Northernlights

Yes same here sixth day of cloudy skies. Speaking to a buisness acquantince in the SW of Scotland on Friday who said they are on the dry side with rivers at low levels unlike up here on Friday when they were all in full spate. Can"t even get domestic grasses cut as they have been very wet for 6 days too now. Currently dry ,cloudy and 15c.

This summer up here has been a real challange on the farm Ever since the middle of May there have been very few dry spells and lots of cold nights.Up till yesterday we had four days of wetting drizzle and rain.and today when I thought it might ease on came the drizzle again this morning while just 7 miles away in Forres there was bright sunshine.Cereal crops are all in need of sunshine now for the next month to fill the grain. Turnips are about two weeks behind.Cereals will be at least the third week in August berfore they will be ripe but the grass is still motoring on.The warmer nights this last week have helped the heat sensitive plants like runner beans parsnips and sweet peas catch up in the garden.Currently dry overcast and 16c

More frequent rumbling now.

Thunder starting to rumble away to the south.Radar shows quite a bit of lightning to the south.Humidity is off the scale.Take a couple of steps outside and the sweat is pouring off you.

To me these tropical downpours are a symptom of climate change as I can never rmember so many as a child.Today it comes down so heavily that it overwhelms the gutters and floods the buildings even threatening the hay we have just secured on Monday.We have had three of these events today and yet just a mile away especially nearer the sea it is bone dry.

Yes it was 4.0c at 5.00am on Monday morning here but we baled some lovely hay in the afternoon in blue skies an RH of 45% a maximum of 19c and a fresh NE wind off the Firth. Today is just the opposite at a minimum of 16 c overnight , 80%RH, cloudbursts, maximum of 22c and very dull.

Just had a cloudburst and its still 20c.

First fly problem of the season with this humidity and heat an in calf heifer with mastitis this morning. Was 17c at 6.00am this morning and thundery looking clouds now building over the mountains to the south. We have our two scarecrows (Boris and Donald named three years ago, family think I am very good at predictions) out on the neeps to keep the pigeons off. They seem to makng a good job of scaring them off. On a positive note was putting out fly repellant treated bunch of cattle to other side of farm and came home the long way round the public road and at the top of a hill the sky filled with birds which initially I thought were swallows but turned out to be almost 100% swifts . There were over 70 of them screaming across the sky as I stopped the car to count them. Gave me a bit of a lift to see such numbers after putting tar on cows udders in the heat all morning.Currently 22c

Fabulous day fresh sea breeze from the NE blue skies sunshine and a maximum of 19c. Ideal weather to bale up the first batch of hay. All inside this evening before the forecast rain. Only downside is there are a lot of flies this evening upsetting the cattle with the humidity increasing in front of the rain.

Cold sunny start to the day at 4c must have been a few areas with frost this morning.Heat loving runner beans are looking yellow and sick in the garden, been cool since I transplanted them outside.

Cool start at 7c but with a bit of blue sky and sunshine.Below freezing on the summit of Cairngorm however.

Cool cloudy day with a breeze from the north but dry with a high of 14c. Every plants on a go slow again strawberries slow to ripen and grass growth slowing up to. No hay made as yet. Imagine if we had had this many north winds over two months in winter.See its currently not much above freezing on the summit of Cairngorm.When I was a kid there were no live updates of these summit temperatures and I find it fascinating todays technology allows us to view them.On the subject of technology my wifes bank told her she will soon be ablesto scan in lower value cheques using an app on her phone.Another reason for less branches.

Not great weather today sporadic rain, breezy and 13c certainly not haymaking weather. Looking on the radar there is strange gap in the rain just to the west of Inverness but rain seems to reform over us when you run the animation.

What I call Orkney weather here today cool and breezy from the NW with quite a bit of cloud and odd passing light showers. However its mostly dry and the ground surface is drying up.Currently 14c. Fine weather for working outside

Just back online after an hour or so of very close forked lightning and clashes of thunder some overhead.Have been losing power periodically. Doing some undercover cleaning this afternoon and as one who hates hot humid weather my shirt was drenched in sweat .Came in early evening to get cold shower lay down on bed with fan going only to be woken by overhead thunder. Really spooked our own cattle and our neighbours who went racing round their fields. My old hayfever came back this evening too with yellow clouds over the grass fields this afternoon,a cooler fresher day tomorrow will be very welcome.

Heavy rain just on here,looks like a wet afternnon

Very humid after a minimum of 18c overnight.Currently 23c feels very thundery now.I think it might be an interesting day.

Going to be a stuffy night still 20c here the same temperature as it was this afternoon but now with a S wind instead of a north one . Really strange weather.

Garden responding well to three days of sunshine although a very foggy start to today. Currently 21c. Birds finally ignoring the feeders today

Fabulous day here too. Very dewy this morning so grass took a lng time to dry,weeded a bit of garden and soil still very damp..Currently 19c. Justwhat the farmer ordered.All plants in need of sunshine.

Interesting weather at the weekend across Scotland. Left for Royal Highland Show at 5.00am on Saturday in cool dry and sunny weather at home with temperature of 4c.Car lit up the frost warning at Carrbridge at 3c. Stiill a good number of snow patches left on the Cairngorms in spite of the very dry almost snowless winter. The cool mostly northerly wind weather from the beginning of May must have helped to preserve them. Fine cool breezy day at Show with warm sunny perods out of the wind Left for home at midday today in much more humid bright weather and arrived home to a torrential shower and 15c. Must have been warmer last night too as crops have jumped in 48hours neeps from both sowings can be seen up and down the drills and the first sowing can be seen across the drills

Fine day here too.Cut domestic grasses this afternoon after picking stones off the neep ground in the morning. Noticed the apple trees have very little fruit although plums slighly better.Lot of ground frost in the first half of May so we maybe had an air frost that got them.Or perhaps the dry conditions of the last year finally took its toll as all trees old and young are poor. Strawberries are coming along nicely in the sunshine.

Yes with all this talk of a heatwave next week the current temperature of 0c on the summit of Cairngorm is quite a contrast. Currently breezy and sunny but cool at 10c.

I remember being at meeting with my agronomist in the early eighties where the company giving the talk was a part of Shell agrochemicals.He said at the time that Shell scientists had already given Mrs Thatcher proof of global warming in the decades prior to the late seventies. So warming has been around for a while

Highland Show ? @Hairy Celt We are going on Saturday.Will catch up with @AuroraStorm when down. Get a politics and farming fix!!!!!