Welcome to our Croft!

Not everyone who lives in the Hebrides lives on a croft. When you buy a house with a croft, as we did, you buy the croft and the house is called a 'croft improvement'. You have to be approved by the Crofters Commission before the sale can go through. Luckily, DH is an ex-farmer so we didn't have any problems. Here he is, with some of our sheep (we have 18 breeding ewes, 2 hogs, 1 ram and 21 lambs). The island that you can see is Bayble Island.

DH now has the dubious honour of being able to call himself a real crofter! I have learned a lot about sheep too - a hog is a male or female sheep that will never breed. A gimmer is a ewe that has never had a lamb.

The sheep have to be sheared, which happens around June - July. This depends on the weather as if it is good, warm weather, the sheep's fat rises to the surface of their skin and their wool stands off the skin, creating a tiny gap for the shears. The shearer, Colin from the Isle of Harris, is incredibly skilled and gives demonstrations at local shows. Here is a picture from last years shearing.

Colin shears a sheep in around two minutes, so someone has to have the next sheep ready for him. It looks like backbreaking work!

Hanging out the washing used to be such a chore - but not with a view like this! We often need 'storm' pegs though...or the clothes would finish up on the other side of the island!