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We are now half way through tupping. Farmer put the last 3 tups out earlier in the week. Technically by the end of 6 weeks all the ewes should have been served. That would mean taking the tups out just before Christmas. We leave them until about the 6th January. That way hopefully the late ones will have been caught by the new tups and we will have a good pregnancy rate. We are hoping to scan the pregnant ewes this year. (We had planned to scan last season, but the scanner's machine broken down a farm before he got to us. He went home to the mainland and didn't come back..)
The in-bye fields are full of sheep and cows - doing their bit for the wild flowers by grazing down the rough bits and tufts of dead grasses.
The renovation work on Shian has started. Neil is carefully taking Shian bathroom to pieces. The external walls of the whole cottage are being insulated, and Shian bathroom getting an upgrade, similar to Duill's last winter! There is a surprise planned for each of these 2 cottages, but I will keep that for a later date, when we see what progress is being made! Diggers and all sorts will be required at times!
Coco and Walter are getting along well. There were no sheep in this field by the way.
Big excitement in the garden, as we have a new part-time helper, R, who has just moved to Calgary. He is clearing up the veg garden and beginning to sort out the gardens round the Haunn cottages too. Who knows we may even have surplus vegetables for our guests in the summer...
Tobermory is looking gently Christmassy. We still have a space or two if you want to escape the mainland madness. Our new website has online booking now - you can still pay by bank transfer if you want to, or pay directly by card using a secure online card service. It feels a bit strange, bookings happening without the usual email or telephone conversations, but hopefully in the long run it will be more useful for everyone.
