A fine wall, from Donegal !!!!

Well, I thought it would have been hard to beat Sunday in the ‘peachy day’ stakes but Monday licked it hands down. Hard to believe that such a day would be possible here on the west coast in February. Sure we can get plenty of sun and clear skies at this time of year but that’s usually accompanied by icy puddles, frosty morns and frozen pig troughs, not today though. No Today was probably T shirt weather on land, for it was positively balmy on the high seas with the Finlaggan’s shell plating being warm to the touch by late afternoon

As is usual prior to returning to work I slept badly, my head spinning with all the stuff I have to deal with, VAT return to do, house stuff to chase, wind turbine to collect and a hundred things on the croft. However, once I was up and packed the sky was brightening and so was my mood, I even managed to raise the teenager from his bed with a smile

An hour or so later we were jammed onto a full ferry and heading for Sconser, the boy to school with his weekly bag and me to the Finlaggan with mine.

Upon arrival at Sconser I stopped to admire ‘The wall from Donegal’ I dunno what it is about the council but they seem to have an aversion to using local stone You couldn’t make it up, the rock armour for our pier came from Kishorn, the stone for the waiting room from Dundee, the paving slabs from Caithness and the friggin kerb stone from China!!!! So I suppose it seems logical to bring the rock for this wall from Donegal Still, wherever it came from it is a bonny bit of work and the guys were doing a fine job.

 

After a minor detour into Portree to barter some eggs for grit from the Golden Dawn’s creels I headed for Uig, not that that will make much sense to most folk. Thing is my mate ‘The Wellie’ had been pressure washing his prawn creels and saving me the calceous growths that are blasted off them, these ‘worm casts’ make the best of grit for the hens, helping them to grind up their food and firm up their shells.

 

 

The poor Doosan was still in the pooh at Kensaleyre

 

and looked like it was likely to be there for a little longer yet.

 

 

My ‘workplace’ arrived on time

 

and I joined it along with a load of what looked like hydrogen peroxide that was destined for a fish farm the Uists.

 

A little fresher in Lochmaddy than on Skye but still a fine day for all that.

 

The turned out to be quite busy, both above and blow decks

and I got to see far more of the outside world than is normal for one who works down below

 

I even managed to step ashore at Lochmaddy in the evening

 

This will be the ex military landing craft Jodie Anne loaded up with peroxide for fish delousing and next to her the workboat Tie Venture.

Hot off the press from my ‘inbox’

 

more of Angus and Donald’s fine block and woodwork on our new house