Ady was working at the hostel again this morning. The sun was shining and I needed to collect some midges and bags from the shed so I decided to make a start on removing the netting from the fruit cage until the sun stopped shining and then come back inside. I found a duck in …
Author Archives: Nic
Things
It’s been really windy so loads of wind turbine power which makes for lots of internet. I am almost looking forward to winter if it means lots of inside time with radio / internet / plenty of artificial light and time to craft and read. I realised this evening that I probably haven’t properly read …
The world outside the window….
It’s pretty much rained for 48 hours straight. The trees are still sat in their packaging waiting to be planted, the sheep are still at the bottom of the croft waiting to be moved up. Ady’s been out, togged up in orange waterproofs to do twice daily animal feed / welfare checks and he did …
Bedroom de-shite and hall kitchen much the same
Yesterday was a continuation of Davies’ bedroom, shelving units and wardrobe. We got rid of about three bin bags full of stuff, a further bin bag full of clothes for the charity shop (previously not a valid choice for getting rid of things living here but now we have the car it’s feasible), Ady de-moulded …
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Welcome to winter
Monday – after some time away and some time back I’ve began to edge back into Rum again. Not the full on politics but the stuff which first attracted me here – the chance to be in on the start of exciting projects, in making a difference, in being the change. I’ve also been trying …
Back. And in to it.
Friday was spent recovering. Sleeping, catching up with the animals, settling back into stuff. I can’t actually remember what we did beyond having tacos / fajitas for dinner. I know it was really good to be home. Saturday – Clare, James and Elinor, friends from N.Ireland arrived on the ferry. It’s their third visit to …
Harris to Sussex and all the way back
Two weeks ago today I was feeling about as knackered as I am right now. Tuesdays seem to be a day for that…. Tuesday – that one, two weeks ago, we were up and out of the holiday cottage just after 5am on the road to Stornoway to catch the ferry. We’d been told by …
A week and a long way away.
Monday – Ady was off ghillying. The kids and I spent the morning tidying and getting stuff ready for the holiday. After lunch Lesley came up with Dougal. He has never really been left before and is very, very upset whenever Lesley leaves his sight. He calms down for Neil (his dad) after a while, …
And the second half…
Of the week offered: Friday – I walked down to see Lesley on Friday morning. I had planned to be an hour but was closer to two, arriving home for lunch after Ady had already left to go and collect animal feed arriving on the ferry. Les and I did have a good old chat …
Mulch mostly
Monday – we met the boat, dropping off a load of baking at the bunkhouse for a group arriving on the ferry. We had co-op delivery . We got home for a late lunch and then I did some weeding while Ady did some raking up cut stuff. Tuesday – Ady went ghillying. I spent …
More baking and a bit of roaring
Friday – In the morning we iced cupcakes, Scarlett is now chief cupcake maker I think, she is way better than me. I fixed the new tap on a water butt and did a bit of weeding in the walled garden before we had lunch. We went to the village to meet the boat, sent …
Breathing
Yesterday – Ady spent most of the day cutting vast swathes of the croft with the SNH machine. I walked down to the village in the morning, bought some bits from the post office and picked brambles. In the afternoon I made jam including the 300th full size jar (and the 140th mini jar) which …
Brambles mostly, with a touch of Rum politics
Yesterday morning I picked some brambles while Ady did stuff with pig fencing and then we went down to the pier. I dropped Ady at Deb’s to start helping load up their removal van and headed to the pier to collect a few deliveries before going back to help too. We got it all loaded …
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Gales and nachos
The winds were pretty wild on Thursday and Friday nights. Autumn is definitely here. Friday we did get a boat, despite us all speculating we might not. We went to wave Mike off – he gave us a card with some lovely things written inside, amusingly much of it similar to what I had written …
Wednesday and Thursday. With Singing
Yesterday – the boat was cancelled although actually the morning was quite fine and I latterly regretted not having got outside while it was ok but instead I started a new bag and did some online stuff. I made wraps for lunch and we watched some stuff online. It was quite a lazy day really. …
Tuesdays child works hard for a living
which may or may not be the correct line to that poem and I cannot be bothered to go check. I think Tuesday’s child is either fair of face or full of grace actually and it is Thursday’s child who works hard for a living but never mind… Ady was off at the crack of …
Monday bringing sighs of something
Not sure it’s relief but certainly an exhaling. It’s been gloriously sunny all day. Midges are gone (although the wasps are out for their last hurrah) and there is a satisfying chill in the air. Our oven appears to be broken. It seems to be the thermocouple / thermostat. I think it is within our …
Oh look, I’ve been MIA
Hmmm, where to start? A visit from my parents. This brings every emotion going really. Guilt at not being there where they are most of the time. Relief, at not being where they are. Nostalgia for times gone by, whimsy for things which might have been. Rage at my mother for oh, so many …
Interrupting Sheep
Don’t recall the specific days this week and not even going to try. But things that happened included: Bramble picking – a fair bit of and the first jam making sessions of the year. A full jam stocktake of what we had left in the shed including some relabelling and pricing of some of the …
Overdue books and midgerama
Tuesday – I am not at all sure what happened on Tuesday during the daytime. I know we had a long Skype chat with Ranger Mike and Casey in the evening but the daytime activities totally escape me. Wednesday – Sarah and Clive arrive, which probably means at least some of Tuesday was spent digging …