A Mongolian Spring A Scottish Summer Neither Quite What I Expected

So a Mongolian Spring can turn from this:

to this

In a matter of hours.

I was ready for the rain when we returned to Scotland, after all the only difference between summer and winter in Edinburgh is the temperature of the rain . But 25+C day after day is not what I was expecting.

Unfortunately with Sarah ill and me injured we have not been out and about as much as we would have liked.

But we do live in a pretty place.

In the hills

I've been up in the hills a bit recently, 3 times in the last week in fact (62.5km and 2400m of ascent) but it never gets old because it is never the same.

On Wednesday I met a friend at the bottom of the hill, say hi to Bill the Bactrian

Wednesday was a really funny weather day. We never saw the sun, it was windy but it was 28c all day until about 4pm when the temperature began to drop and I went out for a run.

The climb was, well upwards, and took about 30-minutes but what greeted me when I got out of the trees and reached the views was - unexpected to say the least. Not only had the wind picked up to gale force proportions but UB had disappeared.

I was not looking forward to descending into the sandstorm, but by the time I got down it had gone and things were calm. All through the 40 minute jog back to the apartment there was a very occasional drop of rain, until I walked into the apartment grounds. Then the skies opened. I'd been out 3 hours missed the sandstorm, missed the rain and got home without incident. Result.

I did the same route on Friday with Sarah. The rain had changed everything.

Trees had suddenly gone green and flowers were everywhere.

And UB was back - go back and look at the sandstorm picture - these two were taken from similar positions.

A lovely jog hike without the sense of impending doom that had dogged Wednesday.

Saturday I did a different route.

She danced down the trail spooking the foal a bit - would we see her later at the Scotch House?

We went over the top of the hill and started dropping down the other side towards a monastery but the trail became a little indistinct.

team inov-8 roclite

Gavin couldn't find anyone who would ship to Mongolia that stocked his size

We finished the trip out with a beer in the Irish Castle - except the beer was bad and there was a children's party on so we headed for the Scotch House - where there was Scottish country dancing. Seriously! And of course the boys all sat and drank while the girls were pressed into taking part.

Hello 'New' Appartment

We were moved in as little as 3 hours. The men arrived at 10:00 and were fast and efficient  there was very little in the way of breakages. The music was on the internet connected, the TV functioning and the sorting was well underway by 2:00pm.

looking in from the front door

lounge bit

kitchen area

study and spare room

complete with horsehead fiddle

main bedroom

main bathroom - there is a second one with toilet basin and washing machine

spare bedroom

It's really quiet without the building site and the trains blow their whistles at the other end of town so e hardly hear them.

Bye Bye Building Site

No more noise, no more dust, no more heavy machinery and gallopita gallopita machines running through the night. It has been fascinating watching this site in action though. Part of me will miss it. Not the part that likes peace and quiet. Not the part that likes to sleep through the night. And not the part that objects to the clouds of dust and debris which meant keeping the windows closed.

So they defrosted the building site about a month ago...

It was slow going at first, a few men a couple of diggers...then they demolished the shed and built it again somewhere else on the site. We couldn't quite work out why but as the site came slowly back to life it became very obvious.

We move out in about 3 weeks, they are likely to have the first couple of floors poured by then at this rate.

Shed visible in the fading daylight to the right just before construction stopped

...and it's gone...the site wakes...

there it is rebuilt...

looks like more underground carparking

keep making that rebar construction girls

we are going to need it

foundations of the next block being laid

and for the carpark

rebar in place wooden frame fixed time for the concrete

and here it comes

from there

to there

Add caption

and start the rebar knitting for the next level