As we don't have cows of our own or the machinery to make silage ourselves any more, we sell it to another farmer on the island. Jamie's cows graze here during the summer months, helping us keep the fields in good wild flower and biodiversity condition!
We do need hay ourselves to feed the sheep indoors in the winter, so Farmer shared a lorry load of small bales with a neighbour last week. This has to be unloaded and stacked by hand, so help (muscle) is required! Farmer baked a cake in order to entice the helpers over and they had a cup of tea and slice or two of cake after the hard graft was done. It looked delicious and the cake tin was empty in no time.
Autumn is well underway now, with its accompanying gales and storms. Tail ends of the terrible hurricanes across the Atlantic and so very, very mild in comparison - I am certainly not complaining! In between the storms we have had some beautifully sunny days, which gladden the heart and warm our backs before winter sets in.
This young donkey lives on the north side of Loch Cuin near Dervaig. Sweet!
Later this week we are off to buy a Herdwick tup (ram). It is the beginning of the school half term so a busman's holiday for us. We may also come home with some more ewe hoggs if the prices are right!
When they get home we will segregate them all from the rest of the flock for 16 days to make sure they don't have Scab. Mull is a scab free island so ensuring our stock is clear is very important.
Farmer has done a deal with a local crofter too, to buy a strong looking Blackface tup lamb. Planning for the next generation of lambs already!
The moon is approaching fullness so any mild aurora activity has been affected by the moon. I tend to watch the weather forecast (for cloud cover) and the aurora forecast and set my camera accordingly. This was taken on a timer while I was asleep, after the moon had set. A nice surprise in the morning!
Moments of watery autumnal light are much appreciated.
The Coll and Tiree ferry was cancelled yesterday, when this photograph was taken. I love watching the shadows shift across the sea, as the clouds are blown overhead.
Walter is always ready for anything. What an extraordinarily happy dog.
