Christmas Posting & Gallery Event
Christmas is only 5 weeks away and the last guaranteed posting from Fluke Jewellery in Orkney is;
Special Delivery to the UK: Wednesday 21st December and the rest of the world sent Airsure: Friday 9th December.
Having experienced two hard winters here my advice would be to order early just in case!
*Special Event at my Gallery in Birsay*
Don’t forget the special Xmas weekend, 10th/11th December, 11am-5pm where you can enjoy a stress free shop & a glass of mulled wine!
With warm winter wishes
Roger
Spring is here
Update - we had a phone call from our neighbour who said he had something of ours…click on the duckling photo & see..aaaahhh!!
Well the sun is shining as I type this but it is chilly for May!
Wildlife & Island news
However, the island is bubbling & singing it’s spring tune. I heard my first Lark back in February this year which is always a sure thing that things are changing. I think that has to be one of the most wondeful birdsongs! It always raises your spirits. We actually went to the cathedral on sunday & enjoyed Camerata playing a themed concert on birds in conjunction with the RSPB. They played The Lark ascending which was truly stunning!
The Oyster catchers & Curlews are bubbling & whistling away constantly. The Lapwings are more in evidence now too. The busy sand martins are flitting about down on the beach beneath the house flying in & out of their homes. My favourite wader, the Ringed Plover is scuttling about the tideline always busy! They are very terratorial & are amazingly brave when I walk with Selkie down there protecting their space..incredible. We haven’t seen a Puffin yet but have heard they are here. The Bonxies (great Skuas) are patroling the cliff edges already. We are seeing the Short eared owl more frequently too & enjoying them hovering over the nearby fields & then diving for their pray. We actually watched 3 at once last month. The hen harriers are more prominent again too. The lovely Wheatears are flitting about the dry stone walls & perching on the fence posts enjoying the sun.
It is quiet on the marine mammal front at the moment but there were a couple of sightings of Orcas back in April… Roger was lucky enough to see 2 Otters when he was fishing back in April so he was excited about that! He had good close views of them in & out of the water.
Craiglands
Well I managed to get my tatties planted at the beginning of May this year as it was so warm & sunny. I also sowed salad & spinach crops & they are coming up already i noticed today. Broad beans & courgettes started to take over our kitchen & have now been put to the greenhouse! Hopefully I will be planting those out the first week of June. I always sow wildflower seeds now in various places around the garden & they too are appearing..they really put on a colourful display throughout the summer. so fingers crossed for a lovely summer this year.
One of our ducks disappeared & took up residence in my green house due to it having glass missing & she has a nest with 10 eggs in it! So anytime now she will hatch those beautiful fluffy ducklings that everyone adores. So I’m sure there will be some photos soon.
I am busy preparing for The Orkney Folk Festival which is just over a week away! If you happen to be here between the 26th-29th May in Stromness be sure to catch something. More info is availabale at www.orkneyfolkfestival.com I am performing on the saturday night in the Festival Club, Stromness hotel. I have a new line-up; still Graham Simpson on guitar but Kathie Touin originally from California has joined me on keyboard. This change has given my current songs a fresh new sound & we have added some new material so come & hear us if you can?!
Fluke News
We have been busy preparing some new pieces of jewellery to be added to our website & updating it slightly. We hope these new updates will be live by the end of the week. Roger has made several new pieces including a Kudos seahorse brooch & pendant, charms, Limpet shell jewellery which has been added to our popular Groatie Buckie collection & more. Have a look at the weekend…
We are sure you are all busy too with your Spring jobs..it seems to be such a busy time of year for everybody. Hopefully we will see some of you over the coming months..
Until next time keep well & happy.
Jo & Roger
Cornflowers…the colours of summer to come..
Take advantage of current prices until the 14th March!
Hello,
Due to the current increase in prices of metals & VAT we will be reluctantly adjusting our prices both at our gallery & website from 14th March 2011. We have always endeavoured to keep our prices extremely competitive, which meant the majority of our collection has not seen an increase for the best part of 3 years.However, we would like to give you this opportunity to purchase anything from our current collections at the existing price.
Also due to the fact that gold prices are continually fluctuating we have removed all gold prices. However, these pieces are still available but you will need to contact us to get a current price & timescale.
With Kind Regards
Roger & Jo
February & Valentine’s day is only 14 days away?!
Well that is January finished already?! We hope you have all recovered from the December chill & are now looking forward to the year ahead…
We managed to get some winter sun in Spain recently & I have put a few photos here in the hope it might bring you a bit of warm sun during these dark months!
I managed to get in the garden last week & do some clearing in the borders under the watchful eye of my new garden companion ‘Peter Rabbit’! I think he is going to be a real friend to me this year & help protect the veg garden when needed & also be a great listener! It was a sunny but cold day perfect for working outside, with a few layers I hasten to add! The geese were a constant companion as were the swooping balls of starlings. It was good to see so many things peeking through in the garden. Even the buds were daring to show themselves after the bitter, snowy winter. It gives you a sense of hope of what the year might bring.
Peter Rabbit of Craiglands -my new gardening friend!
Sparkling sunny sea! mmmm