Recently, a guest staying at one of our two holiday cottages bought one our largest Harris Tweed cushions ; but on returning home was so pleased with how the cushion complemented her furnishings, she contacted us to request another cushion. She didn’t want identical cushions – she was looking for designs that would contrast with eachother, yet all would settle in well in her home.
Continue reading →In Navarra it’s high summer, very high temperatures, and high time for a fiesta! And at the San Martìn fiestas, as in so many other towns and villages throughout Navarra, high up above the throng of fiesta-goers are the heads of the gigantes – in this case the four kings and queens. Traditionally, the the giant kings walk – or even dance – thanks to a burly-built human inside each of them!
Continue reading →This year I’m making wine with the Careless gooseberries only when they are fully ripe (deep red, soft and sweet). I’m hoping that this method will result in a more appealing wine. Well, the fermentation has now slowed somewhat, and I have transferred the brew from the fermentation bucket to a demi-john : now we have to wait and see!
Continue reading →In the Outer Hebrides, starlings are generally resident year-round, and have developed into a sub-species of starling that retains its summer plumage throughout the year. As elsewhere, they are highly social creatures that flock together in large numbers as the sun sets. They often settle for the night amongst the trees in the walled garden, and on this occasion, having heard a lot of noise coming from the south-west corner of the garden, we went to the east bedroom to investigate.
Continue reading →Crofting is, historically, a form of subsistance farming. First and foremost, it’s about feeding the family. And it’s just that – what we came into crofting for in the first place – that we are continuing with. Not least because we cannot face a life without eggs that have the unique colour and flavour that’s characteristic of this place.
Continue reading →It’s mid-July, and the wild flowers of Uist are at their most abundant, colourful, diverse and glorious!
Continue reading →Mugwort is a plant with numerous traditional uses, including as a treatment for malaria, depression, joint pain, and a great deal more. But it’s the use as a dye stuff that got us interested, and having read up on the subject, back at home, we immediately set out once again to the track through the dunes at Smercleit where we had found numerous large specimens of the plant.
Continue reading →We’ve been feasting on radishes, lettuces and other salads and herbs for quite a while, but it’s the arrival of the ‘main attractions’ that mark out the seasons. The first potatoes (Charlotte) and tomatoes (Alicante) were harvested almost a week ago, marking the start of the season of plenty!
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Denise > Much to my surprise, the colour the blue Delphinium petals yielded in the dye pot was actually blue!
Continue reading →Today was forecast to be the last day of day-long sunshine before another longish spell of rain and wind, so we shut the Hebridean Woolshed and set up camp (with the motorhome) at the Loch Druidibeag car park, for a day of walking and discovery.
Continue reading →A Marsh Warbler this far north would certainly have been noteworthy, but a Sedge Warbler is very nice to have in our re-wilded ‘creek’ area.
Continue reading →If there’s one thing that’s certain, it’s that in future we’ll be travelling more often, and travelling long distances, too. And that new era started with a flight to Glasgow, then on to Bristol, and after a night at a hotel in the city centre, by bus out to Warmley – on the eastern edge of Bristol – to collect the new vehicle.
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![Stadhlaigearraidh Machair, South Uist : View to Thacla [Hecla]](https://i0.wp.com/biggarden.scot/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/20190716-37.jpg?fit=400%2C267&ssl=1)
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