July 2015

July brought some very cold, wet weather 
but for the annual
 Aultbea Raft Race and Fun Day

the sun shone to make a wonderful weekend for everyone. 

 

  
The calm waters of Aultbea Harbour before the Raft Race

 and then the rafts began to arrive !

 in all their various shapes and sizes.

 Getting ready at the start line ...

 

The line up for our team, from the left,

Malcolm, Fer,Matthew, me, Fiona, Janette, Callum + Max. 

We didn't win, we didn't sink, we didn't come last,

we came 3rd ! (from last).

The Aultbea Fun Day was a wonderful success

with lots of things going on for all ages,

 

from "welly wanging"

 

the pipe band..

 

story-telling and children's competitions 

in the wonderful yurt ..

the chicken run ..

 

 giant jenga ..

 fire engines ..

china smashing ..

 

silly games for all ages ..

five a side football ..

golf ..

 

vintage tractors and cars ..

 

and loads more !

Thank you to Morven, Murdo, Willie
 and to everyone involved 
for making it a huge success.

It's been a musical month too with .. 

"Skippinnish"
 at the Gairloch Highland Gathering dance

held at Big Sands

 and

 "Shooglenifty" 
at the Ceilidh Place in Ullapool,

two great nights !

Rolling this large cable drum half a mile along the road

to our croft caused some amusement

but it now makes a brilliant outside table ! 

(we did ask first)

Lulu thinks it was put there just for her.

The chickens love having a dust bath but to do it well,
first dig up a new plant and take out the marker stick,
in the hope that no one will notice !

The geese taking it easy with beaks tucked in against the wind.

With the slightly warmer weather the grass grew
and the mower broke down ...

 and the grass kept on growing.

Time to call in the girls to eat their way through it..

 thank you Jock for the loan of your girls.

 The grass was so tall you could hardly see the sheep

but they're in there somewhere.

The foundations for Malcolm's Mum's house are taking shape..
 

The house will be finished by beginning of December.

Malcolm pleased with his peat-cutting.

The two black and white chicks (in the centre)

have no problem hanging out with the big guys ! 

 

The shore from the croft gate.

Midnight over Aultbea Harbour 

 and moonshine on Loch Ewe

 The colours of Loch Ewe ....

Resting but still keeping an eye on us ..

Our Aultbea friend Bryan Islip, 
painter, poet, writer and a lovely man, too,
recently wrote a poem called "Writing to Friends"
that I would like to share with you.

  Writing to Friends

"You have to come here," I told them.

"But it's so cold and wet," they said,

"Isn't it?"

Sitting in a Highlands Cafe with a cup of tea

and a Highlands scone I wrote: "Dear people,

You think you know about colour

until you've seen an early morning day

cloudless over Gairloch

through air so clear, this clean,

noiseless save for the shushing of the sea,

the calling of the gulls

as if to you and me.

I swear that you can actually feel 

these lands of time-lost Highland Clans,

so everlasting, wild, its majesty."

And so they came, our friends,

and it rained and blew 

a gale of wind all week

(a different kind of beauty).

This Wester Ross smiles not,

shows not herself always or so often

and they will come again, perhaps will stay.

For thus did we: and this I know

to live here's more than

 just to be.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Until next month, signing off and

wishing you a sunny August.