Our usual Skerries Sunday

 It was a bit breezy so we were worried it would be a rough crossing, but it was fine and gloriously sunny. We had a fabulous day.

First stop by the little pond gave up 2 chiffchaffs and 9 willow warblers.

Then almost straight away Rob found a juvenile Red backed Shrike.

We watched it for a bit then it moved to another garden. It posed well and was joined by a 2nd bird that a friend, Roger, picked up. Jill found a rosefinch in the same garden. There was also a garden warbler there.

Everywhere were Meadow pipits

Jill left Rob watching the Shrike and walked up to the cemetery and crop field. Straight away she found a 2nd rosefinch on the fence around the crop. It was with several more willow warblers and pied flycatcher

Difficult glary light today!

Jill went for a walk to a new spot right up towards the old North entrance to the harbour. It was a bit of a scrabble but well worth it.

At the end, another birdwatcher mentioned there as a yellow wagtail showing well. So, we drove back and we searched. We had heard it but didn't see it. Looking at the tiny beach where it had been seen, Jill spotted a distant wader. Unfortunately  it is a terrible photo but it flew after 2 seconds and was distant. We are not sure between the more likely little stint or semiplmated sandpiper.

It was tiny.

Nice to have a quick catch up with our friend Bob too.

Three years of hard work

 Well, we did it. Our  guests arrived with their takeaway and we sat and chatted while they ate. They were lovely and it was a pleasure to have them as our first guests. Thank you Alex and Philip!

We were worried as our original plan was to do self catering  but our kitchen isn't quite ready. However, it was fun.

Alex even went for an early swim in the loch. Apparently, it's all quite shallow.

We are pleased with our first visitor book entry. We are getting a lot of interest so we will eventually get pretty busy.

We got this!

 Aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhh. We have our first guests arriving tomorrow from a booking.com booking.  Its a b and b booking as the second kitchen isnt ready yet. We will offer it as self catering later on. So, it's been all go here. We finished the hallway now the door is right with the last tiles up to the door. Hope the grout dries quick!

Jim also made the last threshold and it got oiled.

Paintwork got touched up and washed down and the garden tidied. The bathroom cupboard was finished  and floors washed.

Jill is working on a guest information pack. It takes longer than you think! There is a surprising number of Chinese takeaways on Shetland.

So, wish us luck for tomorrow. It's been a long time coming.

Water

 Bit damp and murky today so Mark and I went looking for water to photograph on  his Personal Assistant day , so he could practice his slow shutter photography. It was fun and we seemed to miss the rain.

It was good for Jill to work on a different style too.  A fun day out. We visited Norby, Melby, Huxter and Dale.

A lovely clear day

More gloss painting, but the door is just about done. New sign up too.

Jill finally got round to fixing  the kitchen worktop. It was dropping as the fitter had not put any support at the end. It's now done.

The evening light was stunning.

 We booked for the Skerries but the weather forecast changed so we knew there wouldn't be much their today but we love it so went anyway

The sea had a small swell so it wasn't too bad and it was warm on deck.

Not that many birds but we did get 4 willow warblers and distant fly past of a short eared owl.

We did find a few of the usual birds and Jill walked up to the wall and over the top.

There were also lots of bees. Mainy Shetland and white tailed.