Figures

My third, and - for this stay in Tain - probably last, swim in Portmahomack. Only three of us this time, including LJ doing her 101st swim of the year.... Epic.

We went out to the buoy and back, but I got left behind as usual, despite starting before the others. But it was fine. Slow and steady, although it was very choppy and pretty windy, with the wind in our faces as we went out there. [On Saturday it was the other way around - the wind in our faces as we came back].

I offered Mr A the option of a coffee and a bun in The Port, but he preferred to come back here, so after showering I went out to buy steak pies from Grants the Bakers for lunch. Very tasty.

We put in some big shifts in the garden. Clearing out one corner which was completely overgrown. Building the garden store we bought in Inverness yesterday so we have somewhere more appropriate for our garden tools. Raking out and levelling the front garden bed. Finally, Mr A planted out some flowering currants that he rescued from the side bed. They appear to be self-seeded and they will either survive and thrive, or die, depending upon how they find their new circumstances. The ultimate in recycle and re-use. Our brown garden waste bin was collected, so I instantly refilled it with cypress debris. Not our cypress trees, but they are cutting out a lot of light so cutting back the overhang already made a difference. I popped round to the neighbour in the morning to warn them we were going to do it. Horrible things. And we now have a pile of cotoneaster cuttings on the lawn. They need cutting up small before they can either be bagged, or put in the bin next time it's available.

It was really nice, however, to see the progress of the peony plant that was one of the major features of the garden when we came here in June to view the property. The shoots have grown around 6 inches whilst we have been here. I'm really looking forward to seeing it in bloom this year.