What's Your Blogger have as a Screensaver?

First, thank you for all of your kind comments on my photos - the situation was spectacular, and I was lucky enough to be there.  

I have had some e-mails and comments about do I have them up as my screensaver.  

There short answer is no.  

I have this photo on my screensaver and blown up on a canvas in my office.  I took this photo in 2004 while on a hike in Colorado.

Yes, it is a stick

Fall Sunrise

This morning I was sleeping away when I heard Maggie bark.  I thought - huh? Then she woofed again and I thought Argh! Maggie has to pee.

This is how I found myself up at 6 am on a Sunday.  I put together a post and was feeling good that something would come up while I am traveling in France and then I made breakfast - poached eggs and bacon on crumpets.  As I was walking down the stairs with my plate, I looked outside and saw an incredible sky developing, then I looked at Badger, who gave a little squeak of encouragement.

So I raced up stairs, pulled my clothes off the radiator - where I leave them the night before for warming. Grab the camera, poop bags and dogs, and we fly out the door toward the beach.  Sky is even better. 

Sunrise and Sleeping Thurso

We get to the beach, and we have it all to ourselves.  I let them off the lead and they race around and around while I take pictures and look out for other people coming onto the beach.  How can anyone be sleeping with this going on?

Dogs Racing on a Sunrise

With tide moving out, there is lots of beach, and the light is bouncing off of everything.  Within 20 minutes, it's reflecting across the bay and onto Scrabster.

Scrabster bathed in Thurso's leftovers

People are starting to wake up, and there are a few others on the beach, so we get ready to go after a few more splashes into beach puddles.  As we were leaving, we heard the call of fall over our heads.

I have a loop feature on my photo program - take my word for this photo is spectacular

Back at home we perform the ritual after beach rubbing.  I have this super absorbent towel with pockets for your hands on each end.  We go into the garage and play dodge and dive the towel. We stop when my stomach hurts from laughing and Badger has a big smile on his face.

75 posts...

Yep this is it, my 75th post. Seems like just yesterday I thought, I wonder how a blog works.  Honestly, it's a bit hard to believe that I have been living in Thurso for 10 months, and I wrapped Christmas presents yesterday.

The audience as you would expect is primarily from America.  This could all be slightly skewed as it only tracks actual page views, so those of you that view only through e-mail do not count.  The audience demographic by pageview count is:

United States	1793
United Kingdom	366
Russia	104
Germany	30
Poland	11
Italy	4
South Korea	4
Malaysia	4
Hungary	3
Latvia	3

Speaking of page views, I have had a total of 2,334 views since I started on 12 February, but the same qualifier applies.  I have 8 'official' members and I appreciate you 8, but clearly I have a nonmembership following.  Some posts are more popular than others and people read them more than once.  Top 5 page views by post:

Entry	Pageviews
To blog or not to blog...that is the question Mar 11, 2012, 4 comments	31
WE WOULD LIKE BEEF ON A STRETCHER FOR 40 Apr 8, 2012, 5 comments	27
Going to Skye Sep 3, 2012, 1 comment	27
Budapest (aka: Buda Peshhhht) May 5, 2012, 3 comments	26
Look what I found in the trash bin Jul 29, 2012, 6 comments	24

I think 'to blog or not to blog' is a bit of a red herring, as I don't think it was that popular, it was just everyone was trying to figure out how to get their pageviews to count.  I do really appreciate that, 'Look What I found in the Trash Bin' made the top 5.


I still find it frustrating that adding video is so difficult and doesn't seem to work on the Mac.  It frustrates me so much that sometimes I think about trying to migrate to another format, but then I think, oh, I can't be bothered.

I did have a chuckle the other day at work when I was writing up an article on the benchmarking trip.  I put in some key words to try and figure out how many miles we'd traveled in the week and the blog came up as the second most relevant page. 

Although I don't get a lot of information in the stats on key words, I do enjoy looking at what random internet travelers use to stumble onto the site.  They include:

• kirkwall castle orkney scotland
• scotland thatcher
• pike place market
• row boat pulling
• dunrobin castle bed doves
• schotland orca
• shops in thurso 1800s
• szechenyi kabin - seriously?!?

Coming up with material can be difficult, but I do take a special pleasure when I manage to put together a post from nothing.  

Wasn't on Seinfeld?

Badger Goes to Strathy Beach

My dorky dog has been ill.  While our people were here, Thatch yakked almost every day.  After they left, he stopped, but then the weekend came and he was sick all over again.  So, I decided to stop worrying about and take him to the vet.

He hasn't been to the vet, only Maggie has gone when her head swelled up like a pumpkin.  So, I made an appointment for both of them - so it would seem 'normal.'  I worried about getting him into the car, but I put him on the leash, dragged him over and then humiliated him by picking him up and putting him in the back - no small task hefting 75 pounds of prime labrador.

He acted terrified and cowered in the corner.  This whole scene was repeated when we got to the vet because Maggie was going first, and he wanted to get out.  Maggie was a doll, even though the vet said she was 1 pound away from being fat. She got her jabs without a whimper.

Thatcher, still shaking and cowering, hops out of the car and trots into the vet.  He then proceeds to scamper and prance and act like a dork.  Sick you say - yes I say - he certainly doesn't look sick - I know - he certainly doesn't act sick - sideways prance, tongue hanging out of mouth.  Argh, just give him his jabs!!

She prepares his vaccine and the whole time Thatcher acts like she's going to give him a treat.  She tells him over and over it's not a treat, she finally looks at me and says, he's not very smart is he...he cries over his jab.  

She hands me their vaccination record, and I notice they have put his name down as Badger.  I cannot be bothered to ask them to change it - at this point, he deserves to be called Badger.

Since I know I can force Badger into the car and there are supposed to be 2 hours of sunshine on Sunday, I decide we are going to Strathy Beach.  10 am arrived and so does the sun - hoist dog into car - who cowers and shakes in the corner.  Drive to Strathy Beach.

Freedom is 2 dogs and a beach

There were some other people on the beach, but they were on the far end, and one was leaving so it was perfect.  We explored the rocks and found several caves and passageways.

Badger goes Spelunking

Soon enough, everyone was gone, and we had the place to ourselves.  We wandered down the beach toward the river so they could get a drink.  It was generally a really lovely day.

Glorious Strathy Beach

On our way back, we went through the beach grass.  I imagine this is not good for the beach grass, but I just love it and cannot help myself.  

We soon got accosted by a friendly male black lab and Maggie was not amused.  However, she took a new approach: bark-bark-bark-snap-snap-snap, normally she goes straight for the snapping, so I think her warning the dog makes everything that happens afterward his fault.  The dog was scared of her, but she was just too interesting to leave alone.  

Badger was no help at all.  

Finally the owner came along and put him on a leash.  Oh red fox labrador he says, she isn't happy I say, I see that he says - sorry about that...

Beach Grass

Back to the car, bit of a rodeo, have to do my dog lift twice because they'd moved the mat into the door clasp. 

Just as I climbed into the car, it started to rain.  Perfect.

5 Fosses, the Epilogue

Stories that will live on after this trip:

• Doug's description of the flight over.  It was so overdramatized and yet completely clear that he was MISERABLE
• Dad trying to take photos that included Doug - which resulted in hand gestures and foul language
• The flight's not at 4; we have to go!
• Doug's trip to on-your-buttville
• Wild and wonderful Whaligoe

The clear out after they left resulted in:

• Some long underwear found in my glove compartment - seriously!
• A hat was jammed in a side pocket in the backseat
• Gloves were found in the boot

I didn't think about or have expectations of this trip, I just decided I wanted everyone to come and so I asked them.

What was it like to have 4 people that share your genes and your beginnings come halfway around the world to spend a week with you? 

It is a gift.  

I tried to imagine when the 5 of us had so much time to spend with just us; I decided I might have been in the 12-15 year old mark.  And that is a while ago.

These four people love me know matter what because they are my mother, my father, and my brothers, and in return, I love them no matter what because they are my mother, father and brothers.  

You know what? I also like each and everyone one of them.  

And that is the truth.