June 2024

Welcome everyone to our June 2024 blog. For me it's been a very exciting month with the arrival of an Icelandic pony, "Mr Blonde", arriving on the ferry.

As with everything that arrives on North Ronaldsay, that is too big to arrive on the plane,  it has to be craned off of the ferry onto the pier.

So here he comes, gently flying though the air at the skillful hands of the crane driver.

the final leg of his journey was to be driven the three miles to our croft

 

 After about an hour of meeting Zara over the wall

it was obvious that they wanted to be together

 

 and haven't been separated since

 

 

 

 just the right height for each other and similar ages, Mr Blonde being 19 and Zara 24

Mr Blonde has the most wonderful mane and tail ! possibly the thickest I've ever seen

 

 

 he is an absolute star !!!!

 

 

 

 

 Happiness is .....

2 ponies in love with each other 

💙     💘

 

 

Thank you to Pauline, Toots, Margaret, Billy and everyone involved in finding Mr Blonde and bringing him safely to North Ronaldsay

💛💛💛💛💛

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 Around the island

 

 

 The Island Sky cruise ship anchoring off of Bewan Pier looking spectacular in the evening sun, one of two cruise ships visiting the island this month and with just 120 passengers it is one of the smaller ships

A welcoming party helping the cruise folk from the small Zodiac boats and along the slippery rocks as it was a very low tide

all ninety folk who came ashore enjoyed a variety of pursuits from guided bird watching, ancient sites, lighthouse tours and coffee and cake

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 Books of the month

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Thank you Suffolk friends, Peter and Bridget, for recommending these two books, see you again next year perhaps 

 
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Website recommendation

If you like grasses, delightful poetry and stunning photography I feel sure you will enjoy this project created by Valerie Gillies and Rebecca Marr

https:whenthegrassdances.art

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 and thank you Rebecca Marr for these next photos, we wish you well with your current project of a photographic census that will be for the island archive

 

 

 

 

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So from all of us on the croft we wish you all a wonderful summer, that hasn't quite arrived on North Ronaldsay yet,

June and Malcolm

💛💛💛💛💛

🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞

May 2024

Hello everyone, welcome to our May blog, enjoy with a cuppa.

    the beautiful colours of May on the croft

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The fireplace has now been redone

and Wilma is enjoying the new stove

The flimsy, draughty back door has been replaced,

so next winter we'll be much warmer

Around the island this month

blue skies over the foghorn

the mist and fog this month has meant that quite a few flights to and from the island have had to be cancelled

this is my latest swimming spot, my personal natural swimming pool a couple of hundred yards from my back door, love it !

the painted bands around the lighthouse are "day markers" to the passing shipping vessels

some cute visitors on a recent lighthouse tour !

flying the Northern Lighthouse Board flag

                the old lighthouse keepers' cottages               (and the communication mast that I usually try to avoid in my photographs)

a calm evening, looking towards the old beacon

a little bit of gruesome history on the common grazing

if you look very closely out on a walk at this time of year you will find this pretty little flower,

 Spring Squill

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Quote of the month

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Books of the month

Thank you Maria & Serge for sending us this wonderful book ! we enjoyed it so much we're on our second readings !

 

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Our friend Anne has recently published a book "He's Behind You"

it's the seventeen North Ronaldsay Pantomines 

that her late husband Sid wrote and were performed on the island,

 please get in touch if you would like a copy

well done Anne xx

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Raindrops on Zara's tail

love these 💛

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it was a pleasure to meet Kat and Ian from Ontario and show them our cottage and croft as Ian's great, great grandfather used to live in our cottage.

Wishing you both happy travels

 

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Malcolm has been enjoying himself with his recent skill of stone carving

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In the greenhouse,

 the beginnings of our first grapes

and the beginnings of our first peaches

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Pause for thought

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Very excited !!!!!!

 

In a weeks time a new member will be joining us on the croft, a boyfriend for Zara, a handsome Icelandic pony

 

his Icelandic name is Snjall, but is known as

 Mr Blonde

more details and photographs in next month's blog !

 

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So from all of us on a sun-drenched island in the North  Sea we wish you all a fabulous month of sunshine and blooms

June and Malolm

💛 🌷  🌸  🌹  🌺  🌻 🌼 💛