Monday 4 August: Flores – the storm, now almost forgotten, had arrived. Wild white horses raced up the loch between shores where helpless trees flailed. The air was warm but moving at an unusual rate. Driving anywhere was a questionable decision, but I took Tash to the coach in Tarbert then met my friend Simon.Continue reading “Flailing Flores”
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Summer rain
The rain starts, the rain stops, starts again and gets heavier. Our visitors, Simon, Eloisa and Lorenzo, due to continue their holiday further north, turn south and head for home. Within two hours the sun is out and the next day is sunny. When to cut your losses; a tricky call. At least they hadContinue reading “Summer rain”
Wasp factory
Rain woke me, the sound of it getting heavier and an odd greenish light; I knew I should make the most of it. Going out of the front door I pulled on my hoody, ran across to the old metal bike store and pulled the lid up, before running back to the house and anotherContinue reading “Wasp factory”
Marmoleum zing
House: the spare Marmoleum – real lino (linseed oil, wood flour, limestone, and jute) – is no longer under the spare bed, but glued to the backs of the kitchen units, hiding the random plywood I’d added to the Ikea hardboard. Too much? An audacious move? We like the way it fits the colours ofContinue reading “Marmoleum zing”
Treshnish Isles & solstice revisited
Into the hills to find a dramatic gulley Richy said the land they bought in the village came with fishing rights to a loch up in the hills. I got out a map to identify it and he talked about a dramatic gulley or ravine nearby, as though you couldn’t visit the loch (which weContinue reading “Treshnish Isles & solstice revisited”
Delectable fat hen
The kids were here, the kids were gone. It happens so quickly. A week passes, filled with fresh acquaintance and, watching them sharing, caring and getting on, you smile inside and out. Forgot to mention: HMRC repaid us all the VAT we claimed. It wasn’t quite that easy. A month after uploading copies of theContinue reading “Delectable fat hen”
Half a lettuce and no chocolate
There’s only so much sheep’s sorrel and dandelion you can eat before a trip to Oban becomes overwhelmingly attractive. Before our next tranche of guests. Swallows: What are they playing at? Three times one flew in through the open skylight as we lay in bed. They explored the workshop’s roof overhang and handy ledges butContinue reading “Half a lettuce and no chocolate”
It takes more than one swallow to stop a bike shed
I’d been racing to build the bike shed before the swallows arrived. I was spurred on by the arrival of the first swallow, but when two more turned up I finished planking the roof and stopped work, not wanting to put them off nesting under the adjacent workshop overhang. I also hung a black polytheneContinue reading “It takes more than one swallow to stop a bike shed”
Cash for worms
April 7: we heard our first cuckoo and blackcap – earlier than usual. At the last meeting of the local wildlife group, Action West Loch, I learned that we’d been successful (nothing to do with me) applying for several thousand pounds worth of funding. It’s for a project here in West Loch Tarbert to monitorContinue reading “Cash for worms”
Ospreys rebuilding at speed
Osprey: Wednesday 2 March – Tuesday a week ago in the morning and evening we saw an osprey on the tree where, until the ravages of storm Eowyn, there had been a nest. The previous night I’d asked a group of friends who live along the loch whether anyone had seen the ospreys yet; noContinue reading “Ospreys rebuilding at speed”
A sustainable house for unsustainable times... 