Walking funny

We're all walking a bit funny out here at the moment. Before you get carried away it was the football match a couple of days ago that did it. A challenge was made and accepted to the BTCV volunteers and a football carefully selected from the 8 washed up on Pilgrims haven (it's a football magnet there). The only vaguely suitable place to play was the field called the tennis court but this had to made presentable by removing the rabbit and razorbill carcasses first. Battle duly commenced and the sharp shooting of Hanna and Chris won the day for the island team but I bet Rooney and Gerrard and co have never had to deal with thrift hummocks, and turf burns from all the dried rabbit poo. But oh the aching legs the next day.


And today, while the rest of the country suffered under a heatwave we were buried in fog. A real pea souper. So thick in fact that I was little worried that the May Princess visitor boat might miss the island altogether and end up in Holland. We were on the jetty waiting and listening and then she appeared, ghostly and silent out of the mist with 19 brave souls. And it was worth it for them as the fog had held large numbers of puffins on the island and half an hour before they left at half past five the fog finally burned off so they could then see the views and lighthouses that I had been promising were there.

A fine catch in the moth trap this morning, a shark. A chamomile shark actually, named because of the shark fin shape on the top of its neck. It is a relatively rare moth in this area but the Isle of May attracts it because of the scentless mayweed here that the caterpillar feeds on. The moth trap is only catching 4 or 5 moths a day at the moment but with a bit more warmth it will soon start filling up.

Once the fog had burned off we were treated with a rather nice sunset. Hope that tomorrow it burns off a little sooner.