Will-power

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J & D > The ferry left early in the morning, we were aboard as foot passengers. Due to the social distancing requirements, the capacity of the ferry was limited by the seating layout, rather than area of the vehicle deck, and with about 8 passengers in all the huge ferry was said to be pretty full! The others were truck drivers, and crofters taking cattle to the markets in Oban.

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Re-opening

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J & D > As of yesterday, the 29th June, in Scotland, non-essential shops accessible directly from the street have been permitted to re-open. However, it’s on the 3rd of July – just three days away! – that restrictions on travel in Scotland will be lifted (including restrictions on the ferries) and completely self-contained self-catering holiday accommodation can re-open.

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Spotted the Lesser

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J > Now that we don’t keep chickens on the croft, there’s a vacuum that’s being filled by wildlife. Thus are the hollows in the turf-and-rock ramparts of the old stack yard now healing with new grass ; except, that is, one hollow, which has been taken up by a female Lesser Black-Backed Gull.   Whilst her partner patrols overhead,  surfing the sea breazes, she has made her nest, laid three spotted-green eggs, and now has two spotted-grey-brown chicks, that are easily missed when they hunker down amongst the bare rocks of the ramparts.

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Sleep of Innocence

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Navarra : Enaut’s first ‘climb’ (with a little help from his dad!)
Enaut Alonso-Bridge : The sleep of the innocent
Enaut’s favourite bed-time reading – apparently!

Liquidation Installation

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It could be a garden-related art installation : in which case the mass of plastic pots congesting the garden paths would be nicely symbolic of the massive accumulation of pots of various colours, shapes and sizes in the work-shed, upstairs in the storage loft. But if this is symbolic of anything, it’s of the need to liquidate assets in a time of crisis.

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Last Potatoes of 2019

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D > The last potatoes (roasted) from those we grew last year.   2019’s crop of potatoes wasn’t the heaviest we’ve had, but they stored very well : not a single potato had to be thrown away. Just a short break until the first of the fresh-dug new potatoes!

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Sweet Gale

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D > J and I have recently been collecting some early Bog Myrtle [aka Sweet Gale] leaves from the Eiseabhal common grazings just up the lane – there are vast areas of it there.  I’ve been in the dyeshed making some colour with four types of mordant.

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Oystercatchers – Gille Bhrìghde

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J & D > The Oystercatcher is a wading bird that forages on the shore and on marshy ground nearby, feeding on invertebrates.  The English language name belies the fact that it does not dive to the sea bed to retrieve oysters. The Scots Gaelic name for this bird comes with an interesting story attached ; and like all the best stories, there’s a grain of truth.

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Frustrations

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J > Recently, on a day of strong winds and driving rain, Denise went into the motorhome to find or check something, and came back with the troubling news of damp patches on the ceiling. I had to go out in the rain and fix up a temporary protection, until a better day for me to look into it.  Fortunately it wasn’t difficult to find the problem.

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Sundowner

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D > We’ve been lifting and dividing some too-big-for-their-boots phormiums, including a Phormium tenax ‘Sundowner’.  When they are mature, the leaves are streaked with greens tinged with brown, red tinged with gold.  Young leaves, however, have brighter colouring : the red is nearly pink, the gold is nearer to yellow, and the green has a hint of blue.

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