The last day of the year dawned with an extra-special treat of beautiful clouds which I think were
mammatus. I grabbed the camera and spent the next few minutes snapping pics but it's hard to capture the soft apricot light, the 360° vista and I was a few minutes too late to catch the mammatus cloud before it started 'falling' - some of the pics on the
Cloud Appreciation Society website are more stunning!
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| Eastern sky 5.54am |
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| Western sky - mammatus cloud 5.55am |
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| Zoom on above pic - mammatus cloud 'dropping' through the atmosphere |
If you have an interest in clouds then consider joining the Cloud Appreciation Society or 'follow' them on
facebook and 'live life with your head in the clouds'.
It's been a particularly busy week in the shop with cruise ships visits on Monday (sunny and very hot), Tuesday (foggy start then cloudy and humid with a few light showers) and today (cloudy and humid with some rain). We've done a roaring trade in insect repellent, drinks, ice-creams and (surprisingly) hot pies; great to meet people from all over the world and to wish them a Happy New Year.
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| Monday 29 December - on my lunch break |
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| Oban waterfront - shining like a jewel in the sun |
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| View from where I work - Presbyterian Church to the left |
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The Oban Visitor Centre (or Red Shed) - hire cars, pushbikes, scooters,
guided tours and information centre |
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| Not quite so sunny for our Tuesday cruise ship visitors but still warm |
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| Cruise ships look quite strange anchored out in the Bay |
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| Long queues for the checkout today |
There's less than 3 weeks until my 4th anniversary of moving down here; it's been an amazing experience and there's been a lot of 'firsts' in that time: using a chainsaw and scrub-bar, learning about the ngahere (native bush) and its inhabitants and becoming a blogger. It's a privilege to write about this special island and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you in 2015.
Best wishes to you all for a happy, healthy, peaceful and sustainable New Year.
