Adios Gibstermobile!

I am in England (coming soon to town near you, haha....?), this being my first time south of the border in close to a year. The hotel season is over for me and once again there are only two of us that have been kept on. I do have limited ongoing winter work should I want it but, after a pretty gruelling season, the big question has to be do I want it? Well, work equates to pay and after this morning's shenanigans a bit of pay certainly wouldn't go amiss.

Behold! Two incarnations of The Gibstermobile

My wee car has served me very well these past few years, but it is no longer economically viable for me to keep throwing money at it. The piston rings have gone, the suspension is knackered and it needs some welding along the sills. With repairs costing far more than the car is worth, the time has come to bid it a sad farewell. The new Gibstermobile, seen here on the left, is an estate (as opposed to in a state) rather than a hatchback, meaning that if I head off on adventuring overnight I can sleep stretched out in the back instead of flop-sprawled over a reclined front seat. I'm not a huge fan of setting up my tent when it's raining or very cold, it's far simpler to kip in the car when out and about. And I intend to be 'out and about' for a good few weeks yet. Already I have my sleeping mat and sleeping bag thrown in the back, along with my tent. Tonight however, I am lording it up in a hotel room in Birmingham. Just a few hundred metres from where I was born, in fact. 

I walked the 100 metres or so the a local Tesco Express (it's almost nine miles to my nearest shop back on Skye...) and was savagely hit in the face by my first Ivy Bee of the year. I had no idea they were this far north, how times (and distributions) are changing. I managed a quick pic as it nectared on a flowering Ivy bush, not a great pic seeing as I was feeling somewhat self-conscious as folks poured past me. 

Ivy Bee Colletes hederae. Honest guv!

It is now almost midnight, time to see about year-ticking Brown Rat, Hedgehog and Crackhead Junkies... Red Fox finally threw itself onto the yearlist last night (they tend to get shot on Skye, hence are a rare sight), there are so many delights to be found in a city. Brown Rats, Chinese takeaways, traffic lights, there really is far too much to see and do! Tomorrow I'm staying local, I plan to explore a bit of the canal network in search of plants. My blogging rate should improve now that I'm not forever on shift, so there's something for you to maybe look forward to. 

'Pan-Pan' Species Listing

'Pan-Pan' is an internationally recognised radio distress call, used for urgent situations that are important and require prompt attention, but are not immediately life-threatening (it's derived from the French panne, meaning breakdown). 'Pan-Pan' most often refers to a mechanical failure, breakdown or serious injury of some kind. It is sometimes misused as the emergency 'Mayday' call by a vessel in distress.

My current daily routine has well and truly slipped into the Pan-Pan stage; my appetite for natural history is phasing badly. Happily, I am now in my final week of hotel work for this season. There are just two of us that work in the kitchen here and we've been counting down the days since "just 67 days to go". I'm not sure how we've survived (factor in a couple of lazy-arse staff and I'm mystified as to how neither of us have ended up assaulting somebody!) Tomorrow will be my second day off in 40 days and my third in two months. Today the local Swallows have finally departed, no more of their cheery twittering from the ridge tiles and gleeful swooping across the front lawn. I feel as though they have taken a part of my happiness away with them.

However!

At the end of this coming week I shall be heading south of the border for the first time in almost a year, down into the Land of the Engs once more. I'll be meeting up with various folks, visiting lots of lovely sites and seeing masses of fabulous species which simply don't occur up here (Grey Squirrel, Harlequin Ladybird, Rose-ringed Parakeet - I'm talking to you...) The non-culture shock that comes with living in this particular lump of Skye should wear off pretty quickly and I'm hopeful of once more becoming enamoured, captivated and excited by exploring the natural world that surrounds me. Simply put, I really need this break!

A few highlights since my last blogpost waaaaay back in early July (!!!)