Friday 16 April 2010

A little bit of Icelandic cloudburst

While the news broadcasts are full of forlorn shots of desolate almost-holiday makers bemoaning volcanic eruptions in Iceland - I can only think of one thing - all that volcanic ash will be really good for the soil. Eagerly I rushed out this morning hoping to find a world dusted with veg-boosting nutrients, but alas, there was none. It's another clear blue sky this morning, and as I gaze upwards I think I can see streaks of off-white cloud. Is this Viking dust? Why is it so high up? My veggies need it down here!

Disappointed my thoughts turn elsewhere - like to people who live near flight paths around airports. How strange it must be for them to have such peace.

Back at the ranch we are preparing for kidding. Matilda, a milker who wasn't supposed to be pregnant, has been getting very fat. She's always been a greedy goat and Jussi has responded to her growth by cutting rations. But this morning the truth was revealed in the form of lots of discharge and suddenly she's looking thin. Goats have a peculiar habit of having phantom pregnancies and when they come to term they 'cloudburst' - a white discharge. So now she needs feeding up.

The clouds have also been discharging over Durness of late. There's a NATO exercise and work outside has been accompanied by the percussion of what must be pretty bloody big bombs scaring the shit out of residents, tourists and expectant livestock. They do this every year at lambing time. Outrage. This military exercise is a biggy - and extents as far south as Peebles - but for now, around here our military might seems to have been extinguished by a bit of Northern dust.

Let's hear it for the Vikings! Yippeeee!

I'm off to help a man move some wood this afternoon. Labour which will be paid for in full with extra fire wood and a couple of sea trout. Yum yum.

4 comments:

townmouse said...

In the paper today they were saying it could go on erupting for TWO YEARS. Imagine, no flights into or out of Europe for all that time... where would we get our Kenyan beans from?

Other half keeps laughing with glee every time he thinks about it.

The Speaking Goat said...

Great thought! I'm definitely with yer OH on that one. Fantastic!

townmouse said...

Nice stat here

Anonymous said...

Just from our point of view, we're kind of please it didn't keep belching excessively for two years, as we were in Perth WA when it started.
Now safely home after travelling as planned over Thursday-Friday this week without a hitch, after all the stress of wondering whether we'd ever see Bonaly again....
London & Singapore airports surprisingly clear and co-ordinated.

Anyway, isn't there something to be said for the atmospheric aerosols produced at high level through aircraft pollution, reflecting more of the suns rays back into space?

MTB

P.S. Nice kids, Flavia. Well done.
*** pat pat ***

Word verification:
"troggette" - the foot march required between connecting flights in an international airport.