Dark Skye

The nights are drawing in and it is dark by five o'clock in the afternoon. The days will progressively shorten until the winter solstice at the turn of the year. One thing we don't have much of on Skye is light pollution and a clear, frosty night with the Milky Way stretching its magic band across the sky is a sight to behold.

It doesn't rain all the time, but it does rain a lot. The gales have been ferocious the last few days, battering me and Jay as we go about the business of feeding the cattle, and in the evenings rattling the windows and making the chimney groan with a constant background drone.

The ground is getting muddy, especially around the byre and it will remain so until the Spring.Yvonne is at work in London and life at Romesdal is pretty quiet. The bed and breakfast season is long over and I miss the company. The income came in useful too.

This morning dawned clear and bright, for a change, and the weather seems to be settling. I have been feeding the cattle hay and cobs for the past week and this daily routine will continue until next May. It is a pleasure on a day like today and a 'get it over with quick' chore when windy and wet. One of the other winter tasks is to halter train the three Highland heifer calves. The calves will then be sold, potential buyers please note.

I have also been busy with the vet (retired) at Kingsburgh Forest helping with wood sales. We sell wood locally on behalf of Kingsburgh Forest Trust. The vet is the chairman and I, for my sins, am the secretary. We use his tractor and trailer and the wood is sold by the trailer load as logs. However, the shop will be shut soon as we are rapidly running out of cut wood. A major upcoming task at the forest is the planting of one thousand sitka spruce plants, replacements for other plants that, for some reason or other, died. Never a dull moment or a quiet day around Kingsburgh.

The vet is also secretary of Kingsburgh Sheepstock Club and has been focused on gathering in the club tups from the common grazings in readiness for putting them out to the hill at the end of the month. He has roped me into helping him find the rams and, like I say, never a dull moment or a quiet day, except for Sunday.

As for my own sheep, I will be putting the ram in with them on the 28th November but before that they will be injected against scab and worms and dosed with spot-on against lice and ticks. Oh lucky sheepies. I never took much notice of sheep when Calum was alive, except to help him feed them, but seem to be getting more attracted to them as time goes by. I think this is because we had some nice lambs last year and I want to see more.

So, there you have it, nothing exciting going on here. Just changed the oil in the Land Rover and now for some diner. Chicken roasted in the Rayburn, if you must know. But before that I'll light the fire, draw the curtains and prepare for another night at home. Dark Skye again, indeed.

Such is life.

Skye Time

And the seasons they go round and round
and the sheep and cattle breed and feed
we are captured on a carousel of time

Calves are born and so are lambs to play
and grow to be big and strong
and then most end up for sale

Cash comes in and then goes out to pay for winter feed
and not much else so how do we make our ends meet
.... is the question?

We can't of course because crofting does not make economic sense
and now I've a chance to mention the new fence and the expense,
of trying to recreate a small native woodland, along the little burn

All a matter of choices whether to do this or do that
play a game of tit for tat
or sell the lot and stay in bed for the winter

But can't bear the thought of life back in town
and its so nice here most of the time
and the rest of the time is really nice too

To watch the summer visitors come and stare
at the Highland cattle and the woolly sheep
as they gleefully tour this not so little island

Gives pleasure to know that it was you, me
and us that helped shaped this place
and added to the attraction and beauty for all to share

And even invite some in to our home
for a little bed and breakfast

That's enough now

It's my blog and I'll write how I like because you don't have to read it and
as the seasons they go round and round

with gatherings of sheep and tales of bullocks jumping and fank work and the annual escape to the the sun of somewhere which this year was Morocco

and now a circle has been completed and the winter feeding season is all but on us

like last year and the year before and next year and the year after

for ever and ever

somewhere over the rainbow bluebirds sing

row, row, row the boat gently the stream

hope I don't wake up at some office desk

.... killing time until half past five