Summer

I don't remember a better June in Shetland. We have had a month of sunshine and warmth after a pretty good May too. Today, it's 22 apparently, too hot to be working outside in the afternoon. Judd told me that a neighbour of his could not face clipping his sheep in the heat of the day, so started at 10pm and finished at 5am!
All the little boats are tied up at the jetty and people are buzzing in and out in the evenings and at the weekends. The evenings have been brilliant with the sun setting at around 10.30pm, wonderful sunsets, mauve horizons and limpid sea.

The good weather seems to have suited the birds. There's a baby (rather gangly) oystercatcher at the front ... whose parents always remind me if I decide to have a stroll that way. The arctic terns have chicks too and the swans have cygnets on the lochs. Even Polly is finding it a bit hot!

The flags are flying at Bousta for Maya's birthday on Thursday!

I am on the last piece of the garden wall. Begun building up the end (with the good stones) where I will put a gate. When I am finished I won't be able to see the new house from the sitting room ... that's the plan.

Late the other night (around 11pm), a lone yachtsman passed through the Sound of Papa Stour.

The weather is set to stay for the week and I hope it lasts until Sorley and Ben come on Sunday.

Took an ice cream into Mum's this afternoon and we sat outside (in the central bit) while she took great bites of a Magnum and I tried to intercept the drips and flakes of chocolate. I think nshe enjoyed it.

It's the wall again

The weather continues fine, sun setting at 10.30 pm. Much delight yesterday, leaving Bousta a little overcast, going through low cloud and rain to Lerwick and back again, to enter Sandness and the sun is shining!

Now finished the north wall of the new garden, put down a lot more topsoil (from a great heap I had collected during the excavations for the extension) and sown grass. I have now laid the N-S base and started building ... two thirds to go. Halfway along I am dropping down a level and making a wee sheltered bit facing south (see picture) where one day I will sit ... might have to lie down ... under the shade of an aspen tree (from the local native supply, now growing in a pot and which I will plant next spring).

When this bit of wall is done I'll go back to finish the north wall in front of Sorley's patch.


The view from the terrace is getting positively suburban. I plan to grow lots of foxgloves and lupins against the wall facing south (like Mum had at Forneth) ... again, next year.

It seems the good weather is being reflected in the sea. Lots of terns nesting for the first time in years. Several on the beach and Skerry and one has chosen the track by the gate into Little Bousta. It is luckily not on the wheel track but right in the middle, which means that, to its great annoyance, it has to get up each time a car (and Cass) passes over. So it takes it out on the car and the driver when the latter has to get out to open and close the gate. I didn't know this at first and when working on the wall one day saw Cass waving some envelopes at me from the Little Bousta gate. I waved back but she ignored me. She was trying to fend off the tern!

Walls and walking

This was where I was at 29th May. The point where I start the dividing line between Muckle Bousta and Sorley's (eventual) house. A lot of debris and topsoil to shift, but not the monster stones which were laid on the old east-west boundary. By the time Sorley arrived I had just started the north-south boundary.

Sorley dug out the rest of the boundary foundation for me - which I will turn to after finishing the north-south wall between us, maybe later this summer. He also rolled some of the very large stones out of the heap for me (for the base). The ground is higher on the Muckle Bousta side.

I forgot - when Sorley asked me if I wanted to go walking anywhere - that I wanted to have a look at one of the Viking Energy (wind farm of circa 150 giant turbines) sites, which has just gone to the Scottish Office. The decision on Planning should come later this year. So I went to the easiest site at the top of Weisdale (the dale where Bonhoga is).

A lovely day again, met a birdwatcher and we listened to the whimbrel and skylarks. The hill is peat-covered, but on the summit there is much (deep - six feet plus) erosion ... from the weather and grazing.

Tomorrow is the last sunny day for the present. We've had a great spell ... I have been neglecting the book! So out on the wall again.

Spring Pleasures

The primroses are still out, the bluebells in full bloom and the trees are rather tentative of unfolding their leaves.The ewes are back with their lambs so early awakenings these light mornings.

But at last I can get out and resume work on the wall which has been at this stage for more than a year.A week of good weather and I have doubled what I had. Now at the point of a right-angled turn to come back across (north to south) to the old garden wall. Then go back - and continue at the right-angle - to the yard wall (and in front of Sorley's house to be). Very satisfying and delightful on the very still days when I can hear the young seals playing ... slapping the water surface with their flippers ... and the terns calling. I'm going to have to leave moving some of the very big stones until the boys are here.

The mornings are bright early and evening sun goes on until 9pm now, brilliant skies over the Voe and Little Bousta, the sitting room doors open to cool it down!

Children's Stories

This is the cover of the latest New Shetlander. The picture is by Meilo So, a Chinese lady (from Hong Kong) who lives in Yell and works for Doubleday. Thought you would like the image, it's entitled 'How to be safe at sea'. Jonathan tells me that she might illustrate his next children's book.

This time of year again! Monday was dry and sunny and mild, so made a start on my peats. Did a couple of hours on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday ... by which time it was distinctly cool, though dry. I'm ahead of the game ... first one to finish this year!! Most people haven't started. In fact most years I have not started until the first week of May. But it feels good to have it done ... and just a wee bit smug. I was going to wait until Sorley and Jamie were here (in a week) but if the weather is there you just have to grab it. But if anyone is desperate, then there is a wee bit more we could do.

I'm having problems loading more than one image so the next part will have to be ona different post.

Miscellany

There is a really good exhibition at the Bonhoga gallery just now by a Jennifer Talbot. It is an interpretation of landscape in woven, felted wool, but looks very fine, almost like silk. She really gets the colours and textures of Shetland just right. Unfortunately, these hangings are over 1000 quid ... I bought a very, very wee one! I have been looking at the old Shetland Trader sign in the shed where it has been since I took it off the coldwatertank in Little Bousta (when the Pedleys left last autumn) where it had served as a door (at the top of the stairs) when we were there. It used to stand propped-up in the 'Street' at the foot of Burns Lane in Lerwick when Mum had the shop. I was worried that it was going to get damaged in the shed and could not think what to do with it. Then had a brainwave and have hung it is the glass porch. Maybe attract some trade from the Papa Stour ferry passengers or passing lobsterboat men.

Out of the blue had a phone call re the Shetland Trader. To cut a long story short ... the Burra (island connected by bridge near Scalloway) History Group have just restored an old, thatched croft house and want to put in an exhibition of Shetland knitwear (not garments but text, photos etc). Someone had come across the first leaflet Betty had drawn for the ST. They were intrigued, so I took Mum's folder of photos etc to Burra last Friday. A Fair Isle knitter there was overwhelmed by Mum's designs and colours and wants to use some for the exhibition ... and I think some herself(!). Anyway, when it is up I will take some photos.

Another historical tale from that era. When I was working for the Nature Conservancy around 1969 I became very interested in the remnants of Shetland's native trees (actually found new sites for several species and enjoyed myself hugely) and identified a little ravine that held native rowan, rose, honeysuckle etc. Very few people in Shetland were (are) aware of what the land looked like before we came along with sheep and cattle and pigs and goats and geese and ponies, circa 5000 years ago and grazed the trees and shrubs out of existence. I thought this little ravine would be an ideal place to plant up one day with native trees to recreate some Shetland woodland ... for education, science and fun. So I scheduled it as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. A decade ago, the Shetland Amenity Trust folowed up my idea, fenced part of the ravine off from sheep and have been planting 'native' trees. Since we have been back at Bousta I have grown several aspens taken from suckers on the crags nearby. On Monday I took one and planted it in the Burn of Valayre - overseen by an official from the Trust. Curious to be in the position of doing this almost 40 years after I first thought about it!

Okay ... so it's very small ... but you wait!