Rescuing a Highland Cow

A few minutes drive from our home is a croft where two glorious Highland Cows often reside.

A couple of days ago, the 'blonde' one was out of the croft and on the verge of the road...and I didn't have my camera! I didn't know how to get her back into the croft either, so we went on our way. When we returned from Stornoway, she was safely back in the croft.

DH came home from work last night and announced that she was out again. This time, I got some lovely pictures and DH put her back into the croft. How? He's an ex-farmer/Highland Cow Charmer. He just said "Come on girl..." and she turned around and walked in front of him to the gate and ambled back in.

Minutes later, her owner drove up, having heard that she had escaped again. We learned that her name is Morag. The darker one is her mother, Fenella.

Morag has learned how to put her substantial foot onto the fencing wire, bend it down and squeeze through. DH (who also lists fencing among his talents)had some fence staples in the boot of the car which he banged in to hopefully keep her in. The owner says she can also jump gates. Can you imagine? Now that would be sight!

Sun and Moon in the Hebrides

Here we are, just the other side of Midsummer's Day. The rain is lashing on my window and the wind is howling! It's rather fitting somehow!

Last week, I took a walk down the garden with the labrador before going to bed. Here's a photo of what I saw. Notice the moonlight on the sea - so beautiful. Oh, by the way, this was at 11.15pm!

It was dark by 11.30 and then like this again by 3am.

A few nights later, we had this fabulous sunset. We are so lucky to have some breathtaking ones here. The west side of the island is famous for them. We're on the east side, so goodness knows what they had over there! The photo is untouched and has not been coloured or 'photoshopped'. Sometimes, you just can't improve on nature!

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!

Welcome to the Outer Hebrides!

We've had a couple of weeks of clear blue skies, warm sunshine and blue seas. Everything is growing fast - lambs, pasture on the croft, wildflowers...it's a lovely time of year.

Here are some of our gorgeous lambs. We have 21 now and it's wonderful to watch them play. They huddle into a group and then run from one end of the croft to the other - just because they can!

And here's another baby with proud Mum - and our lovely view in the background.

I hope the good weather lasts. We had so much rain in February and March that I watched a bird have a bath in our lawn! Hanging out the washing is a joy with the view that we have but we can only do it for six days of the week. Sunday is strictly observed here as a day of rest and so there is no washing on the line, no outside work of any kind (although tending to the animals is fine) and no shops open.

It's rather nice to have one day off a week - a great excuse to read or do some crafts!