March 2025

 Hi everyone, welcome 😊, hope you enjoy this month's selection of island pastimes.

The roadways of North Ronaldsay at the moment are fringed with daffodils and look fabulous

and the waves have been great,

here it comes....

get ready.....

whooshhh....

swans taking in the sunshine by the lighthouse

the fulmars are back on Nouster Beach ready for the breeding season

and a lone seal coming into the shallow water

a calm, sun lit day on Nouster Beach

You are never alone on a walk on North Ronaldsay 

~~~~~~

This month North Ronaldsay hosted it's own three day Science Festival

an amazing three days filled with fab activities and talks for every age group ~

thank you Alex and everyone involved for making this event such a success 😊

~~~~~~~

This is another rather lovely exhibition starting this month, in Stromness at the Pier Arts Centre, featuring some of the hundreds of photographs taken by Dr Beatrice Garvie during her time on North Ronaldsay in 1940's

Thank you Fiona for all your wonderful work bringing this together 😊

~~~~~~~

A recent visitor to the island, Ed Bollom, took some amazing drone photographs over our croft,

it was fabulous to see our cottage and croft in a whole new light !

it highlighted that some things are still a work in progress, like putting a roof on the newly built pony shelter when the wind drops !

beyond the garden wall you can make out some of the pony tracks to their favourite spots and you can just make them out near the far wall sunbathing 😋

in the next photo, these round stone structures about 200 yards from our cottage are called "crues" and were originally allocated to the crofting families to grow their vegetables, the 4 foot high walls kept the  crops from the wind and away from the sheep !

there are 21 crues in all along the shore of the north coast

Thank you so much Ed, brilliant ! 😊

looking forward to seeing you again later this year

~~~~~~~

Book of the month

(from 1000 Libraries's Facebook page)

and this one certainly does !

having watched the latest series of The Great Pottery Throw Down ( I didn't know about the previous seven series !!!! ) I feel drawn again to pick up some clay and make things !

buying the clay is the cheap part, buying the kiln is the bit that makes the purse strings squeak !!

~~~~~

Pause for thought

(from Happy Home Facebook page)

~~~~~~

Wilma says "let sleeping dogs lie "

Tilly cat says "do not disturb, I'm sunbathing ! "

and Mr Blonde and Zara are being too busy with each other

so from me and 'im in the greenhouse it's

(from Mermaid Musings Facebook page)

wishing you all a lovely happy, sunny April and Easter weekend

🐣  🐣  🐣  🐣  🐣

Malcolm and June

💙     💜