West toward the Stenness Hills

I caught the bus to Stenness and walked up Skaill End Road. Some nice clouds about and frequent showers of snow with a brisk wind behind it making it quite sore on the face. We never seem to get gently floating earthward swansdown type snow here- only needle-sharp hail-type. I make this complaint every year. I stopped in at the hide at Barnshouse. It isn't in good shape- the roof was buckling downward and a hole had appeared. I used a broom and length of plastic to try and prop it all up and will contact the council who are responsible for the upkeep. Not too many birds other than masses of swans, wigeon, etc on the lochs. A few snipe and reed buntings were nice. A turn about the Ring of Brodgar, then back down the road. More shots here.