Another Year over on North Wald, Self Catering on Orkney.

I have been remarkably remiss lately in updating this blog. Partly due to being unwell. Partly due to weather constraints limiting my activities and partly because we went away for Christmas.

First a huge thank you to Grahame for looking after our ducks and hens whilst we were making merry with our children and grandchildren down south.

That was one very scary ferry trip across the Pentland Firth on the way down. I cannot claim to have any sort of sea legs, in any way at all (even though Dad was in the Navy!), and that trip just proved it. I did not feel ill, I was just terrified. It was a little rough and I ended up shutting my eyes, and just waiting until it was over, as I couldn’t bear to see the sea heaving away out of the windows. 

The rest of the journey down was great with only a little rain as we hit Perth. Thankfully no snow or ice to delay us at all. After a great Christmas with family and friends, from near and far, we had a lovely journey back, on a day that was more like a summer day than a winter one.  We even got to see seals sun bathing at Gills Bay. 

The trip back on the Pentalina was a lot smoother than the previous one, for which I was incredibly grateful. Poor Sadie had been quite ill on the way down, but she fared much better on the return trip. The cats are still talking to us and managed to survive with out us for a week. In fact Lily was up to her usual tricks and brought a mouse into the bedroom, to play with, in the middle of the night last night. Thank you so much for that Lily. We retrieved it, still alive, from behind the washing basket this morning and returned it to the outside. 

We had worried there would be a mountain of dead rodents to deal with when we got back but there was not one, anywhere. Phewww!!!

Seals at Gills Bay

The young chicks seem to have doubled in size in just a week. I can’t believe how big they are. Some of the slightly older ones have developed further and ones I had hoped were hens now seem to be Cockerels. More for the freezer I suppose.

Ant is still being bullied by one and all but is getting by on his lonesome. The polytunnel has survived more gales and all being well I will start thinking about sowing a few seeds soon. The ground is pretty waterlogged but we did manage to extract a few veg from the mud today. The little hen house is swimming in water I really wish I could deter the hens from using it.

So I am sitting here relaxing now and looking forward to another year at North Wald. I looked back over the list I made last year about what I had learned here and I decided to repost it with updates after each one.

1. Never buy cheap wellies. - The better ones I got for Christmas last year are still going strong so that message holds true. 
2. Make sure you find all the duck eggs before they brood them. - We never got to raise any ducks this year as the few that hatched died very young
3.  Don’t mollycoddle any subsequent ducklings (they become to demanding). - We never got the chance to test that this year
4.  Never put poultry litter on the compost heap in a gale. - Nope still didn’t learn that one strangely enough
5. Duck when going in the lean to shed. - That was a lesson well learned
6.  Watch your fingers when shutting said shed door. - As was that one
7. Don’t feed the ducks unlimited amounts of food without taking out a mortgage first. - This lesson was understood but a certain husband is notorious for giving out extra rations!
8. Don’t use the hammer with slippy gloves on (unless intentionally trying to maim the husband). - or anything else for that matter
9. Don’t stand on a waterlogged veg bed without a nearby tractor ready to pull you out. - Nope missed that lesson
10. Saws are for wood not finger nails. - Managed to remember that
11.  It is impossible to find a small leak in a caravan roof. - But lots of tarry paint helps
12.  Chickens have sharp beaks and can run very fast. - They certainly do and can!
13. Mother ducks are very aggressive and are stronger than they look. - And occasionally very stupid.
14. Don’t name your animals. - Have to admit I still do this a lot.
15.  You can’t be miserable when watching ducklings. - But can be very sad when they all die because of stupid mothers
16. Roosters really do look after their hens. - And fight with each other
17. Weeding is therapeutic (weather allowing). - And infuriating when they are all back a week later
18.  Eating your own produce is so fulfilling. - It certainly is
19. Truly Free Range (pastured) eggs taste superb. - And still do
20. Orkney is so beautiful. - And always will be.

New lessons for 2013

1. Never let four day old remnants of ducks innards drip on your face, unless you really fancy two weeks in bed.
2. Hens are stubborn and have a memory longer than a week.
3. Polytunnels are very noisy to be inside during a gale.
4. It is no mean feat to manipulate the hoop of a polytunnel especially in a gale.
5. Little rodents have loud voices, especially at three in the morning.
6. Chickens eat daffodils.
7. Sheep can be as daft as chickens and ducks when trying to escape from you.
8. I wear out right hand gloves at an alarming rate
9. Mulching is a great way to deal with a bed you don’t have time to dig.

I am sure there are many more things I could add to this list as I seem to be learning new lessons every day, but I think that will do for the moment.

So finally I just want to wish all of you a Happy and Prosperous New Year. May it bring you all your heart desires and much, much, more.

North Wald Self Catering on Orkney Disaster Averted – Hopefully

Snap

The Tunnel

The wind has been almost constant lately which has made it very difficult to make some repairs to the polytunnel.

It turned out that not only were two of the hoops sheared near the top but one was also sheared through at ground level on the opposite side.  The whole tunnel has a pronounced lean towards Kirkwall. With a lot of huffing and puffing, and one or two outbursts of less than polite language, we managed between us to get things sorted. We drove a short metal rod down inside the sheared foundation tube before threading on piece of pipe sheathing and lifting the hoop back into place. The top of the hoops were also sheathed in piping but we had to remove one of the cross bars to get the hoop lined back up. To get it back in alignment I had to hang off the bar then heave it as high as possible for a few seconds while Frankie lined up and threaded in the bolt (that was when the suspect language came into play). Then all we had to do was secure the pipes in place with tape and screws. I did manage to patch the plastic as well but only on the inside as it was too wet to attempt the outside. So far it has survived another gale which blew in from the opposite direction and actually managed to straighten the tunnel up a bit. More gales due soon so let’s hope it survives.

Repaired

The Chickens

Meanwhile we are beginning to drown in a sea of eggs. A new record today 17 eggs! Wow. They really do seem to be liking their new quarters. The chickens seem to have gone into overdrive and no matter how many we eat the pile in the porch is growing daily.  For some reason I had a picture in my mind of my dad telling me they could lay them faster than we could eat them. I assume coming from hearing him tell my brothers, in admonition, that they (the brewers) could brew beer faster than they (my brothers) could sup it. 

Don't you just love cats!

Lily Cat

Dear Lily

It is with great reticence that I write this letter of complaint. You have always been a great little pet, if a little withdrawn and aloof at times. I must admit your mousing abilities are just a joy to behold and second to none, you even out shine Cheeky, although to be fair she is quite an old lady now. You must single pawedly be reducing the rodent population on Orkney by an incredible amount.

However, while on that subject I feel I must complain on both my behalf and Sadies. Last night was a very unpleasant experience for us all. To be awoken by the extremely loud squealing of your last victim was bad enough but did you have to continue to play with it causing it to continue squealing loud enough to wake the dead, for a prolonged period of time. It kept me awake and disturbed Sadie no end who also felt the need to keep nudging me to inform me of your errant and disturbing behaviour.  Perhaps if you had not chased the poor little thing round and round her bed she might have been able to settle back down in peace.  I must admit I had no idea such a little thing could make such a loud noise and I was at first concerned you had decided to bring a rather larger animal, of the rodent persuasion, into our bedroom.

To top it all off I must protest vehemently at the fact that you then allowed said mouse to run under our wardrobe and you have made no effort whatsoever  to extricate it from its supposed place of safety.

I am writing this letter in the hope that you will hear our pleas and will not repeat your disgraceful behaviour again. I hold out little hope of you paying the slightest attention to our wishes but if you can find it in your little heart to allow us to get a good nights sleep tonight we would really appreciate it.

Thanking you in anticipation.

Your substitute Mistress

Mary

The Joys of Winter at North Wald Self Catering on Orkney

Eeek it must have been cold last night – still is.  

Even the gas pipes, or regulator, was frozen as, when I turned the cooker on, all I got was a feeble little flame that wouldn’t have cooked anything in under an hour. Thankfully, when I tried a little later it had improved dramatically and when left on got back to almost normal in a few minutes. Phewww! Thought I was in for a cold lunch there.

Thick Ice

The ice on the ducks bath was really thick. I have never seen it so thick before. 

Thankful for a warm drink

The waterers both inside and outside were all frozen solid. I put some warm water in them and all the hens and ducks got stuck straight into it. 

The polytunnel has suffered badly. I am quite worried about it. It provides so much of our veg in the summer. I am not sure what to do next.  Two of the hoops have sheared through and are poking through the polythene. This means that it is not just a case of replacing the polythene but replacing the broken hoops as well. A lot more of the hoops have buckled as well. Sad day!

Sadie is loving the snow and hares around possessed whenever I go outside, something I am trying to avoid as much as possible. I managed to get my hands wet this morning while dealing with the waterers and I thought I had frost bite in my fingers after only a couple of minutes it was so cold.

The storm does not appear to have done any more damage, anywhere that I can see, so I am thankful for that. The barn doors have been blown inwards at an awkward angle and frozen solid in that position. I can not move them at all. I had braced them with extra weight yesterday to try and stop that happening but it was to no avail. That was a scary task in itself with the wind howling and battering directly against them.

I had to drive into Kirkwall yesterday during the gale. Quite an experience! It was high tide at the time and it is very unnerving when the waves are breaking and spraying right over the road. Going over the bridge at Finstown Ouse is also hair raising when the water levels are so high.  On the way back the sleet and hail had made the roads treacherous and it was a real white knuckle drive home. I was just glad to get back safely.

Well I can honestly say life here on Orkney is not boring.

Sheepkin Rugs for our Self Catering on Orkney

Wishful thinking

I have always wanted a sheepskin rug. Mum once worked in a small factory/shop run by her close friend that made and sold sheepskin products. We often had beautiful warm sheepskin mittens in the house when I was little, but my love was the rug in front of the fireplace. I loved lying on that rug watching TV, or rolling myself up in it and dozing off. I have a vivid memory of losing a tooth in it’s creamy depths when I was about eight. I had rushed to tell mum and to make sure the Tooth Fairy would visit that night, stumbled in my haste and dropped the precious tooth on the rug. It promptly vanished. I searched for hours running my fingers through the soft silky fibres desperately trying to find the tooth. I only gave up when Dad reassured me that the Tooth Fairy was magic after all and would find it even if I couldn't.

When we moved to North Wald a few years ago and we took over the small holding the prospect of making my own Sheepskin rug began to slowly sneak up on me. Although we don’t actually keep sheep ourselves, yet, we do allow the neighbouring farm to graze their sheep in our fields. It crossed my mind that I might ask if I could get a skin from them when they next slaughtered a sheep for the freezer. I was not sure I would ever get round to it as I had no idea what I would do with one if I did get it. However, I did start to research on the internet how to make a raw skin into a fluffy beautiful rug. I began to be a bit put off. I had no intention of getting involved with the sort of chemicals involved in this process.

Then, suddenly, the next farm called and asked if I would like three skins as they had just slaughtered three sheep. Before even thinking about it I said yes. Was I mad!!!! They arrived via a bucket on the front of a tractor and we hauled them into the byre. There was an old small scaffolding section there and we hung the skins over them. What on earth now! I was on the internet in a flash and the first thing I needed to know was how to prepare them. Salt seemed to be the answer, so a quick call to hubby who later arrived home from work with a few kilos of salt in his possession. I spread each fleece out and roughly poured salt on them. With hind site I used far more than I needed but I didn't spread it to the edges nearly carefully enough.

This was only supposed to be for a couple of days but, day followed day and before I realised a couple of weeks had passed. I had however done a lot more research and decided how to proceed. I had ordered the necessary Alum from the web and bought salt and washing soda at the local supermarket. I began to imagine those rugs on the floor of the cottage and caravan. I did keep a check on them and they did not seem to be rotting or getting infested in anyway.

Relegated to the Toolshed

The next task was to scrape them to remove all the bits of “stuff” left clinging to the skin. Articles had indicated that this would be a long and arduous task. I did the first two on the kitchen table, after shaking off the excess salt outside. It didn't take as long as I thought it would but to be honest I don’t think I was thorough enough. I had to trim the skins quite drastically round the edges where I had not salted properly but otherwise they seemed well preserved. It took a variety of tools to scrape the skins. I tried serrated small knives, steak knives, big carving knives, and anything that I could hold comfortably while scraping. I eventually ended up using a paint scraper. This worked quite well. I had to do the next skin out in the tool shed as Hubby complained about the smell. I didn't mind the smell. It just smelt like uncooked lamb – which in essence it was.

Next I washed them. I managed to get each one in turn into the washing machine, only just, with a wool wash liquid on a cold wash. This removed a lot of the dirt on the wool. I then trimmed then again to remove some more. I then made up the tawing mix – not technically tanning but more environmentally friendly, and a method I was more comfortable with. They were then immersed in this the liquid and pushed right under. I did this in three large tubs but then decided that they were not properly covered so with a lot of help I tipped them into an empty wheelie bin. That was not easy and I regretted it as soon as I had done it as I knew it was going to be a real pain to get them back out. It did make it easier to stir them up every day. Again this was only supposed to be for a couple of weeks but ended up being a good few months.

Tawing

As anticipated, getting them out was no picnic and I ended up tipping the bin over and hoping for the best. At this point all my dreams of having Sheepskin rugs was cruelly taken from me as when I tried to manoeuvre the skins the wool just sloughed off the skins. I was left with a huge pile of wool and a three balls of slimy skin. At this point I nearly binned the lot in a fit of pique. I did stomp off into the house for a while leaving a strange pale pile in the yard.

After I calmed down I came back out and rescued the skins. I hosed everything down and put the wool to dry in the shed. The skins were washed again in the machine and laid out to dry in the porch. I was not sure I was going to salvage anything out of this at all. After a few days the skins began to change colour and texture and dry out. I spread some Neats-foot oil on them and left it to soak in. I did the same again a couple of days later. Meanwhile we were now in high summer and the porch got a lot of sunshine. It got far to hot and I think the skins dried too quickly. I had to spray some water on them to try and re-moisturize them, but because of the oil it didn't help much. Now summer is long past and the moisture in the porch has softened the skins again.

Leather?

It seems that it is not unusual for the wool to fall off the skins – it is all to do with the age of the lamb/sheep. We live and learn. I am still working on the skins but now I have what looks and feels like fine leather. Some of it is really pretty good and some not so good. I have to stretch it and pull it about as often as I can and it is slowly changing from an opaque yellow to white. The edges are not great and will need trimmed again but I have made leather and I am pretty chuffed with myself. Now all I have to do is figure out what I can do with it.



It looks like if I want those sheepskin rugs I will have to buy them.

Feeling Guilty

Weaning the Ducks and Chickens

When we took over here at North Wald Self Catering on Orkney I had all these great ideas about how to look after chickens and ducks but very little (if any at all) experience.  I did have the internet and that was intended to be my main stay of inspiration. Now if you have every tried to research anything on the internet you will already know what a mine field it is. “Do this”, “Don’t do this”, “You must”, “You must not”, “You will”, “You wont”. Most ofter these snippets of information all apply to the same thing. All you can do is to follow the majority and hope for the best. Anyway scratch feeding in the morning and afternoon was suggested by a number of sites and people – so this is the road I went down. In hind sight I now know I made a rod for my own back – as the expression goes. (Angela and Rod are allowed to add smiley faced comments to this post as they will be well aware of what I mean)

Feeding Frenz

It was great at first. I would go out with a bucket of food and shout and all the chickens and ducks would come running, waddling, flying, stumbling, cart-wheeling towards me. It was fun – It was! It gave me a chance to look over them and count them to see if any were missing and generally just enjoy them. Especially when the ducklings came along. To see those little balls of fluff scurrying about, tumbling over each other to get to the food would bring a smile deep into any ones heart.

Over time the fun aspect dwindled and the routine began to wear. Both the ducks and hens began to feed less and less from the feeders and also did less and less grazing and just sat about the farm yard waiting to be fed.  I had hoped that my feed bill would reduce over the summer when the hens are supposed to find most of their food outdoors. Being pastured, ie they can roam anywhere they like no fences to keep them in, only ones to try and keep them out of the garden (Ha! - I wish) they are supposed to be able to more or less feed themselves on bugs and grass, as any natural bird would.

This was not the case. At about 9am every morning they began to congregate at the house. They would line the window sills and rap on the glass. They would follow me from room to room banging on the windows! Getting out of the from door was a nightmare. They would besiege whomever opened the door in the hope of food. Another very unpleasant result of all this feeding near the door and in the yard was the poop. It got so bad at the door that I was having to scrub the doorstep on a daily basis just to make it safe to step out side – Chicken and duck poop, besides being smelly are very slippery when fresh.

I decided I had to do something about this as I didn’t want to go flat on my face while stepping outside to get coal on a dark winters night. Since setting up the new hen house I have been cutting back on the amount of food they get as a scratch food and putting more and more inside the hen house. That in itself made a difference to the safety aspect at the door. Much less obnoxious substances graced the step. Then I added a big feeder, instead of trays into the hen house. There is already a big feeder in the yard. From a couple of days ago  I am no longer feeding a scratch feed at all – with the exception of a small handful here and there while filling the feeders. It has made quite a difference. There are still a lot of ducks and chickens around the farm yard at times, as there should be, but the rattling of the windows and the mass assaults seem to have dwindled significantly. I tested it and they still come running if I stand there with a bucket and shout them so this will still happen on occasion, but only when I have some extra food I wish to feed them. Maybe some warm mash on a cold day, or something else specially prepared for them that would be unsuitable to put in the feeders.

They still seem happy at the moment as they are laying quite well. I collected a whole dozen eggs yesterday. I was amazed at the amount. Haven’t had that many in a long while. Mind you two of them are now laying on the floor in the little hen house. I just can not get them to move into the big one. Most eggs though are being laid in the big barn.  I will just need to monitor things for a while and see how they go. At least life will be less rigid for me. I won’t have to be out there at 9:30am and 2:30pm in all types of weather, no matter what I had planned, feeding the scratch feed. I can now just top up the feeders any time and collect eggs while I am at it.

Ant in better days

I have to add we are a little worried about Ant. He has been top dog now for almost 2 years but has recently lost his rank. He hasn’t just slipped a little in the ranks he has been demoted to the very bottom.  I feel so sorry for him he has to wait to the end to get his food and is not allowed any where near any of the other cockerels. Even his brother Dec now bullies him. He still has a few of the old girls around him at times but you often see him out in the front field foraging on his own. Sad.

Self Catering Holiday Accommodation on Orkney

Time to book your Orkney self catering holiday accommodation at North Wald.

Around Orkney

It is that time of year again when people start browsing through literature and the web looking for holiday ideas.  I, personally,  have always preferred self catering holidays as I feel that they allow much more flexibility, especially when doing as much sight seeing as there is to do on Orkney. Having had a large family, by today’s standards, self catering holiday accommodation was also a no brainer.

It always amazes me how people can be organised enough to even begin thinking about summer holidays at this time of year. I find it hard enough to get my head around Christmas never mind looking as far ahead as summer. I know, and I am now extremely grateful, for the fact that people do book a this time of year, as we are already getting bookings for our accommodation coming in. This year even more than last.

I also know that I am biased but I would happily stay in North Wald Cottage at any time and I am sure, if you read the reviews on www.selfcateringonorkney.co.uk, you will understand why. I can even recommend North Wald Caravan, having stayed in it ourselves when family were visiting. We will do our best to make sure you do not have to find room for the chickens and ducks, or the occasional tup that may visit. I should also like to say that having lived here for three years now, and spoken to many guests, I can honestly add you will never see it all in one week. For this reason alone many of our guests return, some even year on year. Perhaps you should seriously consider a two week holiday.

So if you are thinking about taking a summer self catering holiday on Orkney (and why wouldn’t you), then please have a look at our website. I am sure you will want to book at North Wald, Self Catering Holiday Accommodation on Orkney!

Am I so gullible?

“Hello. Mrs Park?”

“Yes This is Mrs Park”

“We are calling with regard to your land line at North Wald Cottage”

“I don’t have a land line at North Wald Cottage”

“Sorry? What? I am talking to you – is that Mrs Park?”

“Yes this is Mrs Park”

“We are calling with regard to your land line at North Wald Cottage”

“I don’t have a land line at North Wald Cottage”

“But you are Mrs Park?”

“Yes”

“Ok, about your land line at North Wald Cottage”

“I don’t have one”

“Is this number yours?”

“Yes, but it is not the number for the cottage. The cottage doesn’t have a number”

“Ok I will talk to you”

“Yes, you are already talking to me.”

I am mean, but I couldn't resist it.

The conversation then went along the lines that they were working with the government in a scheme to stop nuisance calls from sales and especially Indian call centers (I do suspect due to the incredibly bad English, hard to understand accent, and general background noise, that I was somehow connected to one such centre). It had been reported to them, not by me, and I was ignored when I asked her to clarify by whom, that I was getting a number of unwanted sales calls.  They were the CPS – Call Protection Service working on a government grant and I would be receiving a blocker in the mail in the next few days. I was to insert this blocker between my phone and the wall box to prevent unwanted calls. All I had to do was pay a small installation fee, and a monthly fee, to them to cover their costs.

Strangely enough I hung up on her.

I wonder why?

Is this a scam? Let me think!

I don't know how daft people are but does this sort of scam really work?

I actually got this through the post this morning!

And another one bites the dust.

Little Chick

Such a shame! Another one of the 15 chicks had chirped its last chirp. 

All three survivors were missing this morning and I suspected one was missing yesterday as well but became distracted with other things and forgot to look for it. I found it this afternoon underneath a bush in the back garden. No obvious sign of injury so I don’t know why it suddenly gave up the ghost. It was the biggest one as well, which makes it even odder. I had thought the littlest one was a little under the weather and would not have been surprised to have found it lying feet up.  I did a search of the grounds and eventually found the other two little ones, in the long grass, on the other side of the drainage ditch, by the caravan. They did not come in for either feed today so I am not holding out much hope that they will survive either.

On the up side…They must be feeling happier about the new hen house as egg production is going up. There have been about seven a day for the last few days. We sent every last egg we had away with Iain and Sam just a week or so ago and, even after a few egg meals, we already have another three dozen sitting there. Eggs for tea again! Redhead is still laying behind the oil tank! Daft chook. She is laying almost an egg a day though which is pretty good for a home bred chicken.

The sheep leather had been sadly neglected over the last couple of weeks. I simply have not been able to stretch it and pull it about and it has just been sitting in the porch. I decided to give it a good stretch today and was pleasantly surprised at how supple it has become. It was so much easier to stretch. I suspect that the moisture content of the air in the porch, now winter has arrived, has a lot to do with it. I had wondered if they were too dry to stretch properly and had sprayed them with water a few times, but the oils had just prevented the absorption and it had mostly run off. 

Where on Earth...?

Keeping an eye on things

I got a fright last night as I was getting ready for bed. It was just after midnight and I had decided against watching “Walking Dead”, mainly as I am a scaredy cat and prefer watching scary things in the daylight. Years ago I would never even have dreamed of watching such stuff but I think my children are a bad influence on me. Anyway, as I sat down on the edge of the bed, something winked at me from just under the edge of the chest of drawers. I didn’t have my glasses on at this point and assumed it was a bit of silver paper of some similar thing glinting in the light. So on went my glasses so I could check it out.  I jumped out of my skin when I saw what looked like an eye glaring up at me. Now I was feeling a little squeamish at this point as I know the cats have been bringing in various creatures in different states of disassembly, although mostly whole to be honest.  I steeled my self expecting who knows what and reached out to pick it up. I half expected it to be cold and slimy. Well it was cold but it turned out to be a glass eye stud, I can only assume, from some toy of some sort.  I have to admit to being a little perplexed and unsettled , to say the least, as I went to sleep. Stranger still, this afternoon  I asked Sam and Iain and it seems none of Alexander’s toys are missing an eye and neither is Sadie’s toy puppy. So where on earth it came from I have no idea!

Playing Cat and Mouse

I saw a mouse!

As I mentioned the cats are bringing in more and more rodents at the moment. It started out with mostly voles, then mice and then baby mice.  They seem to kill the adults straight away but like to play with the young ones. A real cat and mouse game. They let it run away then pounce on it. If it stops then they slide towards it and you can almost hear them meowing “Oh come on…I’ll give you a head start”. Then they pat it’s behind or give it a nudge. Last night Lily brought a young mouse into the bedroom and proceeded to play with it. We think it got away under the bed as she was in there for hours hunting for it. Then during the night first one then the other of the cats were haring about the house in hot pursuit of something. Really annoying when trying to get back to sleep after having nightmares about disembodied eyes coming out of the woodwork and staring at you. This morning there was no sign of mice, dead or otherwise, anywhere to be seen. Then this afternoon one appeared in the kitchen running out and back from the side of the fridge. We watched it for a while expecting one of the cats or the dog to snatch it up. None of them obliged us. What do they think their job is? Eventually we realised that it was probably blind as it ran out into the middle of the floor and then came straight towards us as if we were not even there. Frankie simply picked it up and it sat there quietly in his hand. In shock I suppose. Oh well at least it is no longer in the house and being subjected to Lily’s games.

Fresh Veg again

The weather has improved along with my health and, with the water levels finally receding enough, it is now safe to dig tatties again, with out a crane on standby to heave you out of the mud. Frankie dug up a whole load while I harvested some carrots, onions, turnips, swedes, sprouts, cabbage and leeks. It was so nice to have fresh veg for tea again especially with slow roast South Wald lamb shoulder.  Loads more left for later in the week as well.

A New Guest?

A Runaway Ram who came for a visit.

Our Guest

We had a short visit from an escapee this morning.

One of Neighbour’s tups  decided to check out the accommodation available in the caravan. We knew some sheep had been moved this morning as we had taken Sadie in so she wasn't tempted to help out in any way. I am sure the Farmer would not have appreciated her joining in.

Once we thought he was sufficiently far enough away we carried on with the task in hand, which was to move the cage, with the five chicks, from the porch to the hen house. Just as we rounded the corner of the building, with the cage swinging precariously between us, Hubby called out to me to look up and ahead. I was busy, gingerly watching my feet, afraid of snagging my foot in a tussock of grass again, or catching the cage on my wellies, and falling flat on my face and having a cage full of chicks and chicken poop landing right on top of me.

There he was, in the small yard area at the back of the caravan,  feet planted firmly down and facing us, just daring us to get closer. Not wishing to add to my current collection of bruises I promptly packed Hubby off to let the Farmer know he was minus a tup. I must admit he didn't move much (the tup) except for turning around a bit, we just stared each other out for a while.  Hubby thinks he must have thought he was in a pen of some sort.

He is now safely ensconced back home and none the worse for his little adventure -  I hope.

Chicken Brained!

Can we come in please?

I despair of those chickens. Obviously they have a memory longer than a week. I knew that some of them were staying out at night but it turns out it was more than I thought.

Out of curiosity we went out tonight to see just how many were roosting in the new hen house. Not that many! I did manage to pick up one that was roosting near the oil tank and threw it in with the others. You should have heard the noise. You would have thought I had put a fox in there. We then searched for the others. Ant and a few of his old girls were in the Peedie Hoose, but I couldn’t see any in the bushes or behind the little hen house. That was until I leaned over and shone the torch directly into the entrance. There were most of the others, all huddled up leaning against the wood we had blocked the entrance with.  I felt we had no option but to go in and open it up for them. I am not happy about this as it leaks like a sieve, but it is still shelter of a sort. I am not going to replace the nest boxes though as I don’t want them going in there during the day. Back to square one I suppose. I will need to order some more supplies and perhaps, if I can get them back into the new house, keep them locked up longer.

The ducks seemed to miss the chickens, when we locked them in, and even went off their food. They just seemed depressed and sat around the garden not even grazing much. They perked up when we let the chickens back out and things seemed to be getting back to normal. Now they still don’t seem to be feeding much from the feeder but they are grazing in the fields a lot. I am worried that they are going to the splash pond in the back field which was seeded with barley by the shooters last year. They spent so much time there I was convinced they would get shot. Maybe they have just remembered. They are also flying around a lot more than usual and as they are so bad at landing gracefully we often have one or more limping about for a while. This afternoon Sid and A. N. Other decided to perch on the kitchen window and kept rapping on it for ages. It wound Sadie up no end, which agitated the cats. I was ready to have duck for dinner, I can tell you.

Thor is alive and kicking and currently staying on Orkney!

Well Thor was certainly making his presence known last night. We had an almighty thunderstorm with incredible thunder and lightning.  The lightening even took out a power pole in Rendal. We had a number of small cuts last night as well but nothing major. At one point we must have had a ground strike nearby as there was a flash followed by a loud bang from the kitchen and then all the power went out.  We checked out everything in the kitchen when the power came back on but could not find any thing blown. Frankie eventually found it this morning. It was the phone. The base unit and the splitter were both blown. I imagined finding the polytunnel a twisted, melted, wreck this morning thinking perhaps the lightening had struck it but thankfully it is OK.

About a month old now.

I have turned off the heat light for the little chicks today. I do feel a little guilty about it but as they are bigger and better feathered than the three that are living outside they should be fine. A couple of days with out the heat lamp and we will move them to the new hen house. I will still keep them caged for a few days so that they can be seen and heard by the other chickens, then, when I let them out they should be accepted. Here’s hoping.

Here we go round the Mulberry bush – I hope not.

Well winter has arrived at North Wald Self Catering on Orkney

The Oyce from North Wald

 .......and it is certainly a cold and frosty morning out there!

I was more than a little worried about the hens last night as it was so cold. If I had thought that they were all tucked up safely in their new hen house then I wouldn’t have been so worried, but fat chance of that.

 After spending over a week in their new quarters we decided that it would be OK to let them out into the wide world again. Partly as I was worried about the lack of greenery and grit in the diet while locked up.  So Frankie duly created an opening for them and let them out. Would the little darlings go back in that night. No! He and Iain tempted and cajoled them but only a few were willing to go back. All the other hen houses had been blocked off so there was no where else, with the exception of the Peedie Hoose, to go. They weren’t in the Peedie Hoose. We can only assume they nested overnight in the bushes.  

The next morning quite a few were in the new house waiting for their breakfast so that was at least one step forward.  Night came and this time even less of the hens would go into the house. I was really worried about the three little chicks, the only three left of the fifteen. One of them was sitting huddled by the caravan on its own as the mother has now decided they are old enough to fend for themselves. I managed to get behind it and guide it towards the door and thankfully it jumped in. Frankie found the other two in the long grass by the drainage ditch. We did try to chase them out towards the house but they managed to get deeper in under the thickets of grass and simply disappeared. The next morning all three little ones were in the house waiting for breakfast.

When the snow arrived last night I was really worried I would find a row of hens frozen in a line, perched in the bushes this morning. I was also dreading having to round them all up and get them in for breakfast. Gratefully the majority of them including the three little ones were inside and waiting impatiently to be fed. Phewww. No ready frozen chickens in the garden. I did however find one sad little sparrow, frozen solid, on the gravel outside the tool shed. Poor little thing.

Deaf as a post!

Now I am a little deaf – quite literally. 

My Grandpop used to refer to me, playfully, as deaf, dumb and daft, as he’d clip me round the head with a rolled up newspaper. Maybe that’s why I was deaf, dumb and daft! Anyway this morning I have managed to miss both the dustbin men and the coal man. I heard neither of them and that is amazing considering the noise the dustbin lorry makes as it reverses back and forward and manoeuvres it's way out of the yard. I was very worried that the coal man had not arrived as we are running short but when I went out to feed the ducks there was a scrap of paper stuck to the feeder.  I picked it up and looked at it and it had “two bags of Columbian” scribbled on it so I knew it must have been from the coal man’s pocket. I cursed myself for not hearing him and panicked about running out of coal before next week. 

Then I went into the byre to check the door was securely bolted in this wind. Big surprise the coal was there! He must have let himself in the tool shed and opened the byre door. At least I hope so or he would have had a long walk round with all those very heavy bags of coal. But all the slates and bricks used to block the bottom of the door were still in place so it is possible he went the long way round. I just can’t believe I missed two great big lorries arriving and departing. I was just sitting here in the living room with no music or TV on so you would have thought I would have heard them. I must be deafer than I thought!

It's nice to be loved!

Well that’s me another year older. Wish I could say wiser.

It was a nice surprise this morning to find even Google wishing me Happy Birthday and giving me a special home page. Nice touch Google! It never dawned on me when I moved to Google Chrome that they would do that but I really shouldn’t have been surprised.

Happy Birthday from Google

A few years ago I did not even want to join Facebook but the fact that people kept asking me if I had seen such and such a picture of this, or that, grandchild made me set up an account. I was still not overly impressed once I did join. I was amazed, even stunned at times,  at the trivia and inappropriate things that people posted. It took me a while to get used to it and to learn how to switch certain aspects on and off but I got there. What I did love was the feeling of being connected to people again. Not only close friends and family but friends you had not seen in years and more distant family members that suddenly became much closer. My Birthday bought a special treat last year and again this year. It really does warm your heart to receive so many good wishes. Thank you one and all.

I am still not convinced about Twitter. +Rene Looper  at +Tuminds Social Media  advised us to join as part of a social media presence for +North Wald Cottage and +North Wald Caravan , but I am still not convinced. I suppose part of the problem is I really do twitter (twitter on – as my parents referred to it)  and not Tweet. Tweets are far to short for me. I can’t get my head around saying something important (if I ever do) in such a short number of letters!  I will try to get used to it and I am sure I will eventually. Hopefully before Rene get fed up of the mentions.

There is not much to report on the goings on of life here. The weather, and a blip in my health, has meant that not a lot has been done this past week. One thing I have noticed is how the colour of the egg yolks is already changing. The yolks are normally such a deep golden yellow that when you bake with them any one eating the cakes would be convinced you had put a whole load of yellow colouring in them. Now after only a week locked indoors with no access to the grazing the yolks are significantly paler. I need to organise some greenery for them and also some grit and calcium or we won’t be getting any eggs at all. I have loads of eggs shells dried off ready to be recycled for the calcium, and there is a beach full of grit, and more calcium, in the form of little shells just a short walk away. I also have a garden full of very green, if very waterlogged, cabbage, cauli, sprouts, turnip tops, carrot tops etc etc, so I am sure I can get them some of them to nibble on. Hopefully we can restore the golden glowing yolks in no time at all.

Animal farm.

Ducks

The weather has been so wet this week and I have been so involved in getting the new web site running I have not had much chance to do anything outside. One thing I did do was to put my wellies on and squelch my way into the garden. I had to try and do something about the water that was constantly streaming through the hedge and turning the back grass into a complete bog. 

The ducks are loving every minute of it but are slowly destroying the lawn as they dig for worms and bugs in the mud. The chickens are not so keen and although they paddled through the water at feeding time they prefer to avoid it.

So I grabbed a spade and dug a trench along the side of the hedge to try and divert the water to the gravel and away from the grass. This was not easy as it was difficult to lever the clumps of mud away from the sodden ground but I eventually got it done. It does seem to have made a difference as the grass is slowly beginning to drain, even though more rain keeps falling all the time.

It has created a small stream running down the gravelled area but at least this seems to be soaking away. No matter how much drains away the level of water in the back garden does not seem to be receding. I think that a new drain into the ditch at the side is needed. I am not even sure how to set about this but if I don’t do it soon I think I will lose all my winter veg.

Sheep

It was a lovely day today, we even watched a female Hen Harrier hunting in the field out front.

We also had our first experience of rolling a sheep! It had got stuck on it’s back in the field and was unable to right itself. The Postie was worried and told us about it so we took a walk up to see if we could help.

I managed to fall flat on my face in the process. I simply caught my foot in a tussock of grass and before I knew it I was stretched out with my face in the mud. I can’t remember the last time I fell over but I am sure it won’t be my last.

Good job Hubby was there to haul me to my feet. He was very good and managed to sound genuinely concerned. Not a titter crossed his lips. I was just relieved that there was no one else around to see. I am sure that the sheep will tell no one, as one of them was already in the same predicament.

and Chickens

We finally decided today to see if we could get the hens into the new hen house. Earlier in the week I had been trying to gradually tempt the hens closer and closer to the door of the new hen house, and even inside with a few handfuls of food scattered about. On day one the little chicks refused to leave the bushes. On day two I got them as far as the car. Day three they came onto the main drive. Day four onto the grass nearby the new hen house. This was going great!

Then this morning I determined that with Hubby’s help we would get them all inside. Not that easy. What else did I expect? I shouted the hens and most of them turned up – not the little chicks though. With me inside calling, and Hubby and Sadie outside herding, we shepherded most of them in, while managing to keep the ducks out.

We swiftly locked them in and closed off all the other hen houses so the remaining hens couldn't get back in. Raymond hung around for ages but try as we might we could not tempt him inside. Bridie was the same. The little chicks and their mum were firmly ensconced in the bushes and nothing was going to tempt them out. We tried again, twice, during the day and the only thing we achieved was to let one back out, for a short while.

We then decided that the only way was to let them back in the roosts and catch them at night. This also was not as easy as it sounded.

The first one was Bridie, she was relatively easy as she was in the coal bunker. All we had to do was block the door open the lid and scoop her up. Done. Into the hen house with her!

Next was one of the old girls. One of the Vorweks had managed to avoid us this morning. We looked everywhere but couldn't find her. Eventually we found her perched high on the wall in the lean too house. We tried to put a towel over her but she fought free. I then tried to catch her in Hubby’s fishing net (well it might as well get some use). She managed to evade us and got out the door through Hubby’s legs. Finally with Hubby shining a torch in her eyes, to dazzle her, I managed to catch her in the net. Done. Into the hen house with her!

Next Raymond. He was on the perch in the little hen house and after a game of Ring around the Roses we caught him. Done. Into the hen house with him!

A little Polish Hen was next. Boy could she move fast but we did it. Done. Into the hen house with her!

Finally the mother and her chicks. We decided to take the mother first which was not too difficult as she was so desperate to protect her chicks she didn't move fast at all. Done. Into the hen house with her! Now the chicks. Well, if I thought the Polish hens moved fast, it was nothing compared to the chicks. It was crazy! We dashed back and forward, throwing towels, swishing a kids fishing net about and looking like complete idiots.  One done. Two done. Three done. Into the hen house with them!!!

I am not sure now if that is all the hens or not. Tomorrow will tell. I suspect that there may be one little polish hen still at large but if so she must have been in the bushes.

I will keep them inside for the next couple of weeks, to get accustomed to their new surroundings. Barn eggs, not free range, for a while. Meanwhile I will gut out and close off all the other hen houses with the exception of the Peedie house where the ducks go at night. Hopefully this means I can now keep them locked in on a morning until they have laid and before I let them out to forage. This should increase our chances of getting the eggs and mean less hens sitting on nests in the bushes.

We live in hope.

Googled Out

I can’t believe how busy I have been this week. Normally when it is wet and miserable (On Orkney?  - Really ?– I can hear you thinking.)  I am stuck inside twiddling my thumbs and feeling very frustrated. Not so this week. I have been completely occupied with the new web site and trying to get my head around my “web presence”. I have been on Google, Google +, Google profiles, Google pages, Google Maps, Google Analytics, Google Webmaster, Google this and Google that and I am now well and truly Googley eyed!!

I always knew that the web would be extremely important for a self catering business like North Wald so I spent a couple of weeks tracking down any, and every, website that I could advertise on, so I could get North Wald out there. I did keep a spreadsheet of all the places I advertised on so you would think it would be a simple case to get them all updated with the new web site and email address. Ha! I wish. On some North Wald had just vanished. On others no matter what I tried I could not log in. Another insisted it had to call me before allowing changes (at least they cared). On top of that there is now a multitude of sites on which I never actually advertised but that have scraped my details from the web. I am still working on tracking all these links down but I am slowly getting there.

It has been quite a while since I have been so deeply involved in IT so much, so that so it is no longer referred to as IT. I had forgotten just how intense it can get. It is no wonder I am having problems sleeping, when I close my eyes all I see are web pages swimming around in my head. Pretty appropriate with all this rain!

Sleepless in Seattle (North Wald)

A Beautiful Sunset over the Oyce at North Wald on Orkney

To Sleep.....please.

It was one of those nights last night. 

No matter which way I lay, left side, right side, arms in, arm out, leg in, leg out, sleep would not come. As I lay there contemplating the meaning of life, the eternal soul , and what you could possibly do with all the fluff from the tumble drier filter if you saved it up for a year, it dawned on me that had I possessed a smart phone, an ipad, a Hudl, a megaphone, or even jungle drums, and if, for some strange reason, they had been to hand right then I could have let the world know of the unfairness of my predicament at such a late hour.

The most infuriating thing about not being able to sleep is when your nearest and dearest is snoring away by your side, oblivious to your situation. Even Sadie was snoring. It was not one of those rolling, thundering, deafening snores that made you wish you had earplugs, but just a gentle “I am fast asleep” type of snore. I was so jealous and so annoyed by it. Now I know I snore, it’s a family tradition.  I am sure that I have annoyed Hubby with my snoring on many occasions, however, last night I would have given anything to have been snoring my head off.

I lay there and attempted to empty my head and relax, all to no avail. So many thoughts kept popping in to keep me company. I finally decided that if I was still awake in fifteen minutes then I would get up, make a cup of hot chocolate, relax and sip it slowly, while wrapped up in a fluffy dressing gown sitting  in front of the fire…... Ok five more minutes and I am getting up……. I have had enough of this now and I am definitely getting up…… Soon. …… Zzzzzzzzz

Can Potatoes Swim?

Well that was a surprise. When I looked out the window this morning all the water in the yard had almost vanished.  I had not expected that at all – not considering the amount of rain that continued to fall last night.

I wish I could say the same for the garden. I was is desperate need of some potatoes for dinner tonight and had to wade through a foot of water to get into the garden.  I made the mistake of stepping onto the soil and promptly sank so deep I thought I might be stuck. I had an image in my head of wading back through the water in my socks, while behind me the tops of my abandoned wellies would just be visible above the mud of the potato bed. I did manage to dig (if that is the correct word to use perhaps “scoop” would be better) a few tatties , so wet they were almost pre washed! They still made great chips.

Poor Sadie does not like all this water. At one point yesterday she jumped out of the door onto a slab that was above the water level and stood there whining. Today she was a little better and waded through the water with me. However she was filthy by the time I got back to the house and had to suffer the indignity of having her paws cleaned before I would let her in the kitchen.