The Celandines are varnished yellow against the deep green of freshening grass. The Daffodils and Narcissus in their tens of thousands line the highways and the byways, nodding in the breeze their trumpeting heads. Skylarks sing ecstatically as if their very lives depended on it. Curlews bubble as they lift on quivering wings and then gently downward glide. Lapwings “ peewit pewee” in a display of staggering stunt flying. The house reeks of freshly flung mouldering muck! AAAAhh, spring is here at last!!!

The weather on Orkney of late has been changeable. Cold wet and windy one day and then bright but cool the next. I think only the Primroses really know what is going on for they seem not to be fooled by the sunny days and just rest peeping a fragment of yellow watching and waiting for the real bud bursting warmth to massage them from their reticence.

Early April.

The weather if anything has got a lot colder and the Primroses still peep smugly and snugly from their cosy buds and my nuts are still being ignored!
Maybe I should explain. Two weeks ago I was bemoaning to my good friend and fantabulous bird artist Tim Wooton the fact that any bird feeders I put out in my garden are demolished by the extremely high winds that blow straight of off the sea. I live as I am sure a lot of you know only 100 yards from a cliff edge. These cliffs suffer westerly winds that have to be experienced to be believed. I then went on to explain to him that I had the idea of attaching sturdy feeders to blocks by way of screws and then they in turn would be screwed onto poles set firmly in the ground. He thought it was a good idea or at least one that had enough merit to be tried and asked when was I going to put my cunning plan into action.” Oh sometime soon” I answered. “Do it today” he said the sooner they are up the sooner you will have the pleasure of watching birds feeding while you stand at the kitchen sink doing the washing up. I couldn’t argue he had a good point.
Well to cut what could be a long and tedious story short by the end of the following day I had not only erected 3 feeders that hurricane Hilary would have trouble dislodging but below the feeders I had set into the earth an old ceramic shower tray that I lined with stony cement to give a more natural look, and even if I do say so myself the whole set up looked pretty good. However despite all my well intended efforts my nuts have not seen one visitor, not one nut nibbled or even looked at. Ah well, the best laid plans and all that.

Late April.

It is with great pleasure I can report that not only are my nuts being nibbled they are being demolished at such a rate I have to fill the feeders up every 2 days. Ok, at the moment it is House Sparrows and Starlings tucking in to the free nosh. Certainly nothing rare and exotic but it is fabulous to watch them and all their comings and goings bickering and squabbles. It puts me in mind of a school playground.
However there is one fly in the ointment or should I say “Chicken in the Bird Bath”. One of my 6 year old Light Sussex Hens has worked out that if she hangs around under the feeders she can rely on a steady fall of tasty seeds as the birds can be very choosy about what seeds they will deem to eat or not as the case may be. As a consequence, this rather fat hen has been stomping about the flower bed. Some plants have either been pummelled to nothing or scratched out in her endeavours to find any seed that might be hiding from her murderous and ever working beak. Not only that but she keeps walking into the bird bath with mucky feet to find seed that is either floating or on the bottom, this means the water is forever dirty and not very appealing to the rest of the other avian population that share the amenities. Something must be done!!! Watch this space.

A Bit Later April.

As I write the sun is shining there is a cool breeze blowing and that ****** hen is still causing devastation in the flower bed! Something has got to be done but I am not sure what at this moment in time. I am loath to send her to the great hen coop in the sky because she has been with me for so long and she is past the ‘Good to eat stage’.
While we are on the subject of hens I am relieved and glad to report the hens and the ducks have started laying with a vengeance and I now have eggs in abundance, so much in fact I can sell some to visitors and friends.
The difference between an egg bought from a shop or supermarket despite the label saying ‘Free Range’ and an egg that is FRESH as well as free range, believe me is immense.
The date today as write this is 24-4-12 and I have just seen my first Swallow of the year sitting on the barbed wire fence outside my kitchen window. I also had a Song Thrush feeding in the vegetable garden. The first I have seen at Craiglands in the 9 years I have lived here. Because of the location we do not get what many people “Doon Sooth” would call the more common birds such as Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Robins and the members of the Tit family. It is a real treat to see a Robin, Wren or Goldcrest. However this is more than made up by the fact that I see on a daily basis hunting outside as I eat my meals in the kitchen, Hen Harriers and Short Eared Owls I also see Ravens, Hooded Crows Great Skuas, Arctic Skuas, Arctic Terns, Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Peregrine Falcon and Merlin. And on the cliffs just 100 yards from my door all types of breeding seabirds including Puffins.
I think you might also like to know that there are reports of Orca sightings in a couple of areas around the Orkney coast.
I must be of now to open the byre in the hope that the Swallows will once nest in the rafters and keep me company through the summer with their familiar call and exhilarating flight.

Regards Roger

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

We seem to have had a busy summer with Orcas & not very much else….

3rd June - 4 Orcas Sandside Bay, Mull Head

6th June - Approx 8 Orcas feeding off Hoxa Head

7th June - Pod of 6 Orcas feeding in Birsay Bay

12th June - 2 Bottlenose Dolphins very rare , Deerness

16th June - Orcas Barrier No.4 heading North

26th June - Orcas in Birsay Bay, Otter at Skipi Geo hunting from the rocks

11th July - Orcas at point of Ness Stromness

15th July - 4 Orcas at Burwick, South Ronaldsay

21st July - Pod of Orcas Breckness heading south into the Flow & a pod of Orcas at Marwick heading North

15th August - Minke Whale off the Brough of Birsay

Well here we go the Orcas are here…

18th May - A pod of Orcas in Scapa Flow

19th May - x6 Orcas seen from the John o’groats ferry 1 half miles south of Lother rock

25th May - A pod of Orcas in Scapa Flow

3oth May - A pod of Orcas off the Brough of Birsay to the north side around 2pm. We didn’t see them!!

Even though we know Otters aren’t marine we would like to tell you that whilst Roger was out fishing back in March one evening he was accompanied by 2 adult Otters over Finstown way. They were in & out of the water & he had some great views but sadly no photographs! 

5th April - A pod of Orcas were seen in Eynhallow sound, Evie

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..

Due to the current increase in prices of metals & VAT we will be reluctantly adjusting our prices both at our gallery & website from 14^th 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

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

We hope you all had a great christmas & are looking forward to the New Year! We enjoyed our white christmas & shared a goose with some good friends. Our celebrations preceeding xmas (as for many folk!)were somewhat few due to being snowed in twice within a month..looking forward to the snow & ice going now…. 

Please note we are unable to send out any orders between the 4th - 18th January 2011 inclusive or deal with any email enquiries. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause during this time. We will deal with all enquiries on our return.

Have a great New Year & thank you for your continued custom. We look forward to seeing some of you in 2011!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Roger, Jo & Selkie!

More news & photos soon…it is snowing heavily again as I type!!

Icicles over front door!

Well its just under 4 weeks to go now until Christmas is here. Are you ready? No, maybe, sort of, I think is what we all feel at this time! It was good to hear from so many of you after we sent out our Christmas email & we have since sold out of our limited edition Fire & Ice pendant! However, the limited edition drop earrings are still available but again only 50 are being made. The handmade studs & rings will continue to be available. There are still plenty more ideas for individual gifts.. Our Special Offer of any piece of jewellery & buy Jo’s CD for £10 is still available for this limited christmas period only….

So here in Orkney we had a severe weather warning on thursday from the MET office & we waited in anticipation…the snow started on friday evening & by the morning we had a good covering. The three of us set off on a winter wonderland walk across the fields after a hearty brunch. Selkie loves the snow & bounds about all over the place chasing & playing with it. We enjoy watching her having such a great time & she is such a poser for the camera, honestly have a look a the photos!! The snow had drifted in the wind & so walking was quite hard & unexpectedly deep in places..see Roger! He he..We endured real blizzard conditions & as we walked back towards the house we were heading North, right into into the eye of it.. 

After enjoying a bitingly cold walk & all sorts of amazing light & views we got back, lit a fire & cracked open the mulled wine..bliss! I’ve added some photos from the weekend so you can see how beautiful & dramatic it is at the moment.

Take care, happy shopping,christmas planning & keep warm..

With Seasons Greetings

Jo & Roger

A snowy moody Brough of Birsay!