278

 Donald the fish arrives

 .. with a suitable hat to talk to Sue with hat

 And David with hat

While Mr Crofter Sir plays with his tomato plant - without a hat!

277

 Into the heat

The teeth were made and in the post. Dad Crofter was oiling the car bottom for some reason while The Kindly Crofter Sir was taking water out for the animules - some of the two legged kind having taken refuge under the quad.

 Oiling the car

 Modelling the latest fasion

On went the hat - just the latest fashion you know - up this neck of the woods anyway.

 Pig in..... outside its hutch.

Broiling

The animules did nothing much really.

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I'm told the animules are not too keen on the heat. We don't get it that often and they have not acclimatised. The hens hid in the barn under the quad, the turkeys girls are on the nest while Turk prowls as usual. He's always hot!

The piggies are asleep on the ground awaiting Mr Crofter Sir to wet the ground so there is some proper mud to wallow in. The coows are sweltering down the Croft - Tinga sporting her newly painted toenails after the vet came to attend to a spot of podiatry on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the ducks are being ducks and Mr Crofter Sir is being Mr Crofter Sir - with a hat on! [and, can you believe this, wanting some rain!] .

275

 Bag in the barn

Bag on the shoulder

Yes, we are still here. Only the sun is shining and I have a problem spending time in the dark when I could be strolling in the sun. The Crofter is happy-ish  as the ground is dry and hard, he has money making work to do and the animules are all behaving themselves. I did hear him mention that he needs a bit of rain! Never completely satisfied that boy!.

The pigs were wallowing in the mud/poo when I was there yesterday, trying to cool off. Sheeps were out on Tolsta Head, coows were in the top field awaiting the Vet to arrive on his white horse over the horizon to do a little pedicure on Tinga and The Crofter and I sat and chewed the cud on the comfy chairs saved from the community hall skip. Was really lovely sitting there passing the time of day and all but falling asleep!

The Vet on the white horse or in the white van never arrived while I was there. Mr Crofter Sir went back to making teeth and I came home. 

These snaps were taken on a duller day when Mr Crofter Sir moved bags of feed from there [the van] to there [the barn]. Such excitement!

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I decided I'd better pop down to see how Flash, the new calf was getting on. He is living at the bottom of the croft so off I went down the veg patch to be greeted in the traditional hissing manner by geese numbering four. Apparently, the islands are plagued by grey lag geese that come here to eat the grass since we seem to have altered the world's climate somewhat with our insatiable appetite for burning fossil fuels and now the islands seem a good place for them to be at this time of year. They eat the grass so I'm told, then leave their droppings all over the crofts so when the grass is cut for silage, it gets caught up in the rolls of grass and then starts to rot it. That and the rabbits and frogs that also get sucked into the roll-making machine! Anyway, since the geese cause all these issues with the crofts, why keep white ones?

I passed on by the welcoming geese, taking time to enjoy the light over the Minch that day. That's number 1 North Tolsta down there. Nice position I think.

And there's Flash, running to her Mum away from me as I point the box he hasn't seen before at him. You can see why The Crofter was inspired to call him Flash too. I stayed a while, enjoying the day, breathing in the fresh cool air then sauntered back up the croft again. But not before one of the big coows gave me the eye.

I didn't hang around even though there was a good fence between the beasts and I.

The light was still there glancing a blow on the waves below as the bird sat on the chicken house and waited for some feed to become available. Then I went home.

273

No, I don't usually 'do' colour. It's not my thing as it gives a false impression of the world. But, seeing as I had a roll of colour film hanging around, I shoved it in the old plastic ''toy' camera and set off with The Crofter a while back. Now the film is back from being developed in the 'sheep-dip', I present to you [with all its flaws]. Make of it what you will as it's unlikely to happen again - unless someone sends me some colour film!

 Sheeps [brownish]

 Crofter & Co [greyish]

 At the edge of the Croft [blueish]

A popular Crofter of North-Tolsta [greenish :-) ]

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Mr Crofter was happy today. Well, when I say 'happy' what I really mean was that he smiled. Only the once mind you, but a smile all the same. He'd just un-loaded a shed-load of animule feed brought back from Lewis Crofters. The other croft-supply place on the other side of the island has gone bust after a short period of trading. Such is life!

Life is tough for the lonesome Crofter

Anyway, Mr Crofter sat down for a cup of tea - builder's tea with milk and sugar - although now that you mention it, perhaps he doesn't have the sugar. Anyway, the invoice then came to his notice! 'Oh good-gracious'' he said with a certain amount of emphasis on the 'bol******' bit. Still, nothing that a sip of a nice cup of tea couldn't put right - that, and another full weekend making teeth!

But drink a mug of tea and he is smiling again.

note; of course it wasn't like this but why let truth get in the way??

271

 with oil can in hand....

In there, hopefully.

I arrived as Dad crofter took the oil can out to the poly-tunnel. I followed curious as to what was it's purpose. There on the earth sat the 'Thing' from China. For turning the earth I was told. Only one has to put oil in this little place to stop it seizing - like the last one did! Now suitably oiled, the Thing was fired up, coughing into life with a cloud of two-stroke fumes which soon filled the poly-tunnel. I retreated outside, opened the window at the back and came home. 

The 'Thing' seemed to do something although I'm not sure what!

270

Dad crofter in a folder camera

It's got all cold again. And the wind is blowing. Bob Dylan would love it. And no, I have not been down to the croft today. The egg stock was getting low so I did make a little visit yesterday to get some but today,  I didn't venture that far. To be honest, I went further than the croft is from here but I didn't go that way. That's the sort of person I am. I went elsewhere.

269

Oh come on. Surely you cannot be charmed by these little fellas rushing round the place like a demented pre-school group played football - without the ball.

Boys and girls playing Mums and Mum's, Boys and Boys  etc

I was waiting outside my little darkroom after sloshing some stuff over film when I heard the familiar put-put of the tractor and the drrrrrrrrr of the quad just behind. [Why stand up?? Please tell me!]

drrrrrrr, drrrrrrr

I popped over the road and found The Crofter and family out looking at the sheeps and lamblettes before going down to sort the fencing. Then The Crofter noticed a new addition, number 23 and only just on this world. Was lovely and sunny for the little creature too.

Sheeps and Lamblettes

268

 Pigs in the poly-tunnel

I've seen The Crofter in a better mood to be honest. When I arrived on the scene there seemed to be a plethora of pigs in the poly-tunnel area. Mr Crofter and family were trying to re-cover the poly-tunnel when piggies happened along [apparently]. Now, I know I am not a farmer, a crofter or anything really but why did he let the piggies out of their hutches this morning? Answers on a postcard please :-)

Dad Crofter walks away from the melee

The piggies had wanted to look at the ground where the poly-tunnel was just to check if there was any tasty morsels available - or if there was a comfortable place to lie down. To get there they crossed the newly dug ditch but were very reluctant to cross back over. Any amount of cajoling, pushing, heaving and squealing along with the food bucket couldn't get Ms Piggies to move. Maclaren wasn't too impressed either. Of course I joined in the 'fun' helping push oosit there, call whatshername here and shake a bucket of food somewhere else. It didn't help much. It did get sorted in the end, the poly-tunnel is now covered and the piggies are sleeping off their excesses!

Pigs where pigs shouldn't be [and Mum Crofter]

267

Did I tell you it has been hot [tish]? I have, well it still is sunny although the warmth disappears soon after The Crofter takes his boots off and settles in front of the TV to watch Liverpool FC lose again.

Lambs and [m]others.

The lambs are loving it although one or five are taking their time to see the world as it is. There's black ones all over the place, white and brownish ones as well. Some are really woolly others scrawny and one is a tiddler! Mum must have mated with the guinea-pig me thinks!

Flash

And then there is Flash. Look, there the little calf named after the white flash across his little back. Mum Hyacinth is very proud but since I only had this camera with me and Diogenes wasn't too keen on my entering his patch - stamping his hoofs at me and everything - I stayed this side of the fence. 

Dad Crofter enjoying the warmth as he does, decided the poly-tunnel was getting a tad warmish so the window needed to be opened. Only, he had previously nailed it shut on account of the winter gales - so opening it wasn't as easy as it could have been.

266

 Off they jolly well go

 Proud Crofter Sir

Dad Crofter was there too

See, here he is with the sheeps going home :-)

I shall tell you about Flash soon too

265

Tossing the fences

I was down t'Croft tother day when I came across Mr Crofter Sir tossing the fence. I enquired whether he was hoping a new Highland Games event was in the offing. Well, he wasn't as it happens, just moving fence o'er the fence to put into trailer prior to taking down to Mr Four Tractors croftette where The Crofter's last few sheeps were temporarily residing.

Sheeps, this is what they look like!

The sheeps weren't too keen on moving round yet again so a nice game of 'hide and seek' and 'catch' was played by all - much to the dismay of The Crofter.

Sheeps, playing hide and seek

Soon The Crofter resorted to The Pied Piper game - only this time with a bucket of food rather than a tin whistle. The sheeps happily plodded along behind back o'er the fields and back to Crofter's own patch.