The ring of Brodgar

A Neolithic stone circle, a couple of miles from Skara Brae where I was yesterday. 36 stones in a perfect circle ( originally 60 stones) the diameter is bigger than Stonehenge, though of course the stones are different. They were dragged from different parts of Orkney - possibly to represent different communities gathering in one spot.  Current thinking is they were dragged on beds of slippery seaweed. It was built over time in a period between 3000 and 2000 BC 
My friend F and I spent the morning sitting in their garden in the warm sunshine , catching up. Then to a walk/talk by an Orkney Ranger here, on the theme of the landscape around the stone circle. The wild flowers were just abundant and varied, I’ve added an extra of some bog cotton, which is the most flamboyant. The circle is on a narrow neck of land between two lochs - one seawater, the other fresh. We saw seals, and many birds including curlew and redshank, and many many skylarks- singing & singing non stop. 
A lovely evening meal and just chatted the whole evening about life and everything, some serious, some funny things. Like when they lived in Bristol. 
I received a photo from Bristol  - where it’s pretty hot I gather - of Portia with her two servants  feeders fanning her.  She looks fairly stoical about it all. She really likes them. In extras