Its been a busy week, so I don't have many words to write, but I thought I'd leave you with some images from the farm this week. Its crazy to be thinking of winter...but this week we have been busy baling hay. We have hopefully got over 800 bales, which will be kept for winter fodder for when the cattle come into the sheds in November.
After work this evening I decided to have a wee walk to freshen my head, and catch some exercise. It was a gorgeous evening, with not a spec of rain, or many clouds in the sky. The air was filled with the aroma of cut grass, and the birds were singing away...perfect. Tonight the grass is being cut for silage before the rain moves in tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed it stays dry! Our cottage has been like the met office.... every known device has been tracking the weather...from websites to sky channels, trying to make a decision on what to do in the fields. If only there was a reliable source!
On my walk this evening I also spied the beginnings of brambles....one of my favourite fruits. They are so delicious on their own, in a crumble or in a jam...so I will be spending my August and September evenings with purple stained hands and picking these black jewels before too many berries are taken by the birds and flies!
And finally...I popped by my very neglected veg patch. I guiltily scratched about the soil, not expecting to find anything of great success, as my evenings have not been very productive in the garden recently...but then, under my fingers, appeared some gorgeous pink potatoes!!! Very exciting! My first crop this year.... lets hope they taste good!
Apologies for the long delay between posts.... my 14hour days on my current contract are very exhausting...and my little bump is growing each day using up lots of my energy! So today on my day off when the clouds are creeping over the hills and the garden is chilly and unwelcoming for a summers day, I 've decided to have a day in the house, catching up on all sorts of things!
I have 1 more month left on this current film, them I am hoping to hang up my boots and take time away from the madness of props. I am so excited about getting back into painting and making things again, as well as slowly building up my wee business Tartan Heart. I have so many other business plans whizzing about my head too, I really hope I can put them into action!
I am currently dithering on whether to do the Country Living Fair in Glasgow's SECC in November. It would be a wonderful opportunity. I just hope it would be worth my while, and not a big loss or stress before baby arrives!? We'll see...
Its been over a month since i've attempted to write something on my blog. I have taken no pictures recently, and my free time has been spent sleeping....which i feel doesn't equal a very interesting blog! Whether its be the busy-ness and the long hours of my new job, or the fact that i am 3 months pregnant, and the tiredness has been unbelievable, I dont know? but here I am again to start writing about the goings on on the farm, my hen house, and my glassware ( which unfortunately has had to take a back seat recently)
The weather has been wonderful recently...just like the summers used to be in the 90s when i had my summer holidays, days and days of sunshine, and late night BBQs, trips to the beach or baling the last bale of hay before the dew came down.
It has been a wonderful month on the farm, we have managed to keep up to date with the crops unlike the last 3 wet summers! We have so much grass this year, Duncan has been busy making silage for the cows winter fodder. This years grass is lovely and lush too, as well as being very rich in glucose, which is great. They're has been so much happening in the fields, i would need another few posts to write about them all...so i'll get a few new photos, and try not to leave it as long this time!
To give you a quick update on my sitting hen....she's still sitting...no chicks- her eggs were infertile, which i always thought...so last week i plonked a couple of fertile eggs under her from my mums hens...so we'll see.... shes a determined lassie anyway!!!
With the lovely weather we have been having, my front door is always open, though I seem to have a very nosey and inquisitive hen!!... This is pigeon...she would happily be a house hen if she was given half the chance!
My Aunty Ros recently returned from France with these gorgeous old style lemonade bottles. She had seen craft shops in France selling them as decorative olive oil bottles, and asked me if I could paint some similar for her instead of forking out 25euros in a french craft shop. It is a glassware product that I had never thought of selling, but after painting these I think I am going to add them to my collection. I like the idea of having nicely decorated olive oil bottles lined up on my shelf, especially as it is an ingredient that I use daily. So I am on the search for old style bottles that I can paint. I have a feeling Ikea sell them, but I'm not too sure of their quality.
After a busy few months at work, my contract has finally finished on one of the most hectic jobs of my life.It always takes a week or so to adjust to not having to get up really early and drive into work, and it also takes time to learn to unwind and relax. I have been so tired this week, the simplest of tasks seem to take up so much energy and effort. I have had a walk each day to get some exercise as well as some fresh air. Now that I am away from the stresses of work, I can take time to stand back and take in my tranquil surroundings, and realise how lucky I am to be able to escape to the gorgeousness of our countryside. Today I noticed how much our beans have grown, and how they have started to display their beautiful flowers.
I also noticed how suddenly, with all the sun and showers we have had over the last few weeks, how my garden is starting to bloom in all sorts of colours. I love the vivid lime green of the creeper against the deep purple of the ornamental thistles.
I also noticed the beauty of weeds! Amongst my 'meadow'/rough patch in my garden there are lots of dockins.... and they are starting to turn such gorgeous autumnal colours. They look like they have been marbled.
Finally to round up this weeks happenings, I have a broody hen...Joan. She has been sitting on 1 of her eggs for over a week now. Here's hoping its been fertilised. She will probably be sitting for another 2 weeks, then we'll see if there is a mini joan?!
This weekend I was down at my Mums for a lovely relaxing break. On the Saturday we went on a super walk to St Ninians cave, by Whithorn.
The walk down to the beach where the cave is, is so enchanting. The path starts off in a bluebell wood, then finishes off on a gorgeous open beach, full of stones varying from small pebbles, to large boulders.
I could have spent ages beach combing collecting different shaped stones, with wonderful patterns and stripes running through them,
Along the way we kept finding interesting stones, so we tried to create Andy Goldsworthy inspired art on the beach!
We finally made it to the end of the beach where the cave stands. The rockface of the cave is engraved with many initials, names, quotes, dates and crosses. There is meant to be some original crosses carved by St Ninian himself. Whether this is one of his carvings, we'll never really know!?
Last weekend,at the country fair at Cardross, I took time out from the terrier racing, and managed to browse a few of the craft tents. I was particularly drawn to the tweed tent. They had a mixture of cushions, throws and upholstered stools as well as a stunning cushion that I was instantly attracted to. I fell in love with its array of colours and bumpy textures. It was nearly £100...!.. so i placed it neatly back on its shelf, and walked away, telling myself I didn't really need it!!
Something I did buy that day off Amazon, was Sophie Dahls 'Voluptuous delights'. I had read about the recipe book on Miss Pickerings blog, that I found through Primrose Hill. It has so many scrumptious salads in it, I can't wait to try them all out!
Today has been tropical! Unfortunately I have been working all day, so haven't had the chance to be out in the sun much. Luckily when I got home, the weather was still glorious, and warm, so we wheeled out the BBQ! We only got to use it once last year, as the weather was so shockingly awful throughout the summer, so my plan is to use it on every sunny occasion this year! Tonight we had minute steak and beefburgers home grown on my mums farm in Galloway, and they were delicious!
