Mice nibble… anything!
Mice. They’ll nibble anything. Anything. Any. Thing. There was the time they nibbled my sleeping bag: Mice nibble… #8 That wasn’t very …
Renovating an old school on a remote island
Mice. They’ll nibble anything. Anything. Any. Thing. There was the time they nibbled my sleeping bag: Mice nibble… #8 That wasn’t very …
I’m buzzing with excitement. There are big blonde bees in the garden at Einar. I suspect they are Great Yellow Bumblebees. I …
It’s been an emotional journey over the last few days with the birds here at Einar. We always have Swallows and Blackbirds …
I’m lying down on the grassy clifftop looking across at the Puffins on the Castle o’ Burrian when I realise I can …
We’re on Westray and only have a few hours before sunset to see some wildlife at the Castle o’ Burrian. At least …
What won’t mice chew? I’m currently carrying out an experiment, whether I like it or not. Every time I come back to …
Looking around in the attic for traces of mice, signs of leaks and some understanding of why TV reception is so poor …
There’s a Raven over my roof. Here it is with the top of my capped-off chimney below it. Its wingtips are lit …
All it takes is one broken window and the birds get in. When the birds get in they need a perch. And when the birds perch they leave fertiliser.
The wall at the top of Einar looks beautiful in this light.
There’s something otherworldly about mushrooms. They’re more closely related to animals than they are to plants. A very different kind of life …
Orcadian poet Edwin Muir is a favourite of mine. As I watched the Swallows at Einar I remembered his wonderful poem The …
The Biting Stonecrop on the walls at Einar is obviously confused. There’s one solitary flower left when it’s meant to flower in …
Sometimes I think there’s more paint on the floor than there is left on the walls.
The Hall of my house used to be a school and the entrance to it has the places for lots of small …
The diesel generator at Einar has seen better days. Have you still got one like this in your outbuilding?
Fortunes were built on the stuff. Entire estates and magnificent country houses like Tyntesfield near Bristol were funded by it. People are …
There’s a fluorescent green ring encircling the Earth tonight made by charged particles from a solar wind. As if the milky way …
Einar used to be a school, the Skelwick Academy School, or at least the Hall used to be a school, while the …
There’s a Raven perched at the back of Einar. By the time I get my camera it is already in flight. I …
Tonight we chased the sunset over Westray. First there was a walk along the Bay of Tafts. Then a view of high …
In the past, the mice at Einar have eaten my air bed, my slippers, my rubber gloves, bicycle inner tubes and even a roll of draught excluder. They have eaten ear defenders, knee protectors, sleeping bags and walking boots. Every time I arrive I wonder what will have been chewed this time.
Butterflies are very noticeable insects. They have large bright wings and fly during the day. How they escape being eaten by birds …
Peeled paint litters the floor at Einar. There’ so much on the floor that I have to sweep it up. There’s more …
There’s such a crack in the wall at Einar I could be in an episode of Dr Who.
If I’m being pedantic, it’s actually sunset next to Einar, rather than sunset over Einar, but I’m hoping you’ll forgive me.
The white clover is beautiful. In many places in the world people are discouraged from growing it because it attracts bees which may sting people. Personally I’d rather have bees than lawyers.
A strange beast of 5,000 quills has decided to pay us a visit.
Knee protectors.