A rainy summer solstice in Shetland

We've just had the summer solstice here in Shetland.  That time of the year when the long days of summer merge together in a haze of soft sunshine and warm breezes which are punctuated with the sweet smell of squill and thrift, a time when the laverock's (skylark) song never ceases and the sun only dips below the horizon momentarily...  Or not.  This past week has seen the worst weather of the summer so far. Today, Saturday, I stayed indoors most of the day with the fire on - yes, in June! - watching from the window as my neighbours braved the wind and rain to have their annual midsummer BBQ (hats off to them, they did it)!  The wind has decimated the garden and the few trees which do endure the elements here have been stripped bare of their new, spring leaves.

That said, the bad weather has meant that we've been confined to barracks and this has given me the opportunity to a). finish my website and b). write this blog post.

I had planned to launch the website at the end of the season, with perfect content and no typos. However, I decided that if I aimed for a 'complete and finished' product, then I would never finish it, or be brave enough to publish it and it would simply stagnate somewhere in cyber-space. It should be fluid, right? So, that's why I decided to publish it, warts and all! And, wow - what a lot of feedback I've had, I can't thank everyone enough for all the kind comments and suggestions, thanks to every last one of you.

I was feeling very nervous about hitting the 'publish' button and putting myself out there for scrutiny and judgement, so we watched a film about Winston Churchill to take my mind off it.  During the film, Churchill's wife offered him up some sound advice and it felt very fitting as to how I was feeling about taking my own plunge into the unknown. She told him:

"You are strong because you are imperfect, and you are wise because you have doubts".  

What better advice could you ask for? And how true it is. In fact, the whole film was full of inspiration, or maybe that was the wine?  Whatever it was, it took my mind off my own misgivings.

So here's to the future!

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal.  It is the courage to continue that matters"
~Winston Churchill

Laurie x