Gallery
Orkney Islands
A Life by the Sea
One of the things that I love most about living in the Orkney Islands, (and there are quite a few!) is being so close to the sea. It is always there like a friend, inviting you to come and visit. I have loved the sea since I was a teenager and I had a long period of...
Wild as a Daisy – Raising a Toddler on a Small Island
Our big move to a little island off the coast of Scotland, is likely to have a big affect on our toddler. Unlike our other four children, her earliest memories will be of life here and the freedom that it offers. Her picture of the world is being formed from this...
Our First Springtime in Orkney
We are having a wonderful first springtime in Orkney, despite being in the middle of the covid-19 lockdown. I am so grateful to be here, I really can't think of a nicer place to find ourselves in isolation. We have never seen Orkney in the spring or summer, having...
Self-Sufficiency
Super Easy Basic Biscuit Recipe
I spent years looking for a simple basic biscuit recipe that would fill hungry tummies when there wasn't much left in the cupboard. This year, through looking at lots of recipes and a bit of trial and error, I have finally got it mastered. So I am going to share it...
Snow in May – The Orkney Cold Snap
Although we have heard about the lambing snow in Orkney, it still came as a bit of a shock - mostly because we were expecting it in April, not in the middle of May when we had all been out in t-shirts the week before! It snowed three days out of seven, but thankfully...
Dandelion Jelly
We love foraging and back in Cornwall we knew all of the best places to go for blackberries, hawthorn, sloes, wild apples, pears and wild garlic. Now that we're living in Orkney, we're having to start over, because we don't really know what is available or where to...
Craft for Kids
Two Easy, Summer Nature Crafts For Kids
We finished off a botany study with two lovely nature crafts. They were so easy that even my two year old could join in, so I thought that I would share them with you. It's also worth mentioning that they are a lot of fun for adults too! The first is printing onto...
Pewter Casting – A Birthday Bonfire
We tried pewter casting on a bonfire this week. The first of our children turned 18 and became an adult and we thought that a birthday as important as that needed marking with something a little bit special. Arwen has been wanting to do some work with metal for the...
Orkney Caterpillars – Friend or Foe?
May has marked the arrival of butterflies and caterpillars in Rousay, something that we were very excited about. We have raised Painted Lady caterpillars in the past and all of my children thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow and make their big change into a...
Basketry & Natural Crafts
Bringing Basketry and Natural Dyeing Together
It's been a few weeks now since I first started to hand-dye my own raffia with natural dyes. Since then, I have been having a great time using it and making more dyes along the way. It has been really satisfying to start bringing these skills together and I feel full...
Harvesting Honeysuckle Vine For Basketry
Over the past three weeks, I have been busy harvesting honeysuckle vine from our garden for basket weaving. The land at the back of our house is full of trees and rather wild and I was going to tidy it up a bit to make it more accessible, back in the spring. Then, as...
Learning To Use Natural Dyes
Way back in March, I bought myself a couple of books on dyeing. One was about learning to use natural dyes and the other showed in depth, the techniques for shibori pattern making. This month I finally got around to having a look through the books and trying out some...