two together as the connections only fit one way.

Beautiful ,quiet evening and after running Ewen ashore I went over to a little island to take a couple of photos of some seathrift

and as I was going around to take a better angle both the oyster catcher and me were very startled. She flew off with a frantic call so did not stay around after seeing her nest with two eggs in it.

Made sure the circling black back did not land before she came back.

There has been a couple of days now where the weather has warmed up and on Saturday it was into the hive for the first time this year and all seemed well. My main concern just now is doing anything wrong. Probably will not get much if any honey of the hive this year but it was good to see they had started laying some honey down on the first super. Added another one, although not needed, with the frames I had just put together. Never found my queen although all the signs are the hive is fit and healthy.

Couple of shifts put in to the Inn, all day on Saturday, the evening being a bit frantic. Ten minutes to end of service and still with 20 people waiting for tables. Loved the description of the staff as swans, seems we glide gracefully across the floor organising everyone and below are working away to make it happen. This has been a year of firsts and being called a swan is another first. A music day yesterday and the regulars were joined by James Hickman and Dan Cassidy and a fine afternoon it was. Hannah Beaton threw in a couple of gaelic songs, one a very impressive Puirt a beul and with Sally’s lovely whistle tunes it was soon time to go and play at being an engineer. That I did for a couple of hours before giving up dirty and tired.

Couple of walks with the Dougal and Co and the recent spring like weather has lots of plants bursting forth, like the prehistoric horse tails

and the aqueligias in the garden are now ready for the visiting bees.