Stormy moments

There has been terrible weather all across the country over the last week or so, so we have not been alone.  It is a relief though that the winds today are down to more normal breezy (30mph-ish) speeds - and we are lucky we have not had any snow. 

Here are some moments from the last couple of days.

And today..

Missed (photo) opportunity

A few days ago I saw one of the blackface tups sniffing around a Cheviot ewe in the Black Park.  Farmer told me quite definitely that I couldn't have because the tups were all two fields away.  Then we went away for the weekend.

Yesterday as we were driving somewhere he asked me why I hadn't told him that I had seen a tup in the Black Park....  (His humour, as you know, is quite quirky). He had no idea how he came to be there, as the (other) tups were all two fields away.

This morning he and noble assistant Cap went to feed the ewes and catch the tup.

This is where the missed (photo) opportunity comes in. It all happens very fast.

Quad bike, trailer, dog, feed bag. Into the Black Park. Sheep come running. Tup is with them. Carrying a 20kg bag of nuts for the ewes, Farmer gets close enough to grab the tup.  Drops the bag. Tup runs for it.  Farmer hangs on.  He and tup in a tight wrangle on the ground. Nuts spill out of bag.  Ewes rush in. Farmer on ground with tup in his grasp surrounded by ewes fighting over the pile of spilled nuts.  Farmer puts tup in trailer.  Tup jumps out. Farmer goes in for the catch again.  Tup back in trailer and Farmer drives off at high speed so the tup can't jump out.  Relieved that no one was there to witness his undignified start to the day.

We wait to see if the tup is back with the ewes tomorrow.  (If he is, rest assured this time I will be there with the camera.)

It has been very cold today, as the wind is biting.  Lovely to see the blue sky in between the showers.

It is a busy time for bookings just now, as everyone across the country seems to be thinking about their summer holidays.  We still have spaces though, so do have a look at the availability if you think you might want to come and stay this year.

The last 3 winters we have undertaken big winter maintenance and upgrading projects, and so it is a real relief not to have so much on this winter.  Having said that, Shian is having its redundant chimney taken down, Duill is getting an extra window and the schoolhouse is getting new windows and doors, but no major gutting or re-fitting thank goodness!

Calm before the storm

You wouldnt have known from the day we have had that a big storm is forecast.  The moon at Calgary at 8am this morning.

And the sun just beginning to give light to the clouds looking the other way.

Our neighbours sheep and a young stag.

Yes, there was hail.

And there was welcome bright sun too.

A puckle of hoggs by the site for the new cabin, if we ever get the road end sorted out!

This beautiful vole was hiding under a feed trough. When the Farmer lifted it up to move it, the vole ran and 'hid' behind this tuft of grass.

January sheep work

The full moon setting over the Isle of Coll this morning as I got back from the school run to Calgary.

Farmer has moved the hoggs into the field in front of the house.  It is nice to hear them all gather in anticipation when they hear the quad bike, knowing they are about to be fed.  And what a view!

Soon a silence falls over the field as they all tuck in.

Later the sun rises over the hill, and they find themselves a sunny spot having finished their premium nuts.

N, who helps us (heroically) every winter, has started decorating West Cottage bedroom. It hasn't been painted for a few years and we are using the lovely Newlife Paints we have used for the last 2 winters in Studio, Shian and Duill.  

I and G,  electricians, were working in Toechtamhor, and needed me to go down and agree where the new LED lights should go.

In our GTBS audit last summer, I mentioned to Stuart, their auditor,  that we wanted to further cut our energy consumption as our small scale wind turbines and solar PV were only generating about 80% of our usage.  Rather than install more technology, we wanted to use less.  He advised that we began a programme of changing our light fittings from low energy to LED. I had always resisted this before as I felt it was a waste of the embodied energy in the light bulbs, but after further thought and discussion, we decided it was worth doing.

Tube strip lights are particularly wasteful as Stuart pointed out that the ones we use in the office burn 35 watts where an LED strip light would burn 5 watts.  The farm building uses lots of them and some are in need of repair so they are an obvious place to start, and there are one or two in the office/laundry too.  

I, the electrician, provided the solution for the Haunn cottages, which is to upgrade the low energy ceiling lights to LED with a simple convertor so they are doing that for us this winter too.   We are hoping, little by little, it will make quite a difference to the electricity consumption.

Some showers over Coll on the way back and beautiful sundogs (ice rainbows).

Farmer wanted to take the tups off today as the weather was so good, and to put the ewes through the fank and give them their annual Co-secure supplement 'bullet'. We know the land is deficient in certain minerals (selenium and cobalt) which the sheep need to keep them well. 

It was a beautiful day for it. I don't think I have ever taken photographs in the fank in such lovely light.

Some guests arrived for Shian just as it was getting dark, and it was lovely to see the glow from the sitooterie, and on the horizon, as I walked down to say hello to them.

What I didnt realise is that I could have photographed the Comet if I had aimed the camera a little higher over the farm steading on the way back!  The green glow on the wall is the glow from our Electric Car Charge Point! 

The first picnic of 2015

We had not been as a family to Langamull for years.   We parked at the road end, where the North West Mull Community Woodland Company parking area is.  We walked past the Ent-rance to the Ent Family croft, one of the first woodland crofts to be worked in Scotland.

We had both Walter and Coco on leads.  It is pretty desolate walking through the forest now the trees have mostly been chopped down.  However we do all use timber and this is where our low carbon heating comes from.  The wood chip we use in the biomass heating scheme at Treshnish is sourced here at Langamull.

It is about a mile from the car park to the beach, and despite the desolate denuded forest, it is beautiful and it is a lovely walk.

As it was such a beautiful day, we decided to make a picnic.  Farmer unearthed his camping stove so we had hot tomato soup with our delicious leftover ham sandwiches, followed by a cup of freshly brewed tea!

Walter was keen to try the Farmer's cup of tea.

The Farmer and family portrait 2015, with Coco at my feet, and Walter on the right beside Farmer.

We got home about 3pm and Farmer went off to push the silage in for the cows and close them up for the night.  It was a treat to see the sunset.  Hopefully a shepherd's delight.