Sunrise on a Saturday.....

Much as I welcome the sun at any time, sunrise on a day off is something I would rather miss.... however some night's are like that.  And watching the sun rise with a cup of tea is as good a way as any to greet a morning if one has to ;-)  (Note..... I have never been a morning person!).

Sunrise today 4.48, sunset 9.27....... I love the long light days..... I also like a lie-in on a Saturday....needless to say Button the Cat has a lot to do with me being up at this hour of the day...... who'd have thought there were TWO 5 o'clocks in the same day.

Planting....

I'm valiantly carrying on planting seeds in the veg patch, despite low temperatures. Showers of rain today but there is some warmth in the sun, out of the wind. (Photo of sunset above was taken on Wednesday night).  But main temperatures are still in single figures....and it's the middle of MAY!  At least we haven't suffered the torrential rain and flooding of other parts of the UK. Even the grass seems to be slow growing this year. Which is fine for me as it means I can spend time gardening rather than mowing grass (no it doesn't count as gardening!).  But not good for crops or silage etc.

Anyway the strawberries are netted as they are coming in to flower now.

And carrots sown today and are cosy under their fleecy blanket! This helps keep carrot fly at bay - I keep the fleece on all through the season and it seems to work and I still get regular sized, tasty carrots!

Even in the walled garden I struggle with some herbs. They just don't survive the winter winds laden with salt spray. I've planted these two thyme plants near the compost bin.  I keep trying!

I've planted some trees in the garden. Here is a young Rowan tree (supposed to keep evil spirits away from the house or so legend tells!). It's not very big - the lovage is taller (just behind it).

Meanwhile Spring flowers are blooming. Aquilegia are my favourite. I have several in the garden.

The forget-me-nots are happy here. These are from Kentish stock (from a friend's garden) and have adapted well to the harsher Northern climate!  Happy little things

These bluebells have been here for many many years, long before I moved here. Each Spring they bloom despite being exposed to strong winds.

Time for a cuppa after all that work!

More on hens....

....in the garden!  Above "Who's a pretty boy then?"

Clearly these girls think so! A friend suggested a caption for this "Hands off, Snowy, he's mine!"

Meanwhile this bee is enjoying some nectar from the lungwort

A one legged hen.....no not really - she's just resting one!

Mrs & Mrs?

Hens and gardening...

Photo looking over Burra sound to Moaness and Ward Hill on the island of Hoy

On a fine day it's great to get out into the garden at last. These photos were taken on a lovely Spring day last week. I took the opportunity to plant the tatties (potatoes), some onions, parsnips and broad beans. More peas and salad crops to go in yet but weather too cold to contemplate planting.

I tried shutting the hens out of the garden with "contraptions" over the gateways but they just flew over the wall! So I'm back to the usual "protecting seeds till the grow" regime.

At least I don't have to worry about working the earth to a "fine tilth" with chickens around happy to do it for me.....

And here is my new compost bin (safe from marauding chooks!). I've never really kept a proper compost bin so lots to learn but hopefully this will supplement the seaweed I also use to fertilize the ground...eventually....if I get it right....  It's quite a challenge to get a good compost going in Orkney because of the cooler temperatures etc but lots of people succeed so I shall take advice. Though I may not follow it all - one piece of advice was to pee into it!  I'd need a stepladder to get up to it and the neighbours think I'm odd enough as it is ;-)

Meanwhile my new (to me) tulips are doing well despite the wind. This one is so beautiful and reminds me of a rose

Blogging Adventures Part II

It's taken a while for me to get back to this but here are some more photos from Perpetua's recent visit to Orkney (For Part I look here), and a description from Perpetua herself here.

So after a visit to Skara Brae we set off across country to the Ring of Brodgar. Perpetua was keen to see the Neolithic stone circle as she has a print of a picture painted by her sister. It was quite slippery underfoot due to recent rain but we valiantly walked around part of the circle, touched the stones and marvelled at the neolithic people who had created such a wonderful thing of beauty which had survived so long.

Imagine what this looks like when the heather is out....

Imagine how much is in the ground for this to stand up, and remember the circle was constructed before modern machinery.

The gentle curve of the circle

All too soon it was time to head back to Stromness. We passed the Ness of Brodgar so that Perpetua could get her bearings and be able to follow the archaeological dig blog that will start again this year in July. Then it was into the town for some lunch at Julia's Cafe Bistro before it was time to say our goodbyes. We packed quite a lot into such a short visit and we talked and talked and talked!  Here's hoping we can add another chapter to "Blogging Adventures" before too long.

The humble scone....

I have fallen in love with scones.  It was only since moving to Orkney and tasting warm home-made oven baked scones that I realised what I had been missing all these years!  I once baked scones at school (domestic science) but they were like bullets and I never tried again. Dad, being from Wales, always preferred Welsh cakes so if I was baking that's what I made.  Latterly he would eat "fruit scones", the supermarket wrapped variety. I hated them, they were big and doughy and not at all the "sweet" cake I enjoyed.

However my tastes are turning to less sweet things these days, and there is absolutely NO comparison between shop-bought scones and home-baked.  Sorry I took so long to discover this Dad.... but I'll raise a freshly baked scone and a cuppa (tea) to your memory!

I received a "Mary Berry Baking Bible" for a recent birthday so have been experimenting with some new recipes. It's cold and sleety/hail outdoors so what better activity to indulge in on a cold Sunday morning (and try and forget it's MAY and should be warm!).

Some lemon biscuits, some oaty ones too and a walnut and sultana "tea bread" (a cake that you slice and butter).

And a banana loaf, one of my favourites so have tried a new recipe.

And no I will NOT be eating ALL these at once. The "tea-bread" style cakes freeze well, as do the scones, and I may be forced to share some of the biscuits this week too! I'm still a very "novice" baker but I do so enjoy the fruits of my labours, even if some are not suitable to share ;-)

Moon rising....

I'm just watching the moon rising, a beautiful orange colour which will change to white once it is higher in the sky. Standing outside watching this is magical. The wind had died down and I can hear Snipe drumming (that's a bird!).