On these isles where winters are long, dark and storms roll into one another, the security of having a multi fuel stove brings so much peace of mind - providing you have enough fuel to keep the flames dancing throughout the darkest hours.

As the blood line to the island is the ferry service, which relies on good weather, it is pretty important to order and have delivered firewood and coal whilst the ferries operate consistently.  Also, there is nothing worse than humping and dumping tonnes of coal and peat around during the wild Orkney weather.

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So, we have had our coal delivery already, along with an unexpected tonne of peat.  Our shipping container is bulging at the sides with sacks of coal and peat, along with the remnants of last years wood delivery and pallets waiting to be chopped into splinter thin cocktail sticks to get the fire roaring.

As there are very few trees on our island, scurrying around scavenging fallen branches is not really an option.  Driftwood washed up on the beaches is always a welcome find whilst out beachcombing, but, thankfully shipwrecks these days are few and far between.  Long gone are the days when locals would entice ships and fishing vessels onto craggy rocks with touches in the hope of causing a wreck! Broken shipping pallets which have been well dried out do make good kindling, although nails in the ash pan need to be removed prior to the ash added to the compost heap.  

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One thing that we do have an abundance of here on the isle is seaweed, and I am most interested in making seaweed briquettes to burn on the multi fuel stove.  If successful, then this could well be a very cost effective and very green source of renewable heating!

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We will give you all a guided tour of the gardens, outbuildings and land as soon as this current batch of wind has subsided! 

This week we have a work-awayer coming from Denmark to stay with us for a month to help us develop our homestead.   We have a huge amount of projects on the go and ready to get started - so an extra pair of hands will be a huge help!  This will be our first time hosting a work-awayer, so it will be a big learning curve for us.  She wants to see the roughest side of Scotland- fortunately she means in terms of weather, other wise I would have suggested she spends a month in Glasgow, but Orkney in January and February will appeal to her.

Our first litter of chicks are due to hatch in a few days, so we are pacing up and down with excitement.  I have resisted the urge to make a “Congratulations - it’s a hen” sign - that would be a little over kill.  

We are also looking forward to choosing our sheep!  We need to go and pick them out, register with Defra and get out Parish holding number, and we are good to go!  The sheep have their names - Izzy and Beth for the ewes and Ewan for the ram.  Any future lambs from this parent stock will have names relating to cuts of meat.  

Dee has spent a lot of time arranging, rearranging and re-rearranging the decor in the cottage. Photo frames galore, house plants, pewter and horse brasses adorne pretty much every available horizontal and vertical surface around us - and it does feel very cosy!

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It’s about time I sat down and gave you all an update on our homestead, well overdue I know.

Firstly, we must apologize for no recent videos.  This is due to our computer going kaput due to a power surge and the computer is now FUBAR.  A replacement has been ordered, but, like all things coming to our island it takes time to arrive, especially over New Year.  Hopefully, it will be here by the end of the week - along with a decent surge protector.  Video output will resume!

We had to dispatch one of the turkeys as he had a sinus condition which affected his immune system.  We had hoped he would recover - but, eventually we needed to do the right thing for him. We have one turkey left who is quite happy playing big brother to the chickens - but, he will be for the pot before too long.  

We are not fans of turkey meat, we eat it of course, but, they do not make it onto our list of poultry that we want to raise.  Our chickens are doing well, not yet laying eggs but, that is due to the lack of light and them being cooped up under lock down.  Only 3 days until chicken liberation day - then they will be kicked out into their paddock to free range, and hopefully get some sun on their backs.  

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We have promises of sheep and lambs, as well as a lot of local advice on all things sheepish.  So come the spring, Dee will have her wish of 2 pet lawn mowers for wool called Izzy and Beth, and maybe a few lambs to raise for meat.

Island life is fantastic, the rugged and barren remoteness is offset by the warmth and friendliness of the locals.  The weather is not an issue providing you are prepared to get blown off of your feet, which is very invigorating!  

The next thing we want to get sorted is the raised / lowered beds for vegetables.  Our soil is very rocky and clay, so raised is the way to go - but, we will need to build up the sides and make windbreaks to help protect the plants.

We have ordered some sea buckthorn, which is a coastal plant that thrives in saline winds, grows tall and wide and has been used as windbreaks for generations.  They also give a very versatile berry for making jams, pies and wines.  We will have to see how they grow!


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Phew -  the two storms, Barbara and Conor have passed us by, leaving us relatively intact.  No storm damage to report to the house, which is a surprising blessing.  We had gusts of over 100MPH sweeping past us, thunderstorms directly overhead and some torrential downpours.

The only bit of damage was to the makeshift bottom door of the pigsty which had blown off it’s hinges sometime last night.  This is where the chickens are currently residing until we convert the caravan into their ‘Chick-o-van’.  As there is currently a Defra enforced lockdown / quarantine on poultry, we have had to coop them up since we acquired the chickens.  This morning whilst the dogs and I were out having a windless walk, we were greeted by the 2 hens, followed by the two turkeys, who had seized the moment and made a bid for freedom.  ​

With the help of the two sheepdogs, the hens and turkeys were quickly escorted back into the pig field and their temporary des res and the pallet and cable tie door re-fitted.  All reasonable measures were taken to keep the birds indoors, but faced with the brutal might of Conor, we are thankful that the pigsty did not fly away and end up on another Island.

During the peak of the storm last night, we did have several power failures which resulted in us having an early night in bed.  The outlook for the rest of the week seems pretty settled with a steady breeze of 25 MPH - 55 MPH winds, so hopefully we can get out in the garden and start work!

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