The middle of August

The middle of August has gone by in a flash. The Salen Show signals the beginning of the end of summer for us as the schools go back the following week, always.  And now unbelievably they have been back for more than a week, and we are staring at the end of the month! 

We have had moments of good weather, but there has been a lot of weather forecast monitoring before outdoor decisions are made.  

Tomorrow Farmer will be gathering the hill in order to spean the lambs on Tuesday and send most of them to market in a lorry.  

The fields are getting that ragged end of summer look.  Prasad has been monitoring the Painted lady caterpillars on the creeping thistle down below the house.  There are still a few around. It seems a bit late to be seeing them, as they still have to pupate and then fly off back to Africa before it gets too cold. 

Show day 2017

The weather has been mixed the past week or so, and we were anxiously watching XCWeather to see what Thursday was going to be like for the Salen Show!   Daughter was taking two of the Herdwicks to the show so we needed to know! 

Luckily Show Day dawned dry, whilst not overly sunny, it didn't rain and wasn't too hot for the animals.  

Herdwicks aren't primitive breeds like Hebrideans or Soay or Shetlands, and they aren't Blackface or Cheviot, so they end up in the Other Breeds class along with the Texels and the Suffolks!  There is a very strong flock of Texels along the coast from here, so we were pretty realistic about our chances.  Not to mention the fine Suffolks from Loch Frisa.   Anyway, what was that saying, its not about the winning its about the taking part?  

The Mull Slaughterhouse BBQ stall selling burgers was upwind of the sheep pens so all day we stood downwind of the amazing smell of frying onions!  They made a good brew as well.

My favourite tin shed was put into use, as the Poultry section.  Again our fine Wyandottes chose to moult so we couldn't show them.

Farmer helped some of the other competitors hold their animals in the different classes before and after ours. 

An appropriate hoodie for the show. 

Kyle the wonderful ice cream maker from Tobermory has bought a trike so she can attend the shows. What an excellent idea and it proved very popular!   There was a queue all day long. 

2 of our near neighbours were showing Highland cattle.   

And a friend of Daughter was showing a Mother and this was her calf who had to come along with her! 

We didn't enter any veg this year. Or eggs! 

Here we are coming in to the Other Breeds classes.  The handsome Jacobs tup from Loch Frisa against the Texels from Fanmore. 

Then finally it was our gimmers turn.  

Well done Daughter.  (She came home with a handful of rosettes!)

All in all, a great day. 

    

Sailing by

The summer is sailing by!  August already, and the fields have swung from Orchids into the blues, creams and purples of Knapweed, Meadowsweet and Scabious. 

This is the Belem, a French sailing training ship, built in the 1890s.  To think 100 years ago ships like this would have been commonplace sailing past Treshnish.

Knapweed..

Grass of Parnassus...

Tufted vetch..

Devils bit scabious and Wild angelica..

This tiny caterpillar is the Lime-speck pug moth caterpillar.

Meadowsweet..

and Knapweed..

Harebell and Heather..

Here you can just see the Belem (above Duill's chimney) and a huge cruise ship both heading round to Tobermory.