Over a week? Surely not.
Not even going to attempt to catch up day by day then.
Weather – a mix of sunshine and rain, just like any other ten day period on Rum really. Midges have been having their last hurrah and out in force whenever the weather conditions conspire to make it suitable for them. Overcast, still days are their domain. Bright sunlight sees them off as does a breeze. Fortunately other than being massively annoying to the point it is literally impossible to work outside none of the four of us are badly affected by their bites. Small mercies…
Rum – All well. Sandy is back and laying low, we’ve not seen him at all and our friendship with Fliss is noticeably cool. Her and I locked horns last week over a community tractor purchase, I forsee future horn locking to come over various things but have high hopes that it will be done amicably and with affection even if we are never again as close as we were. I had a mad night with Sylvia last Wednesday when she read my runes. Well most of them… we started at 8pm and at gone 7am I left to weave my way home. I arrived back in the static exactly 12 hours after I’d left and met Ady coming down the croft hill to feed the animals as I meandered up it having only stopped drinking whisky at about 6am. I went to bed for 3 hours and got back up for the Sheerwater which felt very surreal. Suddenly lots more friendships seem to be opening up now it is widely known that we are not as close to Fliss and Sandy. It’s the last Market Day tomorrow and we have lots of venison processing booked with sales so far going really well. I’ve been tinkering with a website for it and sending out lots of emails locally promoting venison. What else? Erm lots of meetings for various things – bunkhouse, directors stuff, visitor management group, crofting things. Very busy. I’ve been foraging for raspberries whenever I can and have about four jars of jam stashed, the trouble is Ady eats it almost quicker than I make it so I need to find more foraging time. Erm not sure when that will happen…Kids are fine, have been spending lots of time outdoors flying kites, playing with Bonnie and I got them to sit for about an hour today in amoungst all the birds and do some spotting cocks and hens in the little chicks from Jinty which are about 4 weeks old now so quite easy to tell apart.
Scarlett had a chick up here for 3 nights, after one of the hens let two of her chicks die we rescued one that she was rejecting. I thought it was past the worst and Scarlett was amazing with it, taking it everywhere with her including down to the shop (very funny – the kids got into a pool match with some random tourists that were here walking, the tourists bought a load of drinks and sweets for the kids as prizes and made a huge deal of telling Ady and I what awesome kids we have 🙂 I think pool hustling may have to go on their CVs). The chick didn’t make it in the end, I suspect because although Scarlett was very attentive and we had it in a box with a hot water bottle we simply can’t replicate a brooder or a mother hen up here off grid. We were very successful at incubator hatching and then a brooder lamp back in Sussex but they need the light and heat and we just can’t pull that off up here. In some ways I think it was a blessing, I imagine Bonnie would have been very jealous of a beloved pet chicken. All of the other chicks are doing well – 12 from our own hens and over 20 from Jinty’s. We’ll keep another cock or maybe even two, fatten all the rest of the cock birds and keep the hens.
Gav and Laura have very reluctantly told us they’ll not be taking two of our piglets. It is for the best for them, they have taken on way too much. It briefly left us with a glitch in our planning for pigs but some research suggests breeding one of the girl piglets with Tom (her Dad) is okay so we’ll keep Scarlett’s favourite, the one she was getting upset about killing and eating. They are now 16 weeks old and should be ready to slaughter between 26 and 30 according to our pig book – between 36 and 40 according to ‘slow food’ sources. I think we will plan to kill the two wee boys first and let the other girl go as long as we can before needing to think about seperating her from Tom. More research needed, particularly specific to our breed of kune kune, Old Spot crosses.
The turkeys and geese are all fine and well and the mother with a duckling is now out and about although she has yet to venture down to the river with it.
We had an excellent night last Friday with a band here called Wingin It who were very good. Only complaint was that they didn’t play long enough but we all really enjoyed the evening and Davies had his first electric guitar lesson afterwards from Ross. He’s pretty good and seemed to pick it up quickly. I can enthuse about this with all the confidence of an off grid parent 😉
I think that’s a fair summary. Good intentions to return to daily blogging renewed once again.