Whoops cant believe November was my last post where did all those months go!?! Most of that time has been spent finishing of my contract and now am a free lady to do what I will with my time, well until another wee job comes along! For now though I have decided to celebrate my free time with an exciting canoe trip. The plan is to take on the challenge of the Caledonian Canal from Fort William to Inverness. It is a 60miles route crossing Scotland from sea to sea, it has a varied waterway consisting of natural lochs and man-made canal designed 200yrs ago by Thomas Telford. Loch Lochy is 12 miles long, Loch Oich is 5 miles and Loch Ness is a huge 23 miles with canals making up the remaining mileage. As I only take the odd paddle around the close shores of Eigg and usually in the summer months(!) a great deal of training has had to have been done, even in a bit of a swell and weathers to get the practise in and the muscles pumping! I have had the help from a trusty canoe instructor which has given me the bravery to go further than I have ever paddled before. It started from short one hour paddles round castle island and then slowly I felt more confident to go further.The first trip was 4 miles up the east coast and then as the days went on it got gradually further, I was so excited as not only had I clocked up my largest mileage so far of 6 miles but made it down the north east coast past the caves and along to Grulin a beautiful walk on land but even more scenic by sea and even the sun came out! The next biggest cchallenge left after that was to circumnavigate Eigg! I wanted to be sure that I was able to do a big mileage in one day as this was one of my main worries about taking on the Caledonian Canal. On the first calm day we took the opportunity to give the 16 mile trip a go and we set off with me not fully confident that I would make it in one go! As we paddled on, every part of the island the weather changed and the cliffs caused the wind to blow us out but then suddenly it would completely calm with the sea going all glassy just a reminder that the sea can be so unpredictable. Anyhow despite all my sea fears there seemed to be so much to fill my head and keep me focused on the next part of the journey that before  I knew it I was paddling my way round back to the pier where we started feeling completely exhilirated by the days achievments and the delight on my face can be seen in the picture which was taken only half way!! The next day I was a little achy but nothing to how stiff I thought I was going to be and went for a wee paddle round castle island to check I could actually do a day two paddle after such a big distance the day before and it was no bother so I feel ready to take on the Caledonian Canal and the mighty Loch Ness! The trip is planned for anytime from the 8th of April depending on the weather it certainly wild out there as I write ths so hopefully it will blow itself out and I will be on my merry travels soon – will keep you posted!

Well from one morning waking to this beautiful sunrise how quickly and dramatically can it change as a few days later we awoke to this! It is quite unusual for Eigg to get snow so early on and for it to lie for any length of time being so close to the sea and all that but there we go, we got it if we like it or not and according to the forecast there is more to come much to the kids delight!! The kids have absolutely loved it and the extra bonus of the snow falling on the weekend has allowed the maximum hours out in it. Just about all the kids have been up and around our house over the last couple of days as there is loads more snow lying and some great sledging hills of which a few parents have also been spotted fighting with the kids for a shot of the sledge!! Today though I have had to take a day of rest as yesterday I was obviously far to enthusiastic with the snowman building and sledging as every muscle in my body aches today! Although it was worth it for the fun factor and our HUGE hunk of a man that now stands guard on our patio!

I am certainly thankful for the big load of logs that were delivered last week as going to far away from the fire has not been an option this weekend… this week will probably fly by as will have to catch up on work and on Tuesday nights we have started a wee music night so the fiddle has had the dust taken of it and getting less squeaky as the weeks are going by. (You can tell winter is here when things like music nights start! It’ll be knitting nights next!!)  It has been brilliant to get back into playing the tunes again along with a great collection of us with the fiddle, button box, whistle, guitar, drum and a banjo so that is a great addition to the long dark winters Tuesday nights and then I am of on Wednesday to Edinburgh for the Spirit of Scotland awards that Eigg has been nominated under the environment category so there is a few of us going from here and being as it is getting held in a posh hotel we have to get our glad rags on for the occasion which will be a laugh in itself! I am more excited at the prospect of maybe meeting Paolo Nutini who has been nominated under the music category!!

Golly gosh it has been a while since I posted anything well here goes on a brief catch up…. on the garden front there is nothing doing now apart from a few brussel sprouts trying to survive of which I am not holding out for or relying on for my xmas dinner! The severe winds and now the frost it is a wonder that anything can survive up on my hill but I did get my very first broccoli which was super tasty and a first for my garden. Even Mia ate it which is saying something! We have had to take our creel in now as the weather is to unpredictable and can’t always get out to it on the canoe but we did survive very well and eating in luxury with our lobsters even at times catching to many to eat and having them stored in the freezer!! Those mouth watering thoughts of lobster will have to wait now until next summer. I have the craving for the canoe which hasn’t had a look in for at least two months as there has been the calm days but just to cold so until I get my hardened winter skin then the cravings will have to continue… We have had the most magnificent views of the mainland mountains being covered in snow which has been spectacular from afar but last week I was away down in Appin and then drove back through Glencoe just to get the scenic views which were breathtaking even if you have travelled through these mountains a million times before they are ever changing with the light and with the added bonus of the snow it is just.. stunning! From stunning to grotesque pictured here is a Conger eel which was washed up on the shore last week. It had died trying to swallow a Sea scorpion also known as a Father Lasher, it was gross putting it nicely! I was amazed at the size of the Conger eel to start with and then the greed of it trying to swallow such a big fish in one, one unlucky catch with all those spines thats for sure! I have had a few excursions since my last post, one close to home and embarrassingly enough a  first for me to venture to the Pigeon cave around Laig point which is a beautiful spot but can be caught out with the tide and I think that is why I have never braved it without being 100% sure of what the tides are doing, well I am actually just making excuses now… anyway it is phenominal how much drift wood gets washed in there and unsure what else might lurk at the back of the cave! My other achievement has been climbing Ben Nevis! Mia was away on a school trip for a few days back in September and I decided to do another one of those things I should have done by now. I camped in Glen Nevis campsite so I could set of early the next morning well, early for me on holiday… and set of with my rucksack as full as I could get it with food, chocolate and emergency survival gear. It was a gloriously hot day and the views were spectacular all the way up, even though it was a bit hazy with the heat you could still see for miles. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to go out of season or set of in the PropeR early hours of the morning as there was so many folk and school groups etc trundling up and it spoilt the feel a bit but quite an experience anyhow! Thankfully I chose the day before the Ben Nevis race as that would have been terrible having people jogging past you not just once but twice as they descent whilst you are still puffing and panting away not even nearing the halfway mark, it took me three and a half hours to take it leisurly up the 4408ft mountain and it took slightly longer to come back down as my knees were really struggling with the loose shingle with the fear of falling and doing injury. On the summit it was exhilirating to be so high and such an achievement which the photos just don’t do justice to what it is actually like as you stand on top of the world!!

  

  

These beautiful basking sharks have been swimming around our waters throughout the summer but August seemed to be the bumper month as they were everywhere!! We went out one day on the canoe running on a brave moment thinking that I was ready to paddle close to them but as soon as we got not even vaguely close i freaked at the size of them and the Jaws theme tune was ringing in my ears even though they are the gentle giants of the sea! Mia didn’t have much fear she was keen to go closer which I was almost keen for a minute until the fin dissappeared and then it really was scary as we had no idea where it might pop up next… I then made a joke as I sit on the back of the canoe so I bashed the side of the canoe pretending it was a basking shark to give Mia a fright of which it completely backfired as instead of frightening Mia I completely freaked myself out so that was the end of our canoe with these gentle giants – I paddled like crazy until we were so far away from any sight of a basking shark and the safety of the inner shores to play with the seals more in our size range!! So as you can imagine from that little story I did not get this film footage from the canoe….. I got the opportunity to take a trip round Eigg which crazily enough I have never done before all in one go and not on the Calmac ferry so it was quite an exciting day out, not only did I get to see all the huge craggy enormous cliffs, rocky shores and beautiful secluded spots but I did get the chance to photograph and film a couple of clips of the basking sharks from the safety of a larger boat although at times it is a bit shakey between over excitement and fear of it swimming right for us!!     

The other large fish that I have come up and close with for the first time this year is pollock. I got to go on a fishing trip just off of Eigg on a well known spot for catching pollock and I have never caught such a big fish in my life! Wow the fright I got when the rod launched me to the side of the boat and then the rod bent so much the tip was near touching the water, I thought I had caught the bottom and the hooks were stuck but no not this time. Once I established my footing and the technique on bringing this fish in, at this point I was still dubious if it really was a fish! I managed to reel it in a bit and then it was clear by the wiggling that it definitely was a fish and then the pictures below say it all really and now I know why folk get the fishing buzz and do it at all now, not just to get a tasty tea but the buzz of the catch is pretty exciting stuff!!

  

             

After our wee holiday on Tiree the veg patch was in need of attention as everything seemed to grow huge including the weeds!! The strawberries have been great just getting back home in time to see them fully ripen and munched as fast as they glowed red!

            

The mixed salad leaves has come up good although I maybe left it a little to long as the peppered leaf was sooo strong. The carrots are good too a bit overcrowded but that is a fun job thinning them as you get to eat all the sweet wee baby ones. And my broccoli and brussel sprouts are fighting on but sadly the peas havn’t been much pop this year. I think my wind break of fuschia etc has got higher this year and maybe just didn’t give them enough sun, there has been a few pods but not a patch on the crop we got last year. The potatoes are looking good and I am just looking forward to digging them up soon.

The most exciting development is …di da da…. we have caught our first lobsters in our creel not one but two which was sooooo very exciting and even more tasty!!!! We pulled the creel up expecting the usual we crabs and there was the flash of beautiful blue colour that you rarely see other than on a lobster. We didn’t have a bucket and also a bit girly for our first catch and had to take the whole creel back into the pier to empty our catch. These lobsters have huge claws that I certainly didnt want to be fighting with on a canoe with bare toes, the creel rope and a small child on board! So we paddled back to the shore and showed of our catch which there was big cheers along with mutters from the boys on how wrong it is for A, woman fishing B, from a canoe C, catching lobsters in a prawn creel!! Long may it last is what I say! I have learnt so far that you obviously throw back any females that have the roe under its tale and also if they are under sized which is 87cm measuring from behind the eye to the end of the body shell where then the curved tail shell starts. There is many different ways thought to be humane way of killing them but I still think the quickest is straight into boiling water. Some say putting them in the freezer for a while to slow its metabolism before you cook it, but I am not so sure myself if there is any easier or better way and you can’t put a knife through it’s brain like a crab as the lobster brain is split into two, quite a unique creature of the sea, a real shame to cook and eat them but MY MY how tasty they are and catching the odd one or two for my own dinner can’t be to bad and there will be no stopping me now especially now I have the taste for them and its a free tastylicious tea!!! 

     

                                             

Well the summer holidays have been and gone… bleary eyes as we adjust to the early mornings again and back to having the days to myself which is not nearly as much fun as I actually have to go back to work – how boring!! I even get an extra hour of freedom as Mia has moved up to P4 so she stays in school until 3.30pm now instead of the previous years of 2.30pm finish. The summer holidays were spent canoing alot, a beautiful camping trip to Tiree and generally mooching about Eigg which seemed to pass the holidays by far to fast and wish I had done more with our time but I kept on waiting for a good long spell of excellent weather to go on a camping trip on Eigg or take daily hikes or days just spent on the beach but there was the odd good day but nothing that lasted long enough. We had a couple of scorchers just last week before the schools went back which we managed to squeeze in as much summer activities as we could into the two days! Our holiday to Tiree was amazing what a beautiful but wild island. It was blowing a fair gale when we sailed out and sea sickness was definitely felt after the four hour journey. We headed for the islands campsite so at least refuge could be saught in the communal cooking area if all else failed and put up the tent in extreme gale force winds as you can see from Mia’s hair in the photo with the unique wind blown style! The island is so flat so the wind is just relentless, I thought we had it wild on Eigg but it is nothing compare to what they must get out there in the winter if that was the middle of summer! Despite the wind the sun was shining every day we were there so we attempted to visit every beach which is quite a challenge as you are spoilt for choice with so many pure white sands with wind and kite surfers galore to keep us entertained between the sand castle competitions and on the stony beach we tried a hand at some stone art! Just a beautiful island all round, I was fascinated by the cloud formations I have never seen so many white fluffy clouds so much so I even bought a pocket guide to clouds from the travelling Waterstones van that we were lucky enough to catch whilst there! I think Tiree caught my breath with the fact it is so close to Eigg yet so different in so many ways. There is no horizon, on Eigg we are surrounded but looking to sea on Tiree it goes on and on past the Skerryvore lighthouse and the next stop is America!! We will definitely go back again and maybe this time be a bit braver and try out the windsurfing or another sea sport.

Another little thing I like to do to pass the time is a bit of canoeing. After a summer seasons work I managed to save enough pennies to purchase a Malibu 2 kayak which has been the best thing I have ever invested in to date! It is a sit on top style, very stable and perfect for exploring the close shores around Eigg. I have not done any canoeing since I was a kid and the fear of having to complete an eskimo roll still haunted me so this style of kayak is perfect as on the unlikely occasion of capsizing you would fall straight in the water without any other complications, which was perfect as Mia has been joining me out on the high seas. After taking our time getting used to paddling and getting our confidence up in the safe bay sheltered by the causeway on the first year and last year we braved paddling out into the open seas which is really frightening the first couple of times with tidle rifts, wind, many boats plus a whole load more stuff that I am still learning about but for now we are still sticking to the safety of around Kildonan bay and Castle Island both great places to see loads of wildlife including the seals which seem to love the canoe and follow us around splashing and playing around with intrigue which is fantastic fun. The only time it wasn’t so much fun was when we had Coco the dog onboard one day and he was attempting to jump in after them thinking they were sea rabbits or something! 

There has been plenty of basking sharks close in but however amazing that would be that is definitely still a step to far even for my new bravery on the waters!! This year we have been a bit braver not to swim with basking sharks but we have tried a hand at a little fishing. We have got a light creel out with the hope of catching a big tasty lobster but the first few tries we have only caught these tiny wee shore crabs which at least was something but to small to eat. The same has gone for the fish we put a mackerel line out as we paddle along and sit every so often or for as long as Mia can take before “I’m so bored” is shouted! We are still in hope of catching a mackerel but have caught these wee cuddies (sathe) which was fun to go through the motions of wriggly slimy fish flapping around your feet in the canoe, all very funny and a few girly screams could be heard, thankfully as I did scream I was glad that nobody came to our rescue thinking we were in trouble! Roll on calm weather so we can get out there again.

Tatties finally coming through in May

Despite having the best views ever, it does have its fall backs living up a hill as everything gets hit badly by the wind. Over the years I have lost many a thing from the garden by it being blown into the neighbours garden including the trampoline one year! With a bit of expert gardening advise from my Dad there is a healthy windbreak of fuchsia and willow along with a mixture of some trees, ash, oak and birch. Everything took about five years to get to knee height and then in the last few years suddenly everything has adjusted to the hilltop conditions and now six feet tall! So last year was the first year I have attempted to get a veg patch on the go. I thought I would start simple and as everyone tells you on the first year to plant tatties to break up the soil, so tatties it was along with carrots and peas, all of which were a successful harvest. This year I have done the same fail safe tatties, carrots and peas but then got a bit adventurous and added Broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, mixed salad leaves, strawberries and rasberries. Inside the house I have growing a courgette plant,

Strawb's in May

tomatoes, basil and more salad. After getting the seeds in early this seemed to be worse as a lot got eaten by the hungry mice, voles and birds after such a cold winter and the temperature taking a dip again after easter so all in all it has been a slow start but after replanting seeds, netting and of course the help of our scarecrow we seem to be on our way!

My house is the highest house on Eigg called Gamekeepers Cottage. I have lived on Eigg all of my life with the exception of years away for school and a couple of years in the bright lights of Edinburgh to make sure I wasn’t missing out on to much in the outside world! After moving away from Eigg on a couple of occasions now, some deep underlying pull brought me back home.  I have been back on Eigg since 1997 the year of the island buyout as this was exciting times to be involved in the community and opened up opportunities to live and work on the island. I now rent Gamekeepers Cottage owned by the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust and can’t think of a better place in the world to live. The view from the front door is this….

So the idea is to blog ‘life up a hill’ and I hope it will be of interest to you!