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Well, I`ve never had an online journal before, and now I have one, me mind`s gone blank!
Well, I live on Sanday, have done for some years now, with my partner and my grown son. For a living, I hand tan sheepskins and cowhide. I love this island, warts and all, though maybe I`d already had a taste of what island life would be like afore I moved here as I lived on South Uist at one point, in the Hebrides.
We live in a wee hoose with some beasts, the much scorned goats, cats and a collie, geese and ducks and hens.
I`m a quiet kind of biddy, liking to keep meself to meself, don`t go out much (see now, I knew this would be boring, so am not surprised if no-one reads it!) and just getting on with life.
Like describing meself as a `hermit`, because with no social graces whatsoever I do get tongue tied around folks and so they think I`m an anti social wifie a`thegither...whereas, I`m just shy really...:D
Life on an island has it`s own pace...a quiet and steady one. That`s one of the attractive things for me. If I had to change only one thing, it`d be the weather, and sure I cannot be the only one saying that!
The winds howl and the rain makes the track muddy and fills the potholes and is death to car exhausts. Ever notice that no matter how many times you fill in the potholes, next time it rains heavy, the chippy stanes get flushed right back oot again!?
It`s a good job I`ve mair ducks than hens..they can swim at least, and they need to lately with the rain we had recently. :D

Been watching the news of this bird flu doon sooth. Am right glad it`s no up this way yet. Not because I`m feared o catching it, but for all the lockdown rules and regs that apply when it turns up. Given the amount of wild birds we get to the island I`m also surprised we haven`t had it yet, but am glad we haven`t.
There`s a wee pond at the side of oor track, it has swans on it every winter. I always watch oot for them coming in, and the other wild birds....I guess I should go on one o` they ranger walks, but with work and the state of me health maybe not...but I recognise one or two of the birds...the wild mallards, waders and curlews and plovers, though the group of herons that used to come to the pond are getting less every year, which is kind of sad.

They are sorting the road at the bottom of oor track this month too...every time we`d a gale the sea washed up rocks and weed and rubbish onto the road and the council have to get the big machinery oot to clear it awa` again.
So the road will be closed for aboot a month, and they`ll maybe be building some sea defences to stop the gales trying to build the Sanday coastline up wi` mair big rocks and seaweed!

Well, that`s aboot all I can think o`, for me first blog. Sorry if anyone reads this and goes tae sleep ower it! Hopefully next time I`ll have something mair interesting to write aboot. :D

We had snow yesterday! I love snow. Granted, it only fell for a peedie while, and didn`t lie, but it was fair pretty to see, big fat white flakes of it drifting down in that hush and quiet you only get with decent snow.
I`m hoping we get mair the day, although other folks will be hoping it stays away.
I lived in Sutherland and got used to snow, plenty o` it, heaped and piled up ootside the door so that on occasion me dad had to dig us oot! One of my earliest and abiding memories is of being taken down to the burn at the bottom o` the field in the middle o` the nicht, through a deep and softly glowing snowfall, to stand quiet and watch wild red deer drink at the burn. The whole thing had something o` magic aboot it, the breath of the deer misting the air, the snow falling and melting on their flanks, and the hush of the nicht that made you feel like you were the only ones awake at all.
When I was a wee lassie (a long time ago noo!) I mind being shunted off oot to play in the snow, by me mam, trying to get the hoosework done and the dinner ready, bundled up in layers of scratchy woolly jumpers and hats and gloves, and me and me wee sister would spend hours makin` snow folks...I mind fine the mermaid I made, withoot a neck because if I put a neck on it, the heid fell off! And the snow horse, lying doon because we couldnae do legs oot o` snow...and we`d try to build an igloo, just building the snow up aroon us and trying to shape it into some wee kind o` roond hoose.
By the time we were called in for dinner, we were dripping wet and great muckle clumps o` snow stuck to oor wellies and made us have feet three sizes too big. Me mam had to thaw us oot, and get dry claes on us, so there would be steaming piles o` thawing claes in front o` the range.
I do get a wee bit sad, that the days bairns rarely see such snow falls nowadays. This time last year here on isle, we had a decent week o` it, but it never lasts like it used to when I was wee. I hope me ain grandbairns will manage to see at least one winter o` decent, deep snow in their lifetime.

Well, looking oot the window this morning, there has been nae mair o` it, it just looks damp and cauld, wi` nae snow at a`. The weather forecast is promising snow showers later, but I bet it`ll no lie at a`. At least the wind has dropped. The last gale destroyed twa o` me chicken hutches, just lifted them ower the dyke to the next field and dumped them doon in the grass! When we got them back again, it was to find a whole side had been ripped off one, and the other also had a hole in it where the wind took the wood awa`. So they`ve been hauled into the garage and are waiting for the other half to repair them. Chicken hutches dinnae come cheap (hee hee..sorry) nowadays, so we need to repair them soon.
I`ve seen some odd things because o` the wind living here. I have seen things you wouldnae think the wind would lift...the chicken runs, all wire mesh and little else...be lifted twa fields awa`, and yet the upturned wheelbarrow right next to it still left in the same spot.
The last gale we had, I`d to walk oot aroond the side o` the hoose to the garage wall, to get in a frame for stringing sheepskins on...this frame is only two by ones, nothing else..but the wind lifted it as I was carrying it, and knocked me flat on me backside into the mud afore depositing the frame ower the garden wall....I felt right foolish, squelching me way back into the hoose to get cleaned up and having to ask me son to retrieve the frame for me....it made me view me size in a new light...I`m only five foot high, but still thought I was fairly solid for all that....:D
so maybe the next time I`ve tae gaun oot in the wind, I might tie meself to a boulder just in case....

One o` the bonniest things aboot living on this island are the skies...great vast spaces that just fairly shine at night. A clear patch of sky throws up glittering icy points o` light that entrance your eyes and have you walking back indoors with a crick in the neck for staring so long. But we have bonny skyscapes here and I wouldnae swap them for the orange tinted nights o` the sooth.

Yesterday, the field at the front was covered in flocks o` wild geese. I have some geese o` me ain, half a dozen fat white things that are presently eating us oot o hoose and hame...but I watched them go right up to the fence to look at their wild cousins. Me overactive imagination saw them hankering after the wild flight o` their cousins and I wondered if they wished they could take wing and fly after them. The wild geese, being wild, and tough, and probably thinking themselves superior, ignored my domesticated brood steadfastly.
But then, my own geese are housed at nights, and grain fed, and fine and fat and I seriously doubt even if they tried, they could take to the air.

I`m an insomniac of sorts. So here I am, up afore the rest o` the hoosehold, typing on the laptop, been up since 4am. It`s still dark out there..well, darkish...thon`s a bright and bonny moon...and hail is pelting off the window, right hard a sound, it is.
Friends I have frae doon sooth say they had snow yesterday. Meanwhile, we`d another day o` glorious sunshine...I could stand out the front o` the hoose, looking ower towards Stronsay, and see the sunlight paint the water wi` liquid gold and roll it`s soft winter light across the fields, where the sheep grazed and enjoyed the illusion of warmth for a change. If I squinted a little to ignore the fact me rose bushes were bare nekked wi`oot ony leaves, I could kid meself it was something like summer.
That`s no` normal, I tell ye, in February!
Me ain geese positively basked in the sunshine. Even oor auld collie Lassie lolled in front o` the hoose with a sleepy eyed look. Nope, no` normal, it wasnae.
So I`m still hoping we get some snow yet, and a proper winter, nane o` the grey wet stuff called rain either! Proper, white, soft, deep snow.
It`s no` a popular view mind you! Everyone complains aboot climate change on the one hand, but moans if it gets cauld or we get an inch o` snow on the other! There`s nae pleasing some folks.

The other half made a start at repairing oor storm damaged chicken hutches yesterday. Come spring we`ll need them to put any hatched chicks and mums in. I also house the hatched ducklings and mums in them too to protect them from the big, hungry blackbacked gulls. I have stood and watched one o` them swoop doon and in one smooth gulp, steal one o` me wee new ducklings and swallow it live, and whole! Stood and watched, because it was over and done in a peedie blink and I couldnae have gotten to it in time. And the gulls are brazen aboot it! They will do this then stand for a while and look at ye with beady eyes as if tae say "Aye...and whit are you goin` tae dae aboot it?"
Not a fan o` the blackbacks, me. And then there`s the jackdaws which also steal both duck eggs and young. So the minute they`re hatched, into the hutches and runs they go.
Mind you, I have seen some funny things ower the years...a duck had hidden a nest o` eggs deep in the dog rose bushes, and I hadnae seen it. The eggs were duds...but one day I watched a jackdaw steal one o` them, but because it was a hefty size o` an egg, it got only a few yards afore it dropped it, then just as it swooped after it to retrieve it, the egg hit the ground and exploded in a mess of stinking, putrid, rotten-ness....that jackdaw let oot a great croak and veered off pretty sharpish...och, I ken they`ve tae feed themselves too...but I did feel a little sense o` natural justice.....
It`s nae wonder ducks hatch so many young mind you...they`re no` the best o` mothers. They will roll over their own young in the water trough, stand on them and squash them in the rush to get to any food, and plain just leave them stranded in the middle o` a field whilst they wander off on their own business. Between that and the gulls, it`s a wonder tae me ony o` them mak it at a`....
But each year I always get around a couple o` dozen fine healthy ducklings, and they usually mak` it, and provide a good source o` meat throughout the year.


There is to be a Sanday Sunday event come August. I`m to do a wee stint with my Viking Age warp weighted loom! Me and the other half used to belong to a reenactment group until work pressures meant we`d to leave it, and he made this replica of the loom for that. We take it for granted, being able to walk into a shop and buy cloth or clothes or blankets etc nowadays. But back then you`d tae dae it a` frae scratch. This shows just how time consuming that was. I`m looking forward tae it...it`s a test of courage o` sorts for me...because I`m a hermit and awfy shy, like.....but I`m looking forward tae it. :D

I have an outbuilding where I tan me skins. At one part o` the process they are laid oot, stacked, on a pallet. I lock up the workshop securely every night. The other night I`d four fine white sheepskins, all neatly stacked, and in I went in the morning to work on them.
They`d been eaten!! Great big chunks o` them taken from the edges and the middles nibbled and holed to ruination!
Oh, was I ever mad!
The evidence was there for me to see...rat poop, large enough to conjure up images of puppy sized beasts waiting in the shadows with fine sharp teeth....curse me overactive imagination....
So indoors I run to the other half...well, he`s a man, and it is the mans job to face unseen dangers and protect the wummin frae harmful beasties, is it not?
Apparently not. "We`ll have to put poison down"...
"Well, whit dae I dae in the meantime though?"
*Shrugs*...."I`ll have a look for any holes and stop them up in a wee while"...
So back I went to fully inspect the damage...four fine white sheepskins, thrown oot. The workshop scoured and the one solitary hole...in the ceiling!!...found and boarded up, a temporary solution. And the shop was visited, rat poison bought and laid, and the workshop securely locked and in the morning, the poison had been taken, which brought me a sigh of relief I can tell ye!
See, I admire rats...tough and intelligent, they are, hardy and wily and one o` natures grand survivors.
And I dinnae mind them oot in the byres to an extent...they are attracted to the grain spillage and leftover bits o` meal frae the hens and goats and the sheep. I`ve watched goats stomp a rat tae death, then pick it up and toss it into the water vat just to mak` sure it`s deid...they dinnae like rats, goats.
But the minute they start eating me stock, that`s it! I declare war!
Each year, we see the rats come into the ootbuildings frae the surrounding fields, and up frae the beach. We usually lay poison twice a year and it seems to work and keep them doon tae a manageable level. But this year they have encroached whar they didnae afore....MY territory....grrrrrrrrrrrr.....
we did try using thon humane traps once....in the morning, in one o` them, there she was, mammy rat wi` a parcel o bairns. So in a rare moment of compassion, I took the cage doon tae the pond and let them go.
Next day, same trap, the same family were richt back in there!
So poison it is. We are richt careful o` handling it and it is always put in places inaccessible tae oor cats and ither beasts. I dinnae like using it, but am mindful o` me ain livelihood and the risk o` spread disease frae them. So, poison it is, I`m afraid...

And we still didnae get snow! Had hail..it fair pelted off the windaes and the corrugated plastic roof o` the porch, pretty fierce it was an` a`...but nae snow...
how and ever, the fellas at the met office have promised the north snow for the weekend..tomorrow...I`ll believe it when I see it mind!...No` known for their accuracy, the met office...every time I look at the weather map on telly, ye cannae see whit Orkney looks like, for it`s always under a wee cloud with raindrops under it!

We have a family o` moorhens in the field next door. They visit oor garden to scoop up some o` the grain we put oot for the geese, who chase them off when they get too close...so the wee moorhens wait til the geese are fully fed and have moved awa`, then in they come, pecking at the wee drap grain, keeping a wary eye oot for the big white birds that dinnae like intruders. It`s nae wonder geese used to be used for guard dogs....the racket they mak` is enough to chase onybody awa`!

We have one auld sheep. We had him frae a lamb, bottle fed him, and kept him for a grasscutter. We never use oor lawnmower, so he works just fine! But the size o` him! Ye can see what happens tae sheep when they dinnae go to the butcher....I`m five foot nothing. His heid reaches me chest. He`s massively wide and has nae sense o` personal space so when we go in the byre tae feed the beasts, he comes tanking oot o` the stall toward us and we`ve sometimes tae run for cover...a humiliating thing, running awa` frae a sheep! But he is wide and solid, and has knocked me doon on mair than ane occasion. Like an ower enthusiastic pup, he likes tae mak` sure he will be the first fed.
The auld one has a touch o` arthritis in his knees nooadays, but otherwise is daeing just fine. Still thinks he`s a lamb the minute the sun comes oot. Has the deepest `Baaaah` I`ve ever heard, a rumbling bass sound ye widnae like tae hear on a dark nicht alone....
The billygoat we have is his mortal enemy. They hate each other. A couple o` years back they both got off their tethers and set to. The billy has a fine spread o` horns near on three feet across. He took a run at the sheep and heid butted him, and then stood back triumphantly. The sheep just looked as if tae say "Wis that it?" then took his ain turn. He walloped the billy in the side and the billy went doon, and took a full five minutes tae get up again, so winded was he!
Sheep just walked off and got on wi` eating the grass...he`d won, far as he wis concerned...
The billygoat was fine, but he never learned no` tae try and tak` oot the sheep, and so they still to this day hate each other on sight, so we`ve tae keep them well apart.
I have nae names for me beasts. I figure, they come tae whatever I call them, and often just tae the shake o` a bucket with grain in it. The only time I named onything was when I`d tae tak` me cats tae the vet on mainland tae have them done. Filling in the forms, I was asked whit they were called and had tae think up names for all four cats on the spot! The woman ahind the desk clearly thought I was a tanner short o` a bob...
so the goats are just called `Goat` or `Hey you!` and sheep is just called `Sheep`, which they a` answer tae fine enough.
It`s only oor dogs have names, and that is almost always because we inherit them already named frae ither folks.

I`m looking at the news and the fuss over the bird flu doon sooth. Then I mind on me ain hens and ducks. which all just wander aboot ootside during the day, going where they like, me ducks mixing wi` the wild mallards on the pond, me hens trying tae catch the starlings and blackbirds, and keep me fingers crossed it doesnae mak` it up this way. Even if we have tae keep the birds in, oor auld barns are so full o` holes and cracks in the stane walls, wild birds nest in the eaves every year, so we have nae hope at a` o` keeping them oot.
Just have tae hope, I guess.

Well, we seem to be getting on top of oor rat problem....for three nights all the dishes of poison were emptied...I just dread tae think how many rats there were! Cunning wee blighters, that dinnae let themselves be seen.
And their nesting site was found in one o` the outbuildings and destroyed and baited. So, fingers crossed, that is it. I had tae put me work on hold for those few days so as no` tae risk having ony mair skins eaten. But tomorrow, I`ll be back in me workshop, hopefully rat-proof and withoot me being sae nervous I keep casting edgy glances at the shadowy corners o` the room waiting tae see beady wee eyes ravenously watching til I leave the place so they can come oot and eat me work!
In the meantime, I took delivery o` a parcel o` quails eggs, bound for incubation in me wee incubator. Noo, I dinnae see at a`, why thon rich folks pay ower the odds for a half dozen quails eggs...they only taste like peedier chicken eggs! But I didnae get them tae breed tae sell, I got them tae keep for oor ain selves. Besides, they`re thon wee button quail, wi` chicks the size o` bumble bees, and eggs like wrens eggs, so I figure it wid tak aboot a dozen o` them tae mak a decent fried egg!
Into the incubator they went, where they are `ticking` awa` merrily, and hopefully in some 18 tae 20 days I`ll hae a clutch o` tiny quail for the brooder box.
And seeing as this is tae be me first time keeping such birds, onto the internet I went tae look for extra information on them. So I found oot, if they get startled, they shoot right up intae the air and can literally kill themselves if the roof o` their box is solid!
No` verra bright birds then, quail...so I am having the other half mak me a box for them wi` fine mesh for a roof, wi` some give in it, so if they do what is apparently called `bonking`....they`ll no` knock themselves oot.
I also found oot that the males crow like cockerels. I am having a hard time imagining what like something the size of half o` me hand will sound like, crowing....
Noisy birds, I am used tae...there are three cockerels left in me ain flock of chickens, we have tae keep them seperated so they are in different areas, all wi` their ain wee harem, but ye should hear them during the summer nichts! Wha said cockerels only crow at dawn? They lie! They can crow a` nicht long! They have competitions at it! How they dinnae gie themselves hen hernias wi` the strain o` seeing who can crow loudest and longest, I dinnae ken.
Most o` oor spare cockerels go into the soup pot, and these three are the last ones left oot o` last years batch. Any mair of the all-nicht racket, and we might just be having lots o` chicken soup again soon.

Also this year I am going to try hatching pheasant eggs. They have pheasant on mainland Orkney, but nane oot here on Sanday. I was brought up by me dad, an old time poacher, who poached for oor ain table. So I got used tae eating pheasant, venison, and the odd coo and sheep, wi` rabbit and hare and salmon. And I mind me and me sister wid complain tae me mam..."Och mam, can we no` have thon beefburgers and fish fingers like the other bairns have?" and me dad wid gie us this `look` and say "One day you`ll think yourself lucky ye were sae well fed".
He was right!
I miss the taste o` pheasant and venison and cannae afford thon shop and butcher prices they charge for the bland tasting farmed stuff...nae comparism.
Sometimes me son in law, a farmer on mainland, sends me ower some hare he has shot. I tan the skins and eat the meat in a game pie wi` wild Sanday rabbit and the occasional pigeon.
Nooadays, though, youngsters turn their noses up at this kind o` fare. I even ken some youngsters who`ve never tasted real mutton!
So anyway, I am going to try to hatch pheasant eggs, and keep us in a supply o` pheasant. We have some fine pheasant recipes, handed doon frae me granny.

We never did get ony snow. So I think that has been it then, as far as winter goes, on Sanday. Me lassie phoned one day fae mainland tae say they had a dusting o` it ower there. I was fair jealous! All we get is winds and rain, and plenty o` both! The past twa days were calm and sunny...me son went ower tae mainland on the ferry tae pick up some shopping there. He is fine on even the roughest ferry crossing. I get seasick on a puddle! I have gotten onto the ferry some days, and watched the crew batten down the doors, and turn and say tae us passengers, "mind yer bags, it`s a wee bit bumpy the day."
"Wee bit BUMPY"!? It`s a howling gale, the boat is doing that `rolling` thing where it`s sole purpose is tae mak it`s passengers heave and puke ower the sides....ye can sit in the upper salon and watch the sea rise up tae meet the portholes and then wait til your belly gets that `no` there ony mair` feeling as the front o the boat thumps back doon intae the water, leaving what wis left o` your stomach up in the air somewhere.
Oh aye, the joys o` interisland excursions....
So noo, though, I reckon I have the sea sussed....white caps, well, they are no` too bad..they look rougher than they are, but the journey tae mainland and back will be bearable, wi` only thon wee stretch o` water just past Eday being mebbe a bitty rough.
It`s the swell ye want tae watch for...when it`s got a swell on it, where the tops o the waves are smooth but rolling...then ye are guaranteed, it`ll be rough and heaving and pitching fae side tae side. Along wi` yer breakfast.
I admit, the running o` Orkney Isles Ferry service is a mystery tae me...I have seen them run the boat in seas I wouldnae send a duck onto! But seen it be cancelled on a forecast o` gales when the sun is shining and the wind is nae where tae be seen.
But praise tae the boats when it`s due...they almost always run on time, and they are a bonnier, nicer way tae travel than on a bus. Mind you, buses widnae go verra far on the water......

In oor livingroom, we have an ancient Doric solid fuel stove. Made, I am guessing, around the 1930`s, we inherited it from Auld Maggies uncle when he died, and it was auld then. Made by the Wellstood company in Bonnybridge, it was, and I think they are the same folks wha made the Esse stove.
It stands there, set oot frae the wall, like a battle scarred auld warrior. The enamel on it, a kind o` salmon pink, has seen better days. The damper hood on it rattles in a draught and on becalmed days wi` nae wind, it billows smoke oot intae the room so we hae tae offset the heat wi` opening a` the windows and doors so we can breathe.
It doesnae gie us ony hot water, for it`s no` plumbed in and has nae back boiler. All it does, is heat this one room.
But I love it for a` that.
In a power cut, we cook on and in the oven o` it. That in itself is a chancy, hit and miss affair, much depending on the type o` coal we use, what way the wind blows, and how long the fire has been roaring up the lum.
But on that stove top I have made drop scones wi` me auld fashioned girdle, stir fries, soups and stews, and in the single, wee oven, have made casseroles that scent the air wi` delicious mooth watering smells on cauld, dreary days, and cakes and buns, scones and mair....
So I love me auld stove.
It even dries me washing...I hae nae time for one o` they expensive tumble drier things....they cost ower too much money and dinnae get jeans properly dry onyway. I hae a pulley ower the stove, one o` they auld fashioned things wi` four bars on it that we haul up and doon. I put me washing on it if I cannae hang it ootside, and haul it up, and the heat frae the fire dries it a` in nae time at a`.
I mind me granny and me mam doing just the same thing.

In oor bedroom though, we`ve an open fire, a wee Victorian fireplace it is, wi` tiles aroond it and a wee fire basket set intae what wis once a huge big hole in the wa` fireplace. There is nae damper on it. The firebricks o` the Victorian fire only go up intae the lum a couple o` feet. So the draw on the thing is something that needs tae be seen tae be believed!
And though it is rare and bonny tae sit, on a wild nicht, in front o` the fire, the coals glowing just nicely while the wind rages ootside, toasting oor feet and hands, it eats the coal like a big hungry beast! So lighting that fire is kept just for thon times there is onybody sick in bed, or when we`re a bit better off and can afford the almost five bags o` coal a week it eats.
So most days, the fire is left off. And many o` those days, a starling decides tae come doon oor lum tae pay us a visit. I am sure it`s the same, daft bird that does it. I walk past the bedroom door and hear the fluttering o` its wings against the window, and the cheepcheep o` it crying tae get oot. Then I get a towel frae the kitchen, and go in and catch the wee besom afore it dashes it`s brains oot against the glass o` the window.
So I`ve had time tae study the wee thing. And have come tae the conclusion that either all starlings are clones, or it`s the same daft bird keeps coming doon oor lum!
I tak` it ootside and let it go, always wi` a word tae the wise, that one o` these days it`ll come doon the lum and the fire`ll be on! But judging on its behaviour, it isnae in the mood for listening.

When oor goats kid, usually near this time o` year, sometimes the nan will no tak` tae mothering. One day we came back frae the shops tae find one newborn wee kid dumped in the water bucket by her mam, who was standing nearby happily munching her hay and ignoring the pleading bleats. So I scooped the kid up, dried it in a towel and was dismayed tae see her near pegging oot. She was barely conscious by that time.
Nothing for it but tae wrap her in a warmed towel and pop her in the Doric oven, wi` the door open so I could keep an eye on her.
After making sure it wasnae ramping...I wasnae really wanting roast goatkid at that time...in she went, and sure enough, after half an hour, she perked up just fine and survived tae become a fine wee goat, the pride o` them a`.
Trouble is, for the first wee while, she thought she was a dog. This is because the collie we had at the time, a huge Rough/Border cross, took ower caring for her and treated her like a pup. So the goatkid took to following me and the dog aroond like one.
And she still has a liking for the heat! Whenever she came intae the hoose, she would head straight for the Doric...we usually hae the oven door open for heat...and just stand there, wi` her head inside the oven, eyes blissfully closed, just basking in the heat. I hae a picture o` that on me pc that I will try and post at some point when I can figure oot how.
And that Doric oven has revived chicks, lambs and kittens tae....so I hae a great deal o` respect for that auld, battle scarred warrior o` a stove. It`s naewhere near as shiny new or as big as a Rayburn nor as posh as an Aga, and I don`t think they even mak` the brand o` Doric ony mair....but it`s earned its place in oor hame.
And nae birds come doon the lum wi` it either!

Hoping this works ok...some pics o` me beasts. (the one o` me goatkid wi` her heid in the oven is over the 200kb allowed, does anyone know how to resize the pic so I can post it on here please?)

We don`t always keep oor beasts in the hoose! They just come in when they need a wee bit o` tlc. :)

One a fortnight me other half has tae go intae Kirkwall to choose skins for tanning. This previous Thursday, off he went in the morning, looking at the ominous clouds and listening tae the rising wind and then looking at me as if tae say "How come ah`m the mug that has tae dae this onyway?"

Well, he does it cos I get seasick on a puddle! I have nae clue what I`m doing living on a rock in the sea whar we need tae use a boat to get onywhar.
At least the Thursday wasnae a long day in toon....the boat left Sanday aroond quarter tae eight and left Kirkwall tae come back at one.
I cannot mak` sense o` the refit timetable. Every year they say it will last x amount o` weeks, and every year we get the supplemental "here`s the refit timetable for the next few months" thing, so why they dinnae just say in the first place "It`ll go on for MONTHS AND MONTHS" I dinnae ken.
So onyway, off he goes in the morning, after picking up a friend who was also going intae toon, and I phoned him afore he got there (I always hae a list o` stuff for him tae pick up frae the toon, and always forget half o` it and phone halfway there) and asked him how the boat was running. "Oh no too bad" he says, "no as rough as I thocht it wid be".
I looked oot me windae....I can see clear across tae Stronsay over the Peedie Sea and the water was being thrown across the road at the bottom o` the track, and further oot, white horses were stampeding ower the wee rocky islet that has a ruined crofthoose on it.
And he phoned me again tae say the boat was leaving Kirkwall fine, he`d gotten everything on the list, and indeed, in Kirkwall it had been a fine and sunny day. I notice that, ye see...me daughter lives on mainland...and one thing I have noticed is that inevitably, they have bright, sunny calm days when she phones to ask if I`m coming in on the boat the day, and I`m looking oot the windae at a howling gale, complete wi` sleet and driving rain and waves the size o` a hoose wa`!!
And then he came hame. And he wis green! I offered him his dinner and he made a break for the bathroom. When he came oot again, I said, casually "rough boat trip dear?"
In spite o` the lovely sunny, calm day on mainland, the sea had other ideas on what it should be doing. And that involved trying it`s best tae sink the ferry, apparently. Heaving and rolling, shuddering and thumping itself doon on what felt like, tae the passengers, a brick hard surface, the wee ferry battled the raging seas tae mak it back tae Sanday. And it did it fine, though minus mony a lunch or lunchtime drink as passengers heaved along wi` the sea......
noo, me man, he`s no` a bad sailor, the sea disnae really bother him. So I kent it must hae been quite bad for tae mak him sick...and am richt glad I wasnae on the boat thon day.
Of course, the passengers had already had a brief clue that the sailing back micht no` be...a` plain sailing...in pulling awa` frae Kirkwall pier, the captain didnae realise the boat wis still moored tae the pier and it must hae looked somewhat like a cartoon...the boat pulls awa then "snap!" comes up richt short as the rope reaches it`s full length.....

So no, I dinnae dae much travelling in winter on the boats if I can help it. And folks will say tae me, "Why no` use the plane"? but the last time I did, it was awfy windy and I mind me belly thinking it was on a roller coaster as it came in tae land and was buffeted aboot like a paper hat in a wind tunnel....
I dinnae ken what it is that maks some folks good travellers and others wimps at it...but if they ever figure it oot, and bottle the cure, it`ll be an amazing day for folks like me....

Me wee quail eggs are still doing fine in the incubator. I`m keeping a careful eye on them and hoping at least some o` them hatch. I bought the eggs off Ebay, I cannae find onyone in my area who sells hatching eggs or the breeding birds I want. I did want to try pheasant eggs...at one point I looked online for young birds to grow on to breeders, but the one place I could find nearest me quoted me £400 quid tae ship tae Sanday! So needless tae say, I didnae tak on ony young pheasant chicks. Even the Royal Mail isnae that dear....

We lost one o` the ducks the other nicht. For a couple o` days, she`d kept herself awa` frae the rest o` them, she didnae seem a` that ill, was still eating and makin` her way aroond the place, but I kenned fine she wasnae quite richt. I see that all the time, when beasts get ill, they want to tak themselves oot o` the way o` the others and just be left alone. We kept an eye on her but then she died in the nicht. I hae nae clue why she died, and the rest o` me ducks are doing fine, so it was either just auld age or one o` those things, I`ll never know.
And in the run up tae nesting time, me ducks have the appetites o`...great big greedy things!...they are devouring the feed like there`s nae tomorrow, and waddling aroond wi` full crops and satisfied faces. Every year we always get a grand clutch o` ducklings, aroond three dozen. Some o` them don`t mak` it tae adulthood, due to natural hazards...crows or gulls eat them whole, and bonxies will drown them then eat them whole...or the mothers will stampede across them and crush them, or abandon them to their fate...but o` the ones that do survive, some are kept for future breeding, and the others get eaten or given awa` tae friends.
I`m also hoping my geese breed this year. The last clutch o` goslings all made it tae adulthood, but I mind hearing the broody goose, nest sitting, mak` an awfy racket one dark morning, and when we went tae investigate there she was, bravely trying tae fight off some half dozen big rats who were after her eggs. Whilst the other half went for his gun, I watched as a couple o` the rats ran at the goose to get her tae chase them and if she did, the rest went intae the nest and rolled an egg awa! I never thocht tae see such a sicht in my life but we did. Clever beasties, rats, and I admire that in them. But I made the other half shoot them and find their bolthole, and pour poison doon it and block it up wi` stone. Aye, they would just come up again elsewhere but at least the goose was safe and she hatched eight wee goslings wha` all made it.
When I`ve the time, I like watching me geese aboot the place. They are `pack` birds..they always have one o` their number stand guard and it`s usually the one that is bottom o` the pecking order. A few years ago noo, we went roond the back o` the byres tae feed the geese as usual in the morning, and there among them was this one, grey, wee goose, obviously a wild one. So even though we were surprised, we put a bit extra food oot for her, expecting her to maybe eat and fly off. She is still wi` us today, and we`ve checked her over...there is no reason she cannae fly off, but she never has. At first the other geese wanted nothing to dae wi` her...so she followed the ducks aroond, apparently quite content tae be a duck! And each day she got a bitty closer tae the geese, til one day we looked oot the window and there was oor flock o` geese wi` the wee grey one trailing at their tail, obviously part o` the pack. :)
She`s been wi` us ever since. We hae nae idea whar she cam` frae or why, but she will never be eaten and never hae her wings clipped, and is always free tae fly awa` if she wants. But she seems content enough tae stay wi` us. After a`, she is getting fed regularly and has shelter during the winter months! It probably feels like the Ritz tae her! I will hae tae post some pics o` me geese as well noo that I have the hang o` it. :)
And a` that was me long winded way o` saying, that wee wild goose, she is bottom o` the pecking order but doesnae seem tae mind it...she took her turn nest sitting wi` the others, and is usually the one standing guard as the other ones eat or sleep wi` their heids tucked under their wings. She`s a fine, canny bird, thon one.

Seriously...me and electrical equipment...we dinnae get on at a`. I break things just by looking at them! Just in the past couple o` weeks, we`ve had tae replace the washing machine door...the hinge broke...and the kettle...it died wi` a melodramatic gasp that could hae graced a stage! But noo the oven has also gone, which means we`re having tae use that guid auld standby, the Doric stove, for all the cooking until we get a replacement. Which is fine on bright and breezy days when the wind blows in frae the North...ony other direction though, and we end up wi` dinners that take three times longer than usual tae cook. Mind you though, there is nae denying it, food DOES taste better cooked in the solid fuel stove, far better than ony gas cooker or microwave...I havenae found onything decent that cam` oot o` one o` thae things aside frae reheated chips! Everything else tastes like rubber.

Of course, that could be me cooking....

Life is wyrd. The aulder I get, the more I find the less we need. But folks keep giving me new and shiny gadgets tae use, thinking, I am sure, tae mak` life a wee bitty easier. I appreciate the thocht, surely. But am finding life becomes easier the simpler I keep it.
When the washing machine broke doon, we`d tae resort to washing the clothes in an auld tub using the Glass Queen, which is an auld washing board, wi` a wooden frame and ribbed glass set intae it on which you rub the clothes til the muck moves oot o` them. Then they got rinsed in copious amounts o` clean water and then put through the hand wringer, a thing which looks like a torture instrument, wi` rubber covered rollers. You put the washing in atween the rollers, turned the handle, and oot your clothes come frae the other side o` it, still fairly wet but no` soaking, and awfy flat. Saves time on ironing sheets! :D
And much as I appreciate the convenience o` me automatic washing machine and would no` willingly go back tae doing withoot one, I always mak sure I keep the Glass Queen and the wringer tae hand...just in case.

Me other half also thinks I`m weird tae. He reckons I`m the only wummin tae no` appreciate the usual pretty, expensive, but useless gifts women usually get given by their menfolks. Not for me, expensive perfume, frilly undies or suchlike...he couldnae believe how excited I got when presented wi` the new hoover, or me new set o` cooking pans, or even, dare I say it..thermals....
Aye, yours truly is a strange one indeed...
it comes frae me grandparents, you see....grandad was in the Navy, and was left wi` a lifetimes appreciation o` practicality born o` living in a confined space on board ships. He passed that onto me, that fondness for practical, pared doon, things.
And granny was frae crofting stock and also had an appreciation o` the practical things in life....she couldnae be doing wi` folks gieing her presents that had nae use, and well meaning folks got short shrift frae her for presenting her wi` such things as bunches o` flooers, or jewellery which she never wore...but gie her a casserole dish, or a new mop and bucket, and watch a grin licht up her face.
So I tak after me grandparents, both.

As time goes by, and more and more electrical things break doon, I`m finding there is usually nae need tae replace them. Oh, I still have me automatic washing machine, but when it goes I`ll no` be buying a new one. Me daughter is treating me to a new cooker, even though I told her fine I can manage wi` the auld stove....and when the hoover goes, I`ll just use the auld carpet sweeper I keep in the cloakroom and the carpet beater for the rugs.
One o` the nicer things aboot being a hermit is the ability tae turn me back on the ootside world and all its continuing pressure to buybuybuy, a` the things the adverts convince ye must be essential tae yer life, at a price of course. And though me hame is unconventional, that disane matter a bit...it`s hame. It`s cosy and comfy and works fine the way it is, withoot the modern trappings that seem tae be becoming essentials for ower too mony folks.
See, noo, when you`re a hermit, ye can pick and choose what fits intae your hame. So I choose tae keep the pc, so I can keep in touch wi` friends that are too far away tae visit. And the tv provides some sma` amusement when the wind`s howling ootside, even if said wind does play hell wi` the ariel and the signal is hit and miss. But that`s aboot it really.
A whiles back, we had some friends come tae stay wi` us for a holiday. I was a bitty shocked when it was apparent, nane o` the kids (teens, all) kenned how tae boil an egg or peel tatties for the dinner! Nane o` them had ever had tae learn how tae wash their ain clothes, by hand or by machine! Och, they are fine bairns a`, and their parents are richtly proud o` them, for their academic achievements. But I mind thinking, even academics need tae care for their hames, feed themselves and wear clean clothes!
I`ll be forever grateful tae me mam and grandparents for showing me how tae dae the basics in life....feed and clothe meself and care for me environment. I would hate tae have tae rely on others tae dae that for me!

This morning, we inspected the byres, which often get flooded, after the heavy rains last nicht. They are a` alricht, if a bit soggy. The rain barrels overflowed and ran doon the track tae the pond. So we had some rain last nicht!
But it`s a fine calm enough morning, and as the skies lichten and the day begins, I`m glad tae be a hermit and glad tae keep me life simple.
A fine guid morning tae everybody.