backoftheocean
@backoftheocean
"Don't tell me I'm still on that feckin' island". Beachcombing the little rocky Isle of Man aka Isle of SUV “Everyone should believe in something. I believe I’ll go fishing”.
In NE Scotland, tourists race over a bridge on heavily promoted North Coast 500 racetrack. Hidden below, Berriedale & Langwell rivers both flow under the single bridge before a shared estuary. Many diseased & dead salmon in the rivers. Drought, low oxygen levels, high water temp. Not very pragmatic!
The deep wooded gorge of the River Kirkaig can be midge madness, but this year few midges & so far no ticks. Now if only I can find a salmon.
As the light fades and the tide starts to flood, the lobsters walk out onto the sand, from the cover of the rocks and weed. If you stand still while wading, they will sometimes come and explore the gap between your wading boots as a possible new house. #fishing
In the Isle of Man the big (spring) tide low waters are always early morning and early evening. Tonight looks perfect for bass on the fly rod. I trust that the footballers can cope without me.
The sea felt very warm last couple of days. This is data from Buoy a couple of miles off coast. Closer inshore it is even warmer.
Isle of Man. Devon or Cornwall but without those lovely tourists.
To help cool down, I am reading The Art of Patience: Seeking the Snow Leopard in Tibet. My French is poor, so I have only read Sylvain Tesson's books available in English. I enjoy his writing so much, I find myself reading very slowly, rationing, to make them last as long as possible.
This well, in a Bavarian forest, has been such a welcome, cool relief for the dog and us on early morning runs, on these fierce hot days.
A bit hot today in Germany, tar and me melting. Pavement too hot for dog's paws. So good to have a nearby forest where the shade makes it cool enough to walk early and late. And someone kindly built me a high chair to enjoy the quiet.
I haven't seen Jays in IOM. I save any blue feathers I find on travels for tying a sea trout fly, the Claret Bumble, one of Kingsmill Moore's patterns. He was an Irish Judge whose casting style earned him the moniker "Windmill Moore". As well as judging, he wrote the classic book, "A man may fish".
Last day in Italy & another fab hike & climb in the crumbly Dolomites. A well deserved snow bath for our fine mountainy dog. She hasn't put a paw wrong in 2 months. But tomorrow over the Alps into the heat of Bavaria.
Hot night of Italian culture in Vicenza. Chanced on a boxing match. But told we had missed the pole dancer who had been on earlier.
There is a fishing permit box, but this bridge was not built by fishermen. We need somewhere to lean against the parapet, peer into the water & for a while, to dream of fishes.
The ordentlich or even obsessively pretty villages in Italian Tyrol, Austrian, Swiss Alps are not to my taste. It is the cool rivers, the shade of the quiet forests & the spectacular hikes & climbs in the Dolomites that we come for.
Oven set at 36⁰ in North Italy. But may have found paradise on Google Maps.
Fascinating hike up, & inside Monte Pasubio on Strada delle 52 Gallerie. In WW1, the Italian soldiers & miners cut the trail into the cliffs in just 9 months. They dug 52 tunnels, 2 km in total, some steep and twisting up through the rock, all slippery underfoot but cool on a hot day. #Italy
For fishermen & other odd people, the little fishing museum at Cassone is a treat. 100 year old German outboard, fishing spears and 2 tirlindana, weighted fishing boards that had many hooks attached and were towed behind a boat.
When walking in Alps with a dog we do our best to avoid sheep pastures where there may be a Patou or Cane pastore da guardia. But when distant bells turn out to be on cows, then happy day, as they don't need a dog to protect them from wolves.
@enog.bsky.social The shortest river in the world. 175 metres of beautiful,cool, clear water. I saw no fishes in it today, but I stopped on the bridge a while, as we must.
...but at least I have finally found a purpose for noisy jetskis.
In Italy, owners decorate their boats with fascinators & plastic owls, to try and stop birds from resting and dirting their moored boats.
Not for those with high anxiety, a sense of perspective or a modicum of good taste.
The post-Covid German campervan / motorhome boom continues. Many appear to be encrusted around the shores of Lake Garda tonight, most with 2 electric bikes stuck to the back.
Although we have previously walked through Liguria from Nice to Genoa, today was first time I have driven the A10 Autostrada. A fascinating road of 78 tunnels and many viaducts sweeping across the valleys. But I prefer the walking route!