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Here are a few pics of the ducklings that have now been removed from the brooder and set in the compound to fend for themselves. The fluffy down is turning to scruffy stubbly feathers and the colours are fading from yellow to a mottled whitish grey.

We have put them in with an old duck who is broody and her mate with the hope that they will be protected from maurauding crows and gulls and of course RATS....







I can't get over how big the ducklings have grown compared to the chicks, considering they were hatched at the same time

We have another 10 or so in the incubator and some of them are pipping as we speak so it will be round two soon.

Today the sun shone and the Rooster strutted his stuff on the newly mown lawn. His feathers were so colourful that it inspired me to take my life in my hands and try to capture it on the camera.

You see Rocky the Rooster has had a few run ins with me and most of the time I run and hide . His talons inflict great pain when he flies at you whilst your back is turned. I have shut myself in the wood shed frightened to open the door incase he is out there. Even the Hooch has felt his wrath and unless Hooch is feeling very brave he will skirt round the edge of the garden to avoid coming face to face with him.



Rocky was raised from an egg in an incubator and I am sure that he is as mad as hell that he missed out on the mother fatherly love that we all need. He belonged to the doctor on Shapinsay who was also so wary of the said Rooster that se wanted him banished from her hen house. It took Mr B a battle and a half to get him into the box to bring him home.


If I had my way the Rooster would be in the pot, but hes such a handsome beast and Mr B's quite indignant that he is here to stay that I guess that the Rooster is here to stay.

Doesn't the time fly by!

Here we are in the middle of May and the building work is struggling on. I will be glad when we can start to remove the final bits of the roof and resume the truss building etc. Now we are hurriedly trying to finish of the one room that we are transferring the goods and chattles to. Mr B goes to Inverness for a week on Sunday for a course so I have been left with the task of staining doors and filling screw heads with gyproc.

We have been progressing fairly well but time seems to get the better of you and things that seem to be easy jobs take far too long, our only hope is that we can do it all before the winds come again. I couldn't face another winter with a temporary roof.


I have been trying to relax a little and have been attending Art Class at Pat Hazzeldine Studio on the island. Its a chance for a cuppa a chat and a lot of fun working with different mediums

Here is a piece that I did this week

Our nearest neighbours across the brae are fine folk and this weekend I spent the afternoon with them enjoying the good weather and sharing a meal

It is a busy time of year for them as always and I love to go over and see the new calves and the caddie lamb called Tyson who greets you at the fence as you walk across from Barebraes to them.

Yesterday afternoon was a typical day for them, they work a full day and then get up in the night to inspect the cows that are still to have calves just in case theres a problem. I didn't realise how physical and hard the work was. I spent an afternoon there and this morning I had aches everywhere.

It was time to plant the tatties and this was good fun. You sit on the back of a ploughing machine that has a hopper with 2 tubes. There is a seat either side and 2 people can sit on it and the task is to listen for the bell and every time the bell rings you drop a seed tattie down the tube. Behind you appears 2 lovely drills of freshly turned soil and the gulls and other birds follow you along hoping for a tasty meal. The tractor pulls the plough along and when you gett to the end you are raised up and there is a sprint back to the start to do another drill. I helped do a few drills and then got a ride back to the house in the bucket of the other tractor with their son. His dad tried to frighten me by danglin us over a ditch and I was worried that he might tip us in. The grin he had when I looked back said it all.

After that we had the pleasure of shovelling out the byres and placing silage in the pens. A short trip up the road in another tractor with the wifey to fetch some hay bales was the next task and I have never had such a laugh. They build a hay house that is made of bales and it is covered with a net. The wifey mananged to get 10 bales then I said I would have a go. To pull out the bales which are wedged in is quite dificuollt so I tried to climb up to get more leverage. The bales came out and so did a few others I fell from the side and both me and the wifey were showered with bales . No one was hurt apart from my sides from laughing. We took the bales to another byre and fed the cows.

On returning to the farm it was time for tea. This was eaten and then it was out again to place the calves onto the cows for their evening feed. More muscles required. The calves are frisky and they always want to go where they are not supposed to be.
By this time it was getting on for 9pm and I headed home, happy and tired. But I knew that the day hadn't finished for them. They would be up till late no doubt, mending fences and getting ready for the release of the cows into grazing.

I slept very well.

Today its a dreary day with lots of rain and grey skies. The dog is curled up on his bed unable to summon up the energy to go in the garden to get wet again. Billy the cat has managed to get past security and steal a warm spot on the sofa. Mr B has taken out the Community Mini Bus complete with passengers to deliver them to the Lunch Club held one a fortnight. And what might you ask have I been left with?

The final peice of plasterboard went up this morning and I have just finished dotting the walls with gyproc plaster to cover up the screwheads and the joins. A messy job but someone has to do it. And tommorrow we will be able to start on the upstairs room, preparing it for all our stuff which is going to be transferred from the other end of the house so we can remove the final part of the roof (thats if it stops raining).

It certainly makes a difference to have a room finished, just a few more to go !!

Can't wait to paint it

We have a peedie Duck that Mr B has named Donald

He was the last of the ducks from the incubator and unfortunately he hasn't got any friends apart from Mr B, me and Hooch.

We have put him out with the other ducks but they are blacklegging him and he wanders around trying to be sociable to no avail.

He needs constant watching as he hasn't got long enough legs to hoist himself out of the pond and swims around shouting out for help. I checked on him a small while ago to find him covered in mud and soaked through. I brought him inside and dried him off. Hes now sitting in the front room in front of the fire with the dog and the cat.

At least hes a happy Duck for NOW