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.