Gaan on the bus

Daffodils on the track, a flower so hardy that it survives gale force winds as if they are a whisper!

How are you all? Bright and cheery? Had a good couple days in your week? Mines has been just fine a bit of wombling, a bit of gardening and a bit of dandering about. I was debating the merits of life today and not taking yourself seriously. I often wonder if I ever take my own advice! Anyhows, with my 'serious' sustainability' hat on (its quite fetching) I refused a lift to the airport the other day to retrieve my car as there is a regular bus at the top of my track. Rather than letting Mr F do a double journey in the car, I went all moral and ethical and so I took the bus the other day. That was my 'serious' sustainability thought for the day. Back to the silliness, far more fun.

This doesn't happen much, my taking the bus, not the silliness, I'm always silly. Its not that I don't do buses - they just don't really do us here - we have one bus a day to town. But saying that - I'd left my car at the airport (off gadding aboot again in Edinburgh) and needed to go get it back and as keen as I am a 15 mile walk wasn't really what I had pencilled in for my day. The trip to Edinburgh was one of our usual quick ones - a bit of dim sum (and very fine that was too) and a bit of a guitar legend (Not Mr F, Gurthrie Guvan, one of his favourites playing in the Voodoo Rooms.) OK. Orkney to Edinburgh for tea and a gig - not something we do much, but now and again, life chucks an adventure at you!

Anyway, back to this bus, funny old thing waiting for a bus isn't it - the world just looks different somehow. ......what you can't see or hear here are the lapwings dancing, the geese walking and a honking, curlews plodding about with thier silly beaks and the wind swirling passed as I waited. The homestead looks quite tiny from the end of the track. The daffodils are beginning to show a bit of colour aren't they? Can you see the ferry in the distance coming into port - that means its nearly 10.10am, time for my bus.

One whole bus to town a day - which given where we live isn't much, nor awfully sustainable as its always empty, but its still pretty cool to be offered this inclusive service. Whilst my children get the school bus every day - from the top of our track - they stand and look at that view every day - when I hardly ever do. A look to the right - now alot of traffic really, not a sight of anyone in fact!

On my left - um not a sight of much either except a couple of the neighbours. Funny thing about looking for a bus - you see mirages on the horizon which look like buses but turn out to be tractors or cows. As you can see I live in a really densly populated area. (NOT)

Eventually it turned up (on time) despite my being convinced of mirages and missing it - as we've one bus a day, I was glad we didn't miss each other. That being said, it was nearly a disaster. Known for my flower hunting addiction, I spotted the daffodils on the track and began to wander off looking for our native Primroses (Primula vulgaris) to see if they were up too. Not quite.......but nearly.

So, in a dither, I nearly missed the bus as I took my eye off the road for a minute or two. Between the lapwings dancing in the field by the house and the daffies a flowering and the primula hunting - I got distracted taking pictures of pretty flowers instead of paying attention. I almost fell on the road trying to chuck my arm out to make it stop.

The driver tried not to laugh too much asked me what on earth I was trying to do (Y' al rite lass?'), I half upside down on the step, explained the excitement of the spring flower investigation botany bit - he just looked at me like I was a lunatic, clearly not a botanical type! I decided not to give my normal - did you know the interesting thing about primroses blether (each plant has either pin or thrum eyed flowers on each plant, to promote out pollination between plants).

The moral of the story? Never trust flowers, they are too happy to distract you, cunning beasts.

And dinnae take yersel seriously - you might fall under a bus or in a heap infront of a conductor trying to!!

"Edited to add, there is of course one bus a day back from the small town of Stromness at 12ish pm - but not to and from Kirkwall......."