Blipmeet number 1

Poppy and Northern were both hoping to go to the blipmeet in Kirkwall tomorrow but were unable to go in the end so we managed to make arrangements to meet today. A great chat over tea, coffee , homemade lemonade and cake in the Fossil Centre. Lovely to see them both again :)
A quick explore in the car hoping to pop in to the Harray Potter before the Potter retires but it did nt open until 1 so had to leave it, Did see a wonderful chicken who was enjoying the sun in the garden.
Then off to Stromness as we had tickets for the Fiddlers Rally in Stomness academy. Some great tunes and it was great to see and listen to fiddlers from Shetland.
The Orkney fiddle teacher was soo funny , telling us funny little stories before her pupils played. A young man called Andrew had stood in to play the piano and was extremely good.
We were going to have a lunch but Julias was heaving so we just grabbed a burger from the van outside.
We went down to Ness and admired the view across to Hoy. After a sunny afternoon the haar had started to come in. We left it behind and headed into the sun. A wonderful walk at Yesnaby in glorious sunshine up to the sea stack. Great views out into the ocean and across farmland dotted with derelict buildings.
At The Loons ,an RSPB Reserve, we stopped at the listening wall, a parabolic wall 'designed to amplify the beautiful calls of waders and wildfowl' It seemed to work and we could hear the geese that were some distance away. A snipe was flying somewhere and we could hear the wonderful sound of it drumming. We heard a car drive up and were slightly disappointed as we would nt have it to ourselves. When the man and his son approached he asked if it worked. We both said yes and he replied. ' That's good , I built it !' He explained how it was built, very interesting. The mist was really rolling in now and hanging magically above the water.
A quick look at the Standing Stones of Stenness  or stillness as one of my Brownies calls them.
It was still light so we decided to nip down to Happy Valley. Stunning, just us , the birds and the lambs. So beautiful with everywhere covered in bluebells and other wildflowers. A very enjoyable little walk .
On the way back we saw hares and two 'cattie faces', short eared owls. The large Naval ship, HMS Bulwark has arrived in Kirkwall and a Naval helicopter was at the airport, getting ready for the events for the Centenary of the Battle of Jutland.