The storm in the early hours of January 9th
certainly made an impact on Aultbea !
Wind speed of around 113 miles an hour were recorded
and I have never experienced a storm like it.
The noise of the storm was such that no one
in Aultbea slept that night for fear
of something coming crashing through the windows.
Everything shaked, rattled, rolled or flew through the air.
Our lovely polytunnel did not survive,
despite the assurance of the supplying company
(who supply tunnels further north in the Orkneys)
(who supply tunnels further north in the Orkneys)
that it would withstand the west coast winds,
and despite all the strengthening bars.
However, Premier Polytunnels have been an
excellent company to deal with and
have refunded the full cost without complaint.
Thank you, Premier Polytunnels.
Our chickens had a fright that night,too,
when a tree was blown down on to their shed
and turned it over.
Remarkably all 17 chickens survived
but only laid 1 egg between them that day !
Thank you Jock and Ed
for very kindly returning the shed to its upright position
in about 5 seconds flat !
Our iron lady "Joycie" withstood the wind
and didn't move an inch.
It has been 10 years since the last storm
that did so much damage, so hopefully
it will be a long time before the next one.
In the meantime we need to think about plan B,
post polytunnel!
Our Lulu now spends most of her time
in front of the wood-burning cooker....
along with Wilma.
One of the projects for our home
has been to turn two bedrooms
into a kitchen/dining/living room and let in some light
and have a wonderful view of Loch Ewe,
here is the result,
looking south across Loch Ewe towards Aultbea
looking west towards the Isle of Ewe
Nothing seems to bother the local wildlife,
even in the daylight hours.
On 23rd January the Wester Ross Burns Club
celebrated their Burns Supper at
The Myrtle Bank Hotel in Gairloch
and we were honoured to be invited
as guests of Bryan Islip.
Thank you Bryan and thank you Myrtle Bank Hotel
for a lovely evening.
The days are getting noticeably longer, lets hope
that February will be kinder to us.
