Easter buns March arrived as docile as a lamb and then began to roar, continued to roar and will leave still roaring. Spring took one look at the weather map and immediately fled southwards, leaving us cold, wet and miserable. Any daffodil foolhardy enough to raise its head was immediately decapitated, the primroses huddled in… Continue reading Easter: lambs, lions, swans & buns
Category: Island Life
At Home on the Range…..
“Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam" - Dr. Brewster Higley (1874) Summer Grassland - Ardivachar, South Uist This is not exactly the Hebridean equivalent of the Great Plains, but it is an example of unimproved grassland and although it looks like a completely natural habitat, it is the product of careful grazing… Continue reading At Home on the Range…..
Plan B?
We have just survived one of the worst weeks of weather I can remember for a long time. Storm force winds had been forecast for Saturday 13 February and by the late afternoon it was gusting about 70 mph, so we were not too surprised when there was a electrical power surge which blew several… Continue reading Plan B?
Finding the Vision
Creating a Garden 1 In the beginning there was a house in a coastal meadow, then there was a shed and then there was a garden. Originally, I thought that the house sitting amongst wildflowers with panoramic views required nothing more. Unfortunately this was a romantic illusion. In winter there are no wildflowers, the sunny… Continue reading Finding the Vision
12 Days of Christmas
Day 12: Anticipation I have been watching this flower for over a week now with growing excitement. According to the label it is Narcissus fernandesii grown from seed planted in 2014. Each day I monitored its progress, watching as the perianth elongated and slowly started to open. Yesterday I could see the anthers and the… Continue reading 12 Days of Christmas