Hens.....

The hens have been loving the good weather too.  As you can see one of the cockerels is exerting his dominance. Fortunately he is quite friendly and was just looking for worms.... I think!

Several hens have gone broody already. I've managed to limit the clutch of eggs they are sitting on by removing new ones regularly. Though one hen was in the barn where the sheep were kept for lambing and I couldn't get to her. So who knows how many she will hatch!  One hen had successfully hatched one chick at the end of last week but I only spotted it as I was heading off for the weekend and didn't have time to box hen and chick into the barn. When I returned it had disappeared. Sadly probably predated by one of the crows or gulls around. Such is life.....

Current broody hen

Came across this clutch of eggs in an old manger - have removed most and just left a couple for the hen to sit upon. If I remove them all the hens just goes somewhere else and produces another clutch. So better that I control numbers this way really.  And yes, they have nesting boxes in their hen house, but they like peace and quiet so tend to sneak off to the barns to lay eggs.  At least these are accessible for collecting ....at the moment!

And if you are wondering why one has a red cross on. Well when I come across a nest, I mark one with a red cross and leave that in the nest for a few days. The hens then lay fresh eggs around it. If they come back and find an empty nest they sneak off and lay somewhere else. Then after a few days I remove the egg with the red cross and throw it onto the shore (probably not a good one to eat!), and mark another one. That way I get regular fresh eggs and not too many chicks if a hen does go broody!

The Queen's Jubilee Celebrations on Graemsay

We may be a remote Scottish island but we like to party and were happy to join in the celebrations for the Queen's Jubilee this weekend.  Throughout the UK last night beacons were being lit at 10pm with the Queen lighting hers (with a diamond - now that's cool!) at 10.30.

On Graemsay we started off with a party in the hall as we weren't sure what the weather would be like on the day and wanted shelter!  However it was a lovely sunny day so we needn't have worried.

I'd started out the day getting home from the folk festival in time to meet some visitors to Sandside. But that story deserves a post of it's own so I'll leave that to another day.

Our party in the hall started at 8pm with a lovely buffet (with trifle of course)

And, of course, a cake fit for a Queen!  Made by Sandra.  And yes it tasted as good as it looked!

Then it was up to the West Hill, the highest point on the island, where Neil had built the bonfire.  There was some discussion about what time to light it but by the time we had all gathered it was 10pm anyway.  The flames were soon producing quite a heat. Of course being so far North nearing mid-summer, the days are very long - this was a 10pm and it was still light!

Some folk were asking where the bonfire was ....er....Behind you!!!

Meanwhile some of the island children were enjoying running around and letting off steam!

We were looking for other beacons around Orkney as many of the parishes and islands were joining in too.
Stromness looked like it had a roaring fire going!

The party went on into the wee small hours. I left just before midnight as I had an early start this morning, with a trip to town.  There were celebrations all weekend in Orkney with tea parties and BBQs. We did better than London with the weather. It was cool but dry, bright and mainly sunny. It was a shame for those in London to be standing in the rain - makes a change for the weather to be better here!!

Another sunset....

Sorry - but I never tire of a sunset!!

And here the lights of Stromness are twinkling in the distance.  Sunset is about 10.15pm and sunrise about 4pm!

And clearly, Button never tires of them either - here she is snoozing in the last of the sun!

Orkney Folk Festival

It's been a busy weekend! Each May the town of Stromness hosts a folk festival. Musicians from around the globe arrive in the country and perform concerts in various places around the town and in the wider community too. There's a real buzz in the town. Local performers, including many young musicians starting out on their careers, also share the stage with the international acts.  Local folk who just enjoy playing a tune on a fiddle, guitar, or squeeze box gather in the pubs and on the street to give impromptu "gigs".

Saturday night I started out with a concert in the Town Hall, a converted kirk (church). The evening began with two young performers, Maggie and James Nicolson - with an average age between them of 14 years! They are ones to watch for the future. Next on was Kris Drever and his festival quartet, Kris is a local lad, though his music career means he lives outside Orkney now. Loved his group. Note to self - must go to more of his gigs.  The evening ended with a brilliant show from "top of the bill" Eddie Reader, that lady can tell a good story as well as sing haunting ballads and great rousting songs. Brilliant evening!

No boat home after the concert so I stayed at a friend's house just outside town. Time enough then to grab some chips (fries) and a nice hot cup of tea.  Meanwhile others were scurrying off to late night concerts.  I was heading for an earlyish night as I had tickets for two concerts the next day!

The view from my bedroom window looked back at Graemsay. Did I mention I live next-door to a lighthouse? ;-)

The first concert on the Sunday was in Hoy up at the old kirk. So a short boat journey and a ride up the hill in a minibus to the next concert.  The Stromabank Pub Choir were the first to perform. This is a choir of local folk from the island and yes, as their name suggests they rehearse in a pub! They began with their own composition telling a story about themselves. Below is Choir Leader, Fran Gray, playing her ukulele to accompany the choir.

Then onto a lovely lullaby written for the youngest member of the Choir, Finn, who is only a few months old!

Then it was onto some well known tunes, their rendition of "Lonley Scapa Flow" brought a tear to my eye! A professional artist saw them performing some time ago and wanted to paint them. So from a number of photos taken over a period of time she created this wonderful picture. Unfortunately I didn't catch her name! I'll have to ask someone and add to the blog later.

The presentation!

The choir see "themselves" for the first time

Fran centre stage - in both pictures!

Another local duo gave a brilliant peformance, Erik Linklater and David Delday are local lads and both clearly hold great promise for the future. Erik's fiddle playing was extraordinary - so fast, how his fingers didn't get tied into knots is beyond me!

The afternoon was ended by the Harald Daugaard Trio, over from Denmark. Um.. there were four of them but who's counting ;-)   A lovely lively set of traditional Danish tunes were played and some haunting melodies written by Harald.  But time was running out for the boat home so there was a prompt ending and a mad dash to the ferry home.  However Harald and his group didn't want to see us "short-changed" so they carried on playing on the boat.

 And Erik, the young fiddle player, joined in too.

The evening "Farewell Concert" was a sell out, again in the Stromness Town Hall. Lots of bands playing, including Harald and his band again after a short break from his trip to Hoy. They played some wonderful wild tunes.  He is an amazing fiddle player!  Then at the end all the musicians came on stage and played some foot stomping numbers (see photo at top of this post)!  Brilliant end to a great weekend.

Outside a short shower hung a rainbow over the harbour. Perfect timing to folk coming out from the concerts.

Sailing into Stromness

Although our ferry is our version of a "bus service" it is also lovely to sail upon it in the good weather......

Here we are sailing into Stromness harbour, passing one of the workboats - mostly working in the renewable energy sector.

And of course the dive boats which are busy throughout the summer as there are lots of sunken wrecks to dive. Diving holidays in Orkney are a key part of the tourism sector.

And the old lifeboat shed has been given a new lease of life. Known locally as "The Red Shed", it's been reclad and repainted and is now used by one of the local diving companies. Meanwhile the lifeboat is moored in the harbour.

But our ferry is also a vital link with the Orkney Mainland, bringing over cargo. Here is "Barney" a new pony for one of the island families! He was very placid and didn't seem bothered by his wee sail on the ferry!

Though I think he was glad to be on dry land again!

Sea Shore

More photos from the recent sunny spell. I love walking along the shore near the house.

Down at the pier are lots of sand eels - good for the local bird and sealife!  Favourite puffin food too! We don't have puffins nesting on the island but I often see them in flight when on the boat.

Rock pools are full of interesting things

And an amazing variety of seaweed too

And the seals are always curious about us land based folk!

Interesting geology here.....

Here is evidence of an old "midden" (rubbish tip) by one of the ruined croft cottages. It's thought there has been a croft here for several hundred years.

And the "Hamnavoe" sailing out of Stromness again!

Glorious weather continues....

Well temperatures have dropped but it's still sunny!  Though farmers are desperate for rain to wash fertilizer into the fields and to help crops grow.  But I'm making the most of the lovely weather!  Last Saturday there were 16.2 hours of sunshine and temperatures reached 24 degrees C (76 F).

Above - photo of the "Hamnavoe" boat sailing out of Stromness on it's way to Scrabster on the Scottish Mainland, with Stromness in the background.

And here you can see Graemsay with Hoy High lighthouse!

Last weekend I went for a short walk "up the road". It was just glorious in the warm sun.

The house with Stromness in the background.

Sheep wondering what on earth I am doing... the lambs are growing fast now.

Lesser celandine growing in the ditch.

Looking across the turquoise entrance to Scapa Flow to the West Mainland of Orkney.

The ruined croft of Moan, with a scarecrow in the field! The scarecrow was to ward off crows and the like when the sheep and young lambs were in the field.