End of Season II

Another sign that the winter is on its way is that the hobby/part-time fishermen have lifted their creels. These are used to catch partons (crabs) and lobsters. They go out in small boats and set strings on them, mark them with buoys and then go back out a week or so later and see what they've caught.

The bigger boats, the guys who do it for a living, go out in virtually all weathers, but in Orkney there are a lot of folk who just set a few creels almost as a family tradition.

There is a saying that Shetlanders are fishermen with crofts, whereas Orcadians are crofters with boats. This is mainly because the land is much more fertile in Orkney, and Shetlanders, having more rocks and heather than grass, have to rely on the sea rather than farming.

Another very wet and wild day. Sweet peas completely done for. Out to yoga tonight while Mike tackled the wiring in the soon to be (one day!) kitchen.