Sun, Sea and Spray....

      Well I experienced all three when I lived in my clifftop house in Buckie.
       Although the house faced north, in the summer the sun  virtually came right round and on Midsummer's night it just dipped into the sea and rose again. We experienced the most amazing sunsets, of which I was always taking photographs.
      The sea was in front of us and sitting in the bay window there was always something of interest going on either in it or over it.Not many trawlers came and went due to the decline in the fishing industry, but each day 2 or 3 boats went out creeling ( my husband included ) or line fishing. So everyday I had crabs or fish to prepare. at certain times of the year many "resting" trawlers went out fishing for calamari , as there was no limit on the amount landed and lorries arrived from all over the country to pick up the precious catch.
      There is a repair yard and this mainly used for the repair and maintenance of lifeboats from all over Scotland. Occasionally cruise ships were seen on the horizon making for the deep water berth at Invergordon ( we saw the QE2 a few times ).
       RAF Lossiemoth was just across the bay and jets took off and landed over the Moray Firth ( sometimes INTO the Firth ). The rescue helicopters participated in 'mock ' rescues in conjunction with the lifeboat.
      Dolphins crossed the bay making for the Spey estuary , hunting for salmon. Sometimes they entered the smaller bay below the house (known as Whale's Wig ) hunting star fish. Minke whales were easily spotted as they were always accompanied by flocks of attendant gulls.
      A naval aircraft carrier came in very close and with the deck open we could look into the aircraft hold ! About 2am one warm night we looked out and a small cruise ship anchored out fairly close. People were dancing on the decks , a small boat went out from the harbour with a doctor aboard, after an hour the ship left and nobody knew it had been there !
     Am I permitted to tell you that we saw a UFO over the sea one night ? Friends didn't believe us, however when I last visited them in their seaside home they admitted that they too had seen one recently....
      The spray bit stands to reason when you live in close proximity to the sea. Every week my husband hosed down the windows to remove the layer of salt that accumulated. Come a storm the front windows were plastered with that foam that is produced...often with seaweed interspersed with it. Boy did we have storms ! One from the north east brought frightful cold conditions when the house was difficult to warm, but it also brought interesting washed up timber (even banana trees or palms from the Gulf Stream drift ) . It all went on the fire to keep us warm !
     The photo today is of the aircraft carrier that paid us a visit....

 
      Sorry no poem today, but I do hope you liked reading my piece.....Kath