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This is the Fin Whale that was found at Ducans Geo, Brims on our island of Hoy, it was an exciting thing to go and see, I know it seems morbid but it is a once in a life time opportunity to see a creature that could have grown into the 2nd largest animal on the planet, this Fin whale was 14.5 meters long but even at that length was a very impressive sight to see, all be it a very sad one.


This photo is of the whales mouth and what looks like a huge brown boulder in the middle of its mouth is actually its tounge. It was very sponging but leathery and felt quite rough. (The black rock infront of its mouth IS a rock)


This photo shows the detail of the filters or baleen to be correct. Not having seen it before, but watched the process many times on nature programmes on tv, it is the most amazing thing to actually see in real life. The simplicity of the baleen to allow the water out but to catch the krill and other small creatures in the hair that is on the inside of each of the baleen plates.

We went to see the whale on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, (the week before under me bonnet did). There was very little odour to it but there was also very little breeze the occassional waft of pungent air did not put us off or many others that had been to see it over the previous few days. It was sad as we sat on the cliff above the whale thinking about where it had been in its life, places I will never have heard of or ever see I expect, questions popped into conversation, where was it born, where did it live, had it bred, had it been in Orkney waters before, why did it die, where did it die the questions just kept coming, some of them may seem trivial and silly but it had a life just like we do and we should respect that!

Anyway to change the subject, today the sun is trying to break through the clouds after 2 days of rain, water everywhere, the ducks are loving it, I am not. We have been tidying up the usual winter collection of rubbish and 'chuck it in the shed we'll sort it later' stuff and ended up with a bonfire All sorts of things that you think, I'll use that for something, but it never gets used or gets ruined by a leak in the roof of the shed, or things that you try to recycle, but really are past all use and are only good for the fire. So today we have been tidying again and no doubt there will be another bonfire at some point in the next week. All the plants are budding, the vege patch is being started on, daffodils are finally raising their heads to the sun with the crocuses and the snowdrops, and when you sit down with a coffee in the sun you think .......Roll on summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!