Menooooooooooo....And Breathe

NB: Blogger continues to be very tardy with many of your posts... and then a whole bunch will turn up at one go, with anything from two to four of those missed posts. Beyond frustrating!!! Am I the only one experiencing this, or have any others of you had this happen? I think David mentioned it might be with him. Anyway, for those to whom I regularly comment, know that I have not abandoned you and will get there eventually! For those I only comment occasionally, know that I am still reading all your posts - just not as timely as they could be!!! (moves on with clenched jaw and gnashing of teeth...).

I mentioned last Thursday that Mac1 is over by the Clyde house-sitting and looking after Barney, the Himalayan Terrier. I took a turn at 'watch' last week, and there will be another brief visit this weekend. My sister's friend and her hubby are overseas and were happy for Mac1 to use their place as an artist's retreat... and she certainly spread herself around!

The table by the window, the main dining table, the kitchen table... and many, many bags and boxes between! Friend Annie is, herself, a creator, mainly with fabrics, but a little with paints and other media. Mac1 loves printing in different formats, using whatever she forages from the beaches and woods and streamsides... and streets... Magpies would have trouble keeping up with her! 

Anyway, other than her three-week retreat, the other focus is the pupster... and what can be seen from the wonderful back deck... I'm just going to leave the rest of this post to the photos (in no particular order)...

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

Traffic flow, Montrose Harbour

Menoway, Menoway, Menoway...

After a weekend at Banchory (hiding from the rain), I dropped an hour's drive south to the Ferryden park up I enjoy so much, beside the channel to the Montrose harbour, just for a couple of nights. Watching that tide come and go. 

And ships. Lots of ships. Coming and going. I'll put a load up in a Views post, but today, let me share from a specific point of view. Lifeboats. I noted in the two and a half days I was parked up, the local RNLI boat was out and in several times. On the last return that I saw, it came in as fast as it went out, and all the crew were on deck... I fear there may have been a serious casualty aboard. Due to the amazing summer weather we'd been having, there were folk with no sense at all going out on the waves on paddle boards and other tiny, flatwater craft, or just swimming beyond their abilities, having no concept of the power of the North Sea currents in that particular stretch of coast. 

When it wasn't the main boat going out, it was the tender...

Blessings upon these first responders of the sea, who are almost entirely volunteer crews. 

As the larger ships passed, I noted some major differences in the lifeboats provided to the crews of those ships, according to the line they were sailing for. Take a look at this one on the Skandi Lifter...

There will be another on the other side of the bridge tower. Here's another that might take some effort to spot. This is the Shannon Fisher.

Yes, you're allowed to biggify! Do you see? Yes, there's the standard little rowboat type... but note the fully enclosed crane launch on the stern. I wonder who draws the straws for that one?

The Vestas line is clearly more up to date with their life craft - that's nearly as nifty as the RNLI's one!

Last of this little focus, here's a moving picture of the Loke... you'll see her lifeboat come into sight soon enough... again, there will be another on the other side of the vessel.

To round off this visit to Ferryden, here was a surprise I woke up to one morning...!!! I told The Grey not to get any ideas...

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

Passing traffic...

Menolyrical - Words for Words' Sake - A REPOST

This image was snatched at Montrose Harbour on the train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh.  It seemed nothing... and then...

grey the day

rattling by

battleship sea

silvered the sky

mottled carpet

dappled ceil

bridge with blue

under wheel

land is lost

between the two

silos blank

awaiting crew

all seems naught

twixt ‘n’ tween

till bright flash

of yellow seen

but the train

pulls us on

we blink and

the bright is gone

(c) Yamini Ali MacLean 2014

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We have had to say farewell to our darling diva, an elder of Blogville, Madison D Cat. We are sad, but none more so than her wonderfurs peeps. I shall be joining a memorial bloghop next week. If you knew Madi and have not heard about the hop, then CLICK HERE.

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

offerings of random shots from the TAKE bloggy; over there I have themes for each of the seven days. Click the links to see the full array! This week we look at a few from Shipping By...

Me-Now-Views; Less Speak More Peek

Menodust-re-all; engineering elegance

WARNING; this will be a week of photos about farm equipment and other such stuff!!!

Yup. The YAMster left the hutch again. Some of you will have noticed, cuz I couldn't comment quite so much - the tablet is a pain for such as that. I went over to Edinburgh for a week with the father and to fit in a couple of things - including a whole day outing to an old family friend and his tractors.

First I had to prise myself away from the wee toon; it was one of the rare and precious days which bring both sunshine and warmth to the estuary. Crossing on the ferry, I was reminded it was high season for tourists;

Looking back to town from afloat was a delight - and the heat shimmer off the water created a naturally artistic effect.

Look at the crowd waiting to board the Waverley!!! [...gotta get myself on that boat one of these days...]

It was truly spectacular.

I even made myself stop once I got to Greenock, for I had spied a smoke-stack over the rooves of the shore-front tenements there. Made a speedy left turn and parked down at the front. Cruise ships are plentiful at this and other ports along the Clyde.

Needless to say, that was the last we saw of the sun for several days. It plummeted from mid 20's centigrade to low teens overnight and the wet stuff returned. Even in Edinburgh. Not to worry on the Wednesday, as it was simply an 'at home' with the old man as well as taking him and Neighbour M down for their heavy groceries in the arvo.

Thursday dawned just as grey, but at least mostly dry, and that is when it got all farm industrial.

... wait for it !!!