Blue, blue ...

You got an earworm yet? I've gone and given myself one - say the title in French and it might yet bring it on ... *

Actually the morning, when I finally  got up and had a look, was disappointingly pale grey, but  by lunchtime the sky had that magical northern blue and there literally wasn't a cloud. It became warm too - and perfect drying weather. (Oh lord - she's at it again ...) I washed last night's tablecloth and napkins as well as the tablecloth we use every day and which had wine spilled on it the other day, and hung them out where they dried totally, and amazingly smooth - one just needs the edges ironed. I realised that three tablecloths out of the four we currently use came from France; the smallest one I spotted in the window of a small shop in the main road of the old town of Redon where I was staying for a fortnight with a French Exchange group from Dunoon Grammar (I was on the staff!). I went back the next day when the shop was open and bought it - the colour was gorgeous. Faded now, but still a fave. 

I didn't get much else done this morning as it was strangely short - but then when you put the light out at 3am, when the sky is already less dark than it was, it's kind of hard to be bright and bustling 5 hours later. I had  a phone call or two; I did little else that was at all memorable. But after lunch, when I'd sat outside for a bit and become ... well... hot - that was when I decided that knackered or not we needed to move.

That's when the photos were taken. The landscape one above is of the shore at Toward, looking north up the Firth into the blue of sky, sea and distant hills, and I loved the yellow of the wild mustard on the shore. it was hot, and there was a crazy gang of oyster-catchers flying round in circles screaming at each other. The extra is of two interesting sightings: the first is a swallow sitting on a wire, posing for just such a moment and a snatch of Leonard Cohen; the second of a military plane flying so low that we were glad the house under it was a bungalow. At that moment we were actually chatting to the owner of the bungalow, having a hing over his garden wall (we've known him for half a century) and it was rather startling. 

A thought strikes me about how we frame our photos - landscape or portrait? There is online scoffing these days about people who "still take their photos in landscape" - but presumably this has to do with the fact that most people only look at images on their phone, where a portrait layout will fill the screen rather than fill just a strip across the top...

We made it home in time for dinner and Compline. I managed to stay awake a surprising amount, but my eyes are closing now - I shall quit before I start typing nonsense!

*https://youtu.be/AsixGzmfrGI?si=7RBOl3on0f1_UGok