Graemsay in winter...

Here are some more photos from the other weekend when we had SUNSHINE!  This week has been wet and windy again, although today (sshhh!) we have sun!  It's been frosty but is clearing now. Blue skies, no wind.... bliss!

I missed an excellent display of the Northern Lights (Merry Dancers) on Sunday. While I was curled up with Button on the sofa watching re-runs of "Foyle's War", outside Nature was working her magic.....sigh.... I've been lucky to see several excellent displays over the years, but was sorry to miss this one. Ho hum.....

Anyway, back to Graemsay in winter - as I've said many times, this winter has been mild, but wet and windy. Very little frost and No Snow (yet!).  I went for a walk up just a few hundred yards from the house and here are some of the old ruined crofts that show just how populated the island was at one time!

At the top of the post is the croft of Crookshouse (usually pronounced "Ce'euks" or something similar!). The land is still farmed, but the buildings are in ruins.

Below is Scarratain. It has a traditional Orkney turf roof which is very good insulation. The wee boats behind are creel boats, putting down creel pots. And some of the other Orkney Islands can be seen in the distance. Directly behind the boat on the right is the uninhabited island of Cava.

This wee house is on the way to the pier on Graemsay. It's called "Moan" - though pronounced more like "Mow-an". The land in the background is Orphir, on the Orkney Mainland.

These sheep (think they might be Rams - but I didn't get that close!) are fed regularly with silage and are grazing across a stubble field that has some green shoots in it. Again the hills of Orphir are in the background.

Meanwhile The Manse which IS inhabited, sits among a number of old ruined crofts, and the old School can just bee seen - a small white building. The Hoy Hills sit in the background.