Thursday morning Ady put the car batteries on charge and then we spent the day on the croft. I did some weeding of the raised beds, planted some garlic, chopped some firewood and generally pottered. Ady and I both went to place the veg order and stayed for a beer. There was a ceilidh happening in the evening as there was a large student group staying but we had decided not to stay for it and came home for dinner and a film with the kids instead.
Friday was a busy one. Ady collected the batteries and put them back in the car. I did a circuit of the croft with two buckets = one for brambles and one for rosehips and then we drove the car back to the village to collect some more firewood and check out the recycling area for old appliances. Our repurposed bedside cabinets we’d been using as honesty cupboards are falling apart for not coping with the Rum elements so we needed something hardier. We found it in the shape of an old freezer, complete will with drawers perfect for storing 6 dozen eggs in each and room for a shelf of jams on the bottom and the honesty jar on the top. Ideal. Just need inspiration to do a paint job on it and turn it into something other than an old freezer now 🙂 While Ady collected wood I picked a load of brambles which I shoved straight in the freezer – we now have about 20 jars of jam and lots of brambles in the freezer – would have liked more jam and more frozen brambles but we’ve done well. And a load of rosehips to make syrup with.
We brought the wood and the freezer back up to croft and then Ady and the kids took the car back down to the village while I came back to the static to make some soup and bung some rolls in the oven for lunch. The others arrived back just as lunch was ready :).
After lunch the kids washed up while I took a bucket of hot soapy water and cleaned out the freezer and did a first coat of paint on it to stop it looking like an old freezer. Ady strimmed the outline of where the pigs are moving to next. The kids headed down to the village ahead of Ady and I who followed them to collect the post, some grated cheese I’d ordered from Jinty and have a Friday night beer. Then back home for pizzas.
Today was work for me in the morning. It was all very sociable, I think I’m going to enjoy Saturday morning working 🙂 Ady walked down with me and the frosty ground was beautiful with the sun shining on it. I finished just after 12 and walked home to find people and animals dotted about all over the croft hill in the sunshine. We all had lunch and then I walked back down to the village to deliver some eggs to Fliss. She has clearly given more thought to our falling out than I had and yesterday when she arrived back from holiday asked ‘so are we alright then, you and me?’ to which I replied ‘yes’ and today asked me for a hug. I’ll be more cautious now but am glad all is back to some sense of normalcy with her.
Back at home I did some more painting to the honesty cupboard but really need to wait for some paint I ordered last night to arrive as I think I want to paint the whole things green and then do lots of little chickens and ducks all over it – have been google image searching for inspiration but can’t quite find what I am looking for yet. While I was faffing with it Casey arrived and so we chatted for a while and then she came up for a cup of tea and sit on the sporran while the sun dipped below the hills.
Casey left, I had a shower and then cooked dinner and we all watched Fantastic Mr Fox which I’d not seen before and thought was quite good. There is a stag on the croft roaring his head off tonight. Ady and I went out a while ago with a torch and he was just outside the static with a group of hinds. I wish I could capture these moments properly – the sky was on fire at sunset tonight, the stag roaring in the dark under a twinkling sky full of stars, the frost in the sunshine on the grass this morning. I’m aware I get repeptitive sounding off about the beauty here but it is true that I never felt this connected to the earth when we lived normal lives back on the mainland. I would occassionally get a sense of wonder at a load of daffodils in spring, or a clear blue winter sky but here there are no distractions and you just exist in the middle of all this nature. It is amazing.
I love that last paragraph; it’s the best thing you’ve ever written, imo 🙂
Comment by Heather — 14 October 2013 @ 6:00 pm
It surely is amazing. I’m quite sad that I can’t quite work out when we’ll make it back up again 🙁
Comment by Kirsty — 14 October 2013 @ 7:40 pm