30 November 2014

November 2014


Hello to you all, 
another month has gone by in the Highlands
and we are still enjoying glorious weather !

Wilma enjoying a roll in something rather smelly !

A few of the Sunday morning swimmers

Janette showing off her new wetsuit and skull cap from Lomo

Janet brings her wonderful camper van to the jetty for cosy, after-swim refreshments and Allan captures some great photos of us.

Not rolling about ......

just getting the water out of their boots !

It's only the laughing that keeps us from feeling the cold !
One of the many herons at Poolewe waiting for his supper

A neighbour's sheep being taken back home along the shore past our croft

Afternoon sunshine along the shore

A peaceful afternoon

I think this is my favourite view, the 13 mile journey back from getting shopping in Gairloch
Let sleeping dogs lie.

1 November 2014

October 2014

       







The Referendum may be over but the local sheep are still showing their vote.


Adrian  Hollister of the Aroma Cafe / Perfume Studio and Photographic Studio
in Mellon Charles
has just produced a wonderful book
"Portrait of a Small Community -
from Aultbea to Mellon Charles"
a collection of 117 black and white photographs
of some of the people living and working in the area.
Certainly a book to treasure for many years to come.
Thank you Adrian.

Page 46 - our polytunnel beginning to blossom.

 Page 47 - Malcolm by the gate.

 Page 36 - our Sunday morning swimming group in Loch Ewe.

Wilma relaxing after a hard day digging on the croft.

Wilma relaxing back-to-back with Lulu the cat, what a life !


A beautiful October day near Gairloch.

Watching the herons on Loch Ewe.

Great to see George and Vinnie from Auchencairn on their trip to Ullapool,

 you're welcome any time you have some chip fat to use up !













.
Malcolm sowing his wild oats.


 Who is this little devil then ?

 It's Duncan !

and the MacKenzie Family trying to frighten us on Halloween.

A small lad on holiday in Gairloch looking patiently for whales.

That's all for October, enjoy November.

1 October 2014

September 2014

Hello to you all who have clicked on to the blog
to see what we've been up to during September, thank you.

The summer seems to be going on for ever,
glorious days of sunshine and wind-free,
it has been beautiful.

Since the last blog we have acquired two new friends ..........

I'm sure you've guessed ....


Two beautiful Embden geese, whose job is to keep some of the grass down.




Janette (right) happened to mention to me that she would like to swim in the sea,
(mistake number one !)
"How about tomorrow ? I said.
This was the start of the Sunday morning swimming club !
So every Sunday morning at 11am down by the jetty,
whatever the weather we go swimming in Loch Ewe
and the idea is that we carry on regardless through the year !!


Steve, with the towel around his waist, is the cool guy,
 the only one so far not to wear a wet suit !
He's tough.
He does come out of the water a different colour to the rest of us.


The group increases in size every week surprisingly !
A lot of maniacs around !

 Our age group ranges from 59 to date 
( not telling you who that is ) ......

 to some very young members.
Dogs are also a very welcome addition
to our swimming club.


 The polytunnel is looking very lush and abundant
and creates a lot of interest from passers by
who are curious as to what we are growing.

 The sunflowers are now over 12' tall and are doing a marvellous job
of enticing in the bees and the good insects.

 Tomatoes are in abundance and
 the seaweed is making a wonderful mulch keeping weeds at bay.

 Malcolm has been trying his hand at peg-looming,
using lovely fleece from a friend's sheep.

 Before and during ...........

 Here we have the apprentice piece, chair cover 
for a comfy sit down.

 Wilma pretending that she is a guard dog.

 For those of you who knew me in Yoxford,
you will know that I love tipis !
Mainly because of the shape and
 you can put them up single-handedly.
So, here's my little red tipi 
pitched on the edge of the croft .

 You are quite right, this is not Aultbea.

 This is the Hydro in Glasgow ,
where we have just been to see James Taylor.
Absolutely FANTASTIC !!!!!!!!
10,000 people went home very happy !

 Current house renovations.
This was a bedroom, soon(ish) to be the kitchen.

Wishing you all a lovely autumnal October,
from June 

1 September 2014

August 2014 happenings

Hi to all of you looking at this latest posting, enjoy.

We have been up in the Highlands for a year now,
 how time has flown !
Our first winter was kind to us, although
the wind can blow more ferocious than in most places, 
don't even think about garden ornaments.
The summer has been grand, 
some days it's even been too hot to sit outside, 
very unexpected 
and the dreaded midges have been almost non-existent.
The local people have been very kind
 and welcoming to us 
and it is amazing how many wonderful things are happening here.

Malcolm has been trying his hand at peat cutting up on the common grazing,  just need a few warm days to dry it.

Very peaceful and beautiful up on the common grazing with just a few sheep for company.

A sun-filled evening after heavy rain from the croft.

It was lovely to see April up from Auchencairn with her very special companion Sophie. We had some terrific beach walks and ..

we found a relatively high hill for April to climb to prove she had been to the Highlands.

Sophie and Wilma after a hard day's walking.

A visit to see Trevor Leat's new willow sculptures at Inverewe Gardens was a must and we weren't disappointed, absolutely beautiful as we knew they would be.

A small creature we found up on the common grazing.

Actual size only about half an inch although he does look a bit ferocious.

Great to see Pat and Peter,too, from Norfolk on their first visit to the Highlands, with Wilma ever hopeful of a biscuit .



Kelvin promised that on his visit to the Highlands he would join me for a swim in Loch Ewe.

Kelvin very quickly wished that he had not made such a hasty promise !


Kelvin and Sue up from Norfolk. It appears that our new central heating system may be working too effectively.

After a lovely meal at the local Aultbea Hotel. The new owners are making some lovely changes and the food is superb.
Our first onion harvest.


Scented geraniums, looking good, smelling delightful and the edible flowers really liven up a salad.

Borage is such a beautiful plant, evidently it is a fantastic companion plant for almost anything and the flowers are edible too.

Busy insects love the pollen of borage, too, I think this is a friendly hoverfly.

All around the blooming heather, the Highlands are looking a wonderful shade of purple at the moment. In the background is Ghoblach on the shores of Little Loch Broom.

A cruise ship in the harbour at Ullapool, dwarfing all the houses .

Our croft showing the replaced roof on the stone barn and the new polytunnel.

View of Loch Ewe from Mellon Charles about half a mile from the croft.


This month we are about to start some serious changes to the house,
 so a few weeks/months of brick dust and chaos coming up.