Today I've mostly bin...

[Bunnylump]

Beautiful! I love the light up there, it has a different quality.

[LAT]

Beautiful photos - even if I do get a crick in my neck looking at them!

[Wulfruna]

Thanks again - incomparable views, even lying down!

[SparkOut]

20200309_193356.jpg (1.14 MiB) Viewed 1689 times

[SparkOut]

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These were "guarding" the site office on the shores of Loch Shiel today

[Bunnylump]

Oooh, guard deer! That's a new one!

[chazzie]

Wow!

[Wulfruna]

It was on the shore of Loch Shiel that I found a pair of antlers lying on the rocks about forty years ago. They were about the size of those pictured here. Sadly they got lost when we moved house some years later (or were "removed"...)

[LAT]

Wow indeed! Wonderful photos!

[SparkOut]

I haven't noticed any discarded antlers yet, but if I do I shall see if it's possible to obtain a replacement set for you. Maybe even a monarch.

[Bunnylump]

Might be a bit of a challenge to post, though?

[SparkOut]

Well that challenge can wait until after the finding challenge has been met.

[Wulfruna]

Thanks for the thought! How kind
After the loss, I scoured the ground closely every time we were in Scotland again, especially in the wilder areas, but such luck was rather unlikely a second time!!

[SparkOut]

Well, I am happy to keep my eye out for discarded antlers, but I have not spotted any on my travels around highland and island sites so far. So as I mentioned, the challenge of getting them to you is best ignored until after antler discovery, which is the much bigger challenge. Still, if there's anyone on the forum in a position to spot a set, it's got to be me, so fingers crossed.

[SparkOut]

Not likely to be any hunting for antlers in the near future. All non-essential site visits have been cancelled. Offices closing from Tuesday apart from a few irregular visits. Factory and farms continuing to operate with key staff as they are a key food production industry. Working from home will be "interesting" without equipment to build and installation visits.

Pumpkin had a staff meeting yesterday, and had a shift tonight and this morning as the hotel has got one visitor but after they leave today, the hotel is closing doors. At least to begin with, staff are getting the 80% wage payment based on averaging. Nobody knows what it will mean longterm. Very, very worried about the escape room though. She is due to open as soon as she can, but nobody will be allowed to come and play... half a dozen people together in an enclosed environment? I don't think that counts as social distancing. She'll have to see what grants are available from Monday. Could be worse, I suppose though.

[Bunnylump]

Oh no! So she was ready to open? That's so rotten. Will she be able to take any kind of rent/ rates "holiday" for the premises?

[Scurra]

Urgh. That's very unfortunate. [I've been speaking to a few acquaintances who run Escape Rooms and all bar one of them had closed voluntarily more than a week ago because they realised that it was not safe. I respect them enormously for that. But they had already got established business models.]

[SparkOut]

Well she is still not quite there being ready to open, but it's been an urgent issue, as need to get opened up asap to be able to get paying customers in time for tourism season. But there's not going to be a season this year. Will be finding out on Monday what possible grants/ loans / payment holiday options there are.

[LAT]

Oh what a shame and how frustrating for her. Hope things turn out OK re grants/rebates

[Bunnylump]

So how have you all been keeping busy / amusing yourselves?

Today I made three films for E.*
1. Looking in the fairy glade to see what the foxes had been up to (knocking over the squirrel, as it happens!)
2. Revisiting the fairy glade to find that a fairy house (you know, the one I made out of lemonade bottles and clay!) had magically appeared.
3. Creeping up the garden in the gloaming to find that the fairies have been having a party and had decorated the glade with fairy lights!

I know, I know. But she'll love it!

* Actually, she wants to be called "Maud" at the moment - she thinks she's a character from the worst witch, and is spending her time wearing glasses and a hat. Oh, and sending teddies on broomsticks down a zip wire from her bedroom into the garden.