Days of calm

This autumn into winter spell of weather really has been very calm and relatively dry.  It is now the 6th of December and we are expecting the first storm to hit any time.  Today was astonishingly clear and they do say that when it is very clear it means it is going to rain!

What has been happening on the farm? Well, the tups have been out for nearly 17 days, so it is time to move them around a bit.  The Lleyn tup has been out for the first ovine cycle and as Farmer wants to put the Cheviots into one large flock now he needs to take him out so he is not onto his daughters.  This means catching him somehow in a large open space and manhandling him into the back of the quad bike trailer.   The other additional tups will be put out with the Blackface ewes on the Point. Sometimes tupping time can be very wet so this good spell of weather will have been a great start. Hopefully!

Then of course there is the arrival of Nyje.  (pronounced like Nigel but with out the L).  Nyje is the latest addition to the sheep dog team.  He is 15 months old and we bought him from the same farmer where Cap came from. We had a lovely day out up Glen Lyon, JUST doable on a Sunday from here if you leave home early and catch the 9am ferry and come back on the 6pm.   As the crow flies it is not far from the Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy/Glen Coe road but to get there by road involves quite a lengthy detour.   It was a very beautiful day for a drive though, with snow on the mountains and much sunshine so we had a good day out.   Nyje is younger than any other dog we have bought and needs a bit more training.  There are one or two traits he needs to learn not to do, and one or two things he needs to learn to do..  however he is keen and has a good friendly nature which are two important traits.  We think he is pretty cute too! (I will post a photograph of him soon)

Studio and Shieling are a bit of a mess at the moment!  Intentionally that is.  We have been replacing the old shower units and are now waiting for the shower for Studio to arrive this week. On track to be finished for Christmas visitors!

Night skies have been clear and starry but no really strong visible auroras for a while now.  I have been catching them on camera but only seeing the glow (rather than the colours) by naked eye.

Duill Cottage sits beautifully under the stars with guests cosy by the fire, whilst I wander around in the frost! 

The winter feeding regime sets the scene for winter days, up and out before breakfast, though sometimes breakfast is delayed by a bit of chatting.  Well, it was the weekend and Jamie had come up to feed his heifers who are in our shed.

It is easy to assume that sunsets are all about summer, but actually the winter ones can be so dramatic.  This was taken over Shian's chimney.  We were waiting on the man from the NFU to turn up for a late afternoon meeting so I couldn't go down to Haunn which would have been amazing!! 

The mid afternoon sky was rich with these wonderful wavy clouds, and then an hour later it went cosmic! 

No calves yet

Something on the formatting on Blogger tonight is acting up so I might end up doing all the writing here if I cant fix it.  It is jumping all over the place.  So apologies for the mess on this posting.  You will have to guess which photograph goes with which words.

Farmer is getting used to the new daily routine now that the cattle shed is full.  The cows seem happy to be indoors.  The other night when we had raging winds it was good to think that they were indoors, and had there been a calving problem Farmer wouldnt have had to go and look in the dark for them.  Mind you, we did have a power cut so he would have been in the dark - but dry at least.  He has started going up to check on them before he turns in, as we expect the first calf any day now.  An appointment for the bull to be examined again has been made so hopefully we will know more then.  

Farmer still managed to find some time to do some baking despite spending alot of time this week with his animals.  This time he made a fruit cake.  It was delicious and didnt last long! 

Work has been continuing well with the cottages. Studio is beginning to look really good.  It was really nice to show it to two of our regular guests who were staying at Haunn last weekend - they have booked 7 out of 8 of the cottages later in the summer for their wedding party and wanted to remind themselves of what it was like inside!  They will use Studio for the wedding feast should it is too wet for the 'marquee'.  

A minor set back, for us, in that the new bedroom window is too small and too high, but the ever helpful builder has ordered a new one, and is going to take this one out and replace it all at the right height before Studio is let at the end of March.  It is only annoying as otherwise Studio would have been finished weeks before then. 

We have completed the first step of Shian's new kitchen - changing the cooker and fridge/freezer positions, putting up some new shelving and installing a new ceramic hob cooker. Relatively small changes but it looks great, and was all ready for guests who arrived yesterday afternoon for a week's holiday.  Next winter will see the bigger phase 2 - which is going to be lovely, sunny and warm. (thats a hint)!  

The Neils are busy working away in Duill bathroom.  The Mermaid panels are installed as is the new bath, and our first guests arrive on Thursday!  So only the shower, the loo and the basin to finish then.  Easy!  

John, our architect, is coming over to see us on Thursday next week, when we will be looking at plans for our eco-camping/glamping project, which will open in April 2014. This is a really exciting project for us, not just because it is on a fabulous site with great views - but it will be low-impact in every way.  It will be appropriate in scale so as not to impinge on the balance already here (both in human and wildlife terms!); it will enable us to re-use/upcycle materials we already have in stock; utilise local & natural building materials; create an interesting new wildlife habitat and finally have a turf roof!  Watch this space!

We have some tups with bad eyes. This is a highly infectious infection so Farmer has seperated them from the others and brought them in to the wee shelter in the Stack Yard so that he can treat them more easily.   Farmer has been ordering some additional 'cake' for the sheep as we are going to scan this year - in a week or so's time.  I will blog about it soon!  The price of animal feed has gone through the roof, and it is worrying to think what the prices will be for our lambs next year.  We are still looking around for a new bull and they are alot of money. 

 

 

There have been some great skies. I guess because of the storms. Windy and wild at times. Rough seas. Dark grey skies. The neighbours tups found good shelter down in the lowest bit of the field to the left of the track down to the bridge onto Treshnish.  And then these perfect still moments with pale puffy clouds catching the sunrise light glowing over Coll or the dying sunset light on the Treshnish Islands.

Wood chip arrived for the boiler.  Always good to know we have a full load in store when the weather is unpredictable!

Farmer, accompanied by Jan and Cap, checking the hoggs - their favourite pastime is to get stuck in brambles at this time of year.  Nice little green shots to entice them into the throttling briars. And it takes a fright at best to get them out or a sharp penknife to cut the briars away from their wool at worst.

 

 

 

I can't do anything to make this display any better, and dont really like publishing it like this.  Hopefully it will be better next time.   

Hatches battened down

Stag and lone tree on skyline near Dervaig. (photo by Farmers Daughter)

Highland cow and calf on road near Ulva Ferry (for quite some time before moving on)

Wild winds whip round corners and move inanimate objects. Dustbin lids become flying saucers if not tied on to their base. Colourful buoys collected on walks taken in more clement weather blow and lurch along fence lines and back again as the direction of the wind changes. Wheelbarrow tips upside down by itself in the burn beside the house caught by a gust. Spare sheet of corrugated iron roofing must have flown across the stack yard by the cattle shed (now safely secure again).

The turbine is working hard, and as we are living in the Studio we are enjoying the direct connection to home produced power. This morning when I took this photograph it was producing approximately 4 kW/h.

Over the last 23 hours it averages 3.3 kW/h so we are pleased. And at times overnight it did step up a gear - with the usual associated concerns for roofs and slates, and things going bump in the night.

Today has not been quite as wild. But every bit as wet.

A downsized upgrade AKA the temporary house move

Farmer and family are living it up in the Studio, enjoying bright sunshine in the sunroom (above), its lovely views, adjustable cosy central heating, comfortable beds and the unexpected feeling of 'being away' without leaving the farm. We have internet in the Studio but not a phone.

Having lived without central heating of any sorts for nearly a year, through no fault of our highly efficient wood chip boiler, it is total luxury to be warm at the touch of a button, rather than as a result of Farmer carrying basket loads of logs into the house constantly. Alot of time during the last couple of weeks has been spent packing our things and moving furniture so that the plumber and builder could move in...(well, I think that was why we did it). Weren't we supposed to be installing a new central heating system with thermostatically controlled radiators? And at the same time, eco-insulate roof spaces and cut down heat loss through blocking up drafts round windows, floors and doors? Only... yesterday morning, the expected start date (2 weeks after the first start date), no one turned up...a sinister stillness and lack of activity within the chilled house....And no one today either! Oh well...

The same cannot be said for feeding time. Everyone turns up here! The hoggs, led by the tame 'Zwarties', mob Farmer when he goes to feed them - almost tripping him up in their eagerness to get to the line of troughs.

And the tups wait their turn in the wind turbine field.

Radical steps taken last weekend, after months of research and deliberations, to do a bit of machinery upgrading. Sometimes it has to be done in order to pre-empt aged machinery and inevitable breakdowns. First to go was the old digger, which has helped with all sorts of jobs over the last 10 years. To my inexperienced eye it looked pretty knackered, but it may just be the rust on the cab and the fading paintwork. Photographs of our digger were sent off so Farmer and Dealer could agree its value before it left the farm. Satisfactory deals were eventually done and on Saturday a younger (and much smaller) digger appeared to replace the older one.

This is the old digger being loaded up onto the lorry.

And this is the newer one. Much smaller tracks, and not so many rusty bits.

It has already been put to use, by a neighbour who is helping us out when he can - putting a new layer of fine 'dust' on the farm track.

The schools issue rumbles on. We had a visit from the Education Spokesperson yesterday, who was on a fact finding mission. Looking at every school. I hope she enjoyed the time she spent - they arrived in time to join in on the school Burns Supper, another of those special 'school in its community' events when the school was packed with family and friends of the school enjoying a traditional Burns Supper cooked by the Boathouse girls from Ulva. The children entertained us confidently with Gaelic songs and Burns poetry as well as some poetry of their own. After her visit we were none the wiser as to what she thought about the school, and we have no more idea about our chances of survival.