Good grief its nearly mid-winter, another year ended and a new one to begin, with a full scale taste of what it is to be a nursery and then primary teacher as my first placement arrives, just after the schools go back. In the meantime I am loving my new job as a Hatchery Assistant over at the Marine College.

The artistry is on again, it was sort of on hold but creating is something I need so I'm trying to have a day messing about a week, mostly at weekends, so I can get my fix. Then I find time in the evenings to do homework for college and sort out bits and pieces for the boat.

Waiting on more snow falling, and my folks to arrive after having been delayed, and the cake to be ready (its only just been made - oops).

So have a happy winter-time, the start of longer days, and keep on looking for that first fresh scent of spring

30

It happened, last Monday I turned 30. A lot of people panic about being 30, some how I feel invigorated, ready for anything and willing to climb the highest mountains or swim the 7 seas just because they are there. Its rather a nice feeling, its like waking up after a long deep sleep, and all I want to do is run around and tell the world that I am back and here and ready!

Two weeks into teacher training and I am loving it, I'm the only Ranger on the course, which makes for some interesting conversations as times, but it does make the planning and curriculum side a little easier to get my head around.

I've not had a great deal of time to play with my art tho, and I really must get on with mounting and framing so I can move on and do more and the light is epic just now for being out and taking photographs. So it is just as well that I am ahead with my course work and can spend next week catching up with art and whelk picking once the tides start to back off again on Wednesday.

Then there is training, admin, and all those other finicky little things that I do and cannot get away from, that I really must write down and tick off as they are completed. I have a feeling my to do list will be a mile long again, and I do wonder if a timetable would help?

Ah the absentmindedness of a Saturday morning, I really must do something constructive!

I have done it!

Finally I think a few people might be saying, but I am now officially a self promoting artist (and trainee teacher - that starts next week says I in a slightly apprehensive but excited tone).

The art side of things is something I have played with for years, so now that I have the space, the time, the inspiration and inclination I have come up with this - www.shetlandinfocus

.com - himself's dad gave me the web space a few months ago and I never did anything with it, we talked about it but we had other things to do so I n

ever had a chance to really get into it. This year however, I moved all my art stuff into the workshop and started work on various bits and pieces.

This last month I started working on a project about the Drongs, a series of sea stacks in Northmavine. As ever the ideas booked filled up quickly, only this time I was able to develop it and create a few good bits of art which I now need to mount and frame.

I've been busy..

I've been diving, watching otters, welk picking, watching what felt like summer vanish in an instant and I have been creating.

Its been a summer where I've started climbing again, all be it bouldering but the want is there, every crag calls, and I'm hoping for a dry spell of winter cool that will let me get out and play. Finally the bike is fixed as well so thats in need of greater use, and I need to sort out my gears as well, but unlike brakes they don't stop you riding they just make it easier.

Next year Faroe and Norway beckons - and before then language lessons will be needed.

Projects 101

I could nearly say that I have 101 Projects to do, but its really more like 4 projects with 101 things to do in them. Earlier this month I took on an interpretation project for the Sandlodge Mine, which is proving to be fascinating. It's amazing to think that so much industry was present in Sandwick.

Then I have the gallery, using photographs and other bits and pieces we've made over the last few months. It won't be open full time to start with, I just have too much to do elsewhere between Sandwick and working with the boat during June, but I am hoping to give it a good go in July and August before we go to Orkney.

The other two are still in progress, some work for me to do, some work for others to do and then more work for me, which I am in no way complaining about.

The next week is pretty hectic, I have an exam, I've a house to organise, a boat to sort out, project work to be getting on with, and hopefully we'll get confirmation of some pretty cool marine work for the boat to.

I'm waiting...

waiting for job decision, teacher training decisions, waiting for a day when I can have 5 minutes to myself and need do nothing for anyone except myself..

I suppose, its not as bad as it sounds, everything I am waiting for is a positive thing, a means to move forward and discover something new, create something different, find new ideas and remember to smile.

And there are decisions to make, who do I vote for from the 5 candidates on offer? which BCD do i want to buy? what needs to move to the boat next?

the list is seemingly endless and the more I get done the more new things appear

Rain

So the snow that was here, has all but gone and the rains back on and off on a north west wind thats getting stronger and dying away. But it's not all doom and gloom, day light is coming in before 6 and its gone near on 7 at night, long days means more to do, more to be planned and more excitement in the air.

On the wildlife side of things, I've just seen a Shetland Wren on my garden fence, there was a dipper in the garden last week which was pretty cool, the oyster catchers have been back for a couple of weeks, with puffins, dunlins, bonxies, swans, geese and more all now making the islands suddenly come alive after months of peace, black cold seas and few signs of life, except of course for the fur seal seen up in Yell.

I start diving at the weekend, got plans to enter two triathlons at least in the summer so training for that starts on monday, it should have got going already but with doing my back in and subsequent sciatica training is not something that happens quickly. On top of all that, got one interpretation project starting if funding comes through, 3 jobs applications in, and two tender documents to get together, so as ever its all go as theres more to do on top of all that.

January

We could be, at the very least, accused of being ignorant when we ask 'what all the fuss is about?' when it comes to the snow, but to be honest up here in the far north we haven't really had any. We got 3 weeks of cold weather, heavy snow weather warnings but other than perhaps two nights where the wind really got up, the snow and the blocked roads never really came to anything that couldn't be handled.

All that could change tho, we have northerly gales from all directions NNW NW N NE NNE forecast from about Wednesday onwards, so the snow will be coming and I don't think the fact we are surrounded by sea will have much affect this time around.

Right now we are into the second on Shetland's Up Helly Aa's. Scalloway had theres at the begging of the month and today its Lerwick, with tomorrow being Hop Night, and the weather is miserable. So rather than head out and take photographs of the Jarl Squad I have stationed myself in the warm, ebaying a variety of yet more random objects, planning an HLF application, an arts application and a project vision statement.. that all sounds very involved when I add in editing the Ranger Newsletter, SCRAmble.

Hrmm best get on with it all then