Last entry before re-entry

Hard to believe that in just two days I will begin the multi-stage return trip, leaving St. Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly for New Castle. It has been quite a trip to date, especially amazing when I remember Jo and I left essentially the day after the incredibly hectic wedding weekend. We have both seen and experienced so much over the last two months. When is it we will finally have a chance to relax? Here are the last of the pics....
http://www2.snapfish.com/share/p=57751186361209324/l=291227025/g=86844910/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Well, considering I am somewhat marooned on a psuedo-tropical island, and acknowledging that life will only become more hectic once we return, I decided to take a day off and enjoy the brief respite from the rain. I took a boat over to the island of Tresco (one of the 5 inhabited islands, and 00’s of uninhabited islets and rocky sea mounts). As part of my research I felt the ‘need’ to go on a wildlife walk with a naturalist, and so was able to pick his brain a little while looking at birds and the exotic plants from all over the world that had been brought over to Tresco (which has a world class outdoor gardens, see posting below). Going on walks with skilled naturalists is such a pleasure, it really makes the world come alive to see someone identify all of the various birds, plants, and insects. Even if I remember the name for only a nanosecond, it is still really amazing to be able to see the islands through someone who really knows about their ecology. It’s interesting, because with the research that I am doing here (on people’s understanding of biodiversity), I realize to what large extent I have become separated from my knowledge/interest in the diversity of the natural world, going on an amazing walk of this kind reminded me of the myriad ways that I value the environment, the various ways that are so hard to put into words, which makes me take pity on my ‘research subjects’ who I relentlessly question, asking them to be more specific about why the environment is beautiful.

The Scilles are an amazing place. The landscape and the people are so dynamic. The flora and fauna are constantly changing, what was last week a bed of purple heath is now magenta studded with gold flowers. The puffins, which draw the tourist in droves, have left for their breeding grounds. The demographics are also constantly changing. In September the family visitors will leave, making way for the ‘twitchers’, strange individuals who fly in from the UK for the day to see rare birds (see below). The communities here are also amazingly close knit, everyone looking out for each other. The Scilles are truly magic, and I can understand why families come back year after year after year (for some this was their 70th season!).