May and June 2017

A combined blog for May and June this time,

due to lack of time because of all the lovely visitors we've had,

forcing us to eat, drink and be merry

instead of working on the croft ..

Penny from Suffolk

Jan from Dumfries and Galloway and friend Julie from America

Millie, Dave and Neil from Portsmouth

Malcolm's sister, Barb, from Madeira

Eddie, Christine and Johnnie from Dorset

Penny and Chris from Dumfries and Galloway

So now it's catch up time; no planting, no eating !

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One of the many jobs to be done on the croft is to pull up bracken, 

which is poisonous to horses:

it's one of those jobs that as fast as you do it

more bracken is growing behind you just as quickly !

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As usual I have to include photos of our great little jack russel terrier

who makes us laugh every day.

Wilma : "I don't care if you think I look scruffy .......

...I can look clean and tidy when the need arises "

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Zara has been making herself at home on the croft ...

she likes to look in through the windows to see what's going on

and join us for coffee

and chill out with the gang now and again

and her friend Katie comes for a sleep over

Zara checking out the progress of the hay store / field shelter

and hopefully Zara will use the middle post for scratching her large, round bottom
instead of using the back of the car !!

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It has been a wonderful time for watching all the young birds appearing.

In a derelict croft house just across the road from us a pair of stunning barn owls

are bringing up their new young,

they have the whole house all to themselves

perching quietly on the open sash window

This grainy close up just reminds me of an impressionist painting

You can just about make out these fluffy robin chicks

the parents chose to make a nest 

at the bottom of a long basket hanging in the untidy store.

Birds have been nesting everywhere, 

these sparrows were nesting in the air vent from the bathroom

It has been so entertaining watching the parents feeding  their very hungry young

Fortunately Lulu is content just watching the birds from the kitchen window sill

A frequent visiting seagull has worked out how to get the fat balls on to the ground

and enjoys a quiet feast all to himself !

and then the geese come round to see if there is anything left for them

and finally at dusk, the mice come out to finish off ,
nothing goes to waste.

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Round and about the croft ..

rainbows over Loch Ewe

bluebells, buttercups and daisies

evening sky over Loch Ewe

gate to the shore from the croft

pied wagtail taking a drink

Loch Tollie

bumper strawberries from the croft

It is amazing that we grow anything at all,
with waddling geese, scratching hens, mice, a digging terrier, a free-range horse
and now great big hairy caterpillars !!!

This is a photograph of bank holiday traffic in our part of the Highlands.

Love it !!!

A bit of fun 

and a beautiful white cat in a friend's garden

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Malcolm has been giving some master classes in silver jewellery making in the barn,
bringing out his old skills

Gill took the health and safety issues very seriously !

All smiles, we've made our first silver ring!
along the way we learnt many skills: sawing, bending, annealing, soldering, filing,
and polishing

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A group of us crofters and local residents recently walked the hills 
with aspirations of reforesting the local hills and common grazings

just a small project covering about 100 acres !


Watch this space

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Book of the month


This is a delightful little book, with great photographs
and loads of ideas, a book for sharing.

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Quote of the month




"A society grows great when old men plant trees
whose shade they know they know they shall never sit in"



Greek proverb

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If anyone is in the Aultbea area on 8th July
you may be interested in this poster

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Wishing you all a glorious, warm July,

from June and Malcolm

xxxxx

Apri 2017

Another month has whizzed past
and in between the blizzards there has been some lovely sunshine.

One of our geese has been laying some beautiful white eggs ....

and has made a lovely cosy nest
although she hasn't quite got the hang of the idea that she needs to sit on them !

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Nothing much seems to have got done this month but when I look back
at this month's photographs I begin to see why ....

Getting to know Zara and just chilling out with her has been wonderful
and lots of very kind friends have given Zara all sorts of presents,
from rugs and saddles to hay bins and lead ropes,
thank you to all of you.

Like all the animals on our croft Zara takes the art of sleeping very seriously,
pretty relaxed in her new home I'd say

When the camera comes out Wilma is never far away
especially as she thinks Zara is getting way too much attention !

and anything Zara can do ...

Wilma thinks she can do better !

and Wilma is ever hopeful that there may just be something left in the bowl,
fat chance of that happening !

Wilma  is desperate to become friends though even if there is no food left

Perhaps the double egg yolk that cracked into Wilma's bowl
is a sentiment of her love of food.

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On a day trip to Nairn, 6 miles from Inverness
we stopped for a cuppa at a lovely park tearoom next to the beach there
and what made it both really pleasurable at the time and memorable
was that tartan blankets were on the chairs outside
and for no charge you could have a fleece-covered hot water bottle to keep you warm
whilst you drank you tea or ate your ice cream !

Now that's a novel way to keep your customers happy and coming back.

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Happiness is a pony by the sea and a great friend to help me.

Will I ever get any work done on the croft ?


Wishing you all happy May bank holidays

June and Malcolm
xxxx

March 2017

Lots of lovely things have been happening this month.

A new addition joined us on the croft, my first ever, very own pony !

Here is Zara,
arriving calm and relaxed after her four hour journey from Caithness,
having been transported by Eric Gillie transportation;
a fabulous company, who I highly recommend, excellent in every way,
from the office staff to final delivery.

Thank you to all at Eric Gillie

As you can see Zara has settled in well and enjoying the Highland sunshine,
she is a real sweetie.

Malcolm's Mum getting to know Zara.

Already Zara has her own little fan club,
with Maisey and Liza willing candidates for grooming and loving.

Wilma has recently decided that she too enjoys a nice tasty carrot
and that they're not just for horses.

One piece of advice that my lovely Dad gave me was
"never to buy anything that eats while you sleep", ie a horse.

This was one piece of advice that I obviously didn't take any notice of
and yes that is my Dad in the above photo with my brother taken in about 1953.

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Aultbea continues to have it's weekly pop-up café in the village hall,
with a different group running it every week
but without exception every week the cakes and soup are always very yummy !!

Well done to all the local bakers !

Malcolm's Mum ready and waiting for her coffee and cake.

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On a trip to Caithness, driving through Lairg
we came across a wee model cottage on a wee little island ....

and on the way home
the wee cottage was all beautifully lit up, most unexpected !

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A happy morning was spent at the GALE (Gairloch And Loch Ewe) Centre

with Leah giving a hands-on demonstration of felting techniques.

Malcolm's Mum joined in with the wet felting,
proving that at 92 it's never too old to learn a new skill
or make new friends !

Learning and lively banter.

All eyes and ears on Leah.

Some of the brightly coloured samples as part of the learning techniques,

thank you Leah for a great morning !

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This next poster speaks for itself

and this particular crowdfunding idea is catching on all over the place;

it's a bit like the "Dragon's Den"

and each of the 4 projects were given 10 minutes to pitch their case

and a further 5 minutes to answer peoples' questions.

We went just out of interest but it was great fun and did some good at the same time.

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In the Highlands there are relatively few people

and so as not to be left out many services and facilities are mobile and come to us.

This month a mobile planetarium came to town !

Intrigued we just had to go and have a look and we were not disappointed.

With about 40 people inside, most laying down on the mats,

it was very cosy and lasted for about an hour

and all for a fiver !

One of the views in the planetarium

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Aultbea has been making plans to build a desperately needed new village hall

for some years now; unfortunately Aultbea has not been granted

the lottery funds it needs to proceed with this project.

So we need to put on our thinking caps again....

Alistair has already put on his thinking cap and is still smiling

and together we will all "make Aultbea great again!"

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A reminder to drivers travelling in the Highlands at dusk and at night......

BEWARE THE DEER

there are hundreds of them, they're big, they're fast and they spring out of nowhere.

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Just liked these table reflections .....

and some old floats hanging in a crofter's barn

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Until next month we wish you sunshine

and a very happy Easter

from June and Malcolm

xxxxxx