Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

cleft in the rocks - it was unable to move and we could not extract her. Morton and
Malcolm had seen her during the census yesterday and I had brought my rifle to
shoot her to end her pain and distress. A very wet day followed. We went over to
the fank in the morning but spent most of the day sheltering and doing odd jobs.
The news that Minna would not be with us before Wednesday 2 November was
disappointing; we were expecting her on Monday. I sent a message to Maureen to
warn her. I was on cook and made a curry in the evening, which was much
appreciated.
The last day of October was cool and the sun rose like a ball of fire below low
clouds that dispersed and gave us fairly bright sunshine and a clear sky for a
couple of hours. I took a few photos. We went over to the fank where we branded
and tagged all morning; it was slow work because Jim was filming and he had
trouble with his camera. I took shots of the branding and tagging operations. In
the afternoon we tagged again for a couple of hours. Then we began to repack and
clear up the fank camp. I went to look at the large cave in Sgeildige Geo, scrambling
down from the headland to the shelf of rock and looked in. The cave is a very
regular arch – cutting straight into the cliff with shear sides and the cliff is marked
with patches and bird droppings and contorted strata. The swell from the West
ran straight into the cave and produced a deep and impressive booming. On that
day the beautiful deep sea green of the water was marked by foam swirling
around the reddish rocks. Seals were swimming and playing in the geo.
Returning to the fank I took a telephoto of Sula Sgeir in the evening light and
we had a casserole steak for supper. We had been successfully sending and
receiving messages in the evenings through Archie at the Butt of Lewis and I heard
from Maureen at the evening radio schedule that Sheelagh, Maureen's sister, had
given birth to a baby girl, so was able to send my congratulations. Archie broke the
news - and we had a dram on the strength of it.
In the bright moonlight I went out for a couple of hours - to the top of Toa Rona
with Morton. There were fishing boats to the East and southwest. The Cape Wrath
light, flashing red and white, was clearly visible. There was beautiful moonlight on
the water and a very fine Aurora borealis in apple green curtains and streaks. We
stood at the top of the Pap and took it all in. The sea was dark grey, with white surf
and black rocks and the lighter bulk of the main island. Seal noises were carried on
the air and Fianuis was clear in the moonlight. Jim was there recording the seal
noises. He flashed a torch and we answered him. Then Morton went down to the
fank to join him and I followed his course by the flashes. Malcolm was out too and
went on to the Manse. I stayed up there for some time taking in the magic of it all
before I went down home.
1 November was a wild day with a wind of gale force 8 and heavy seas
pounding the island, which was continuously ringed with surf. Many pups must
have been washed away. We lay in our sleeping bags after a cup of tea and bread
and jam. Then Morton and I went across to the fank to give a weather report to
Minna at noon. However they could not hear us, so Archie at the Butt of Lewis
passed on our message. I also sent a message to the Nature Conservancy asking
them to explain the circumstances to the NIO, my employers!
The weather continued vicious, with the wind to the southeast and harrying
our roof, so that it was very clamorous. We overhauled the roof in the afternoon,
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