I’m standing at the top of our small field taking in the magnificent view. From here there’s a 360 degree view of the whole island apart from the part hidden behind Fitty Hill, the highest point of the island. The sun is shining on the sea as I take a panoramic photograph with my phone. [...]
Afternoon turns to evening as the world turns. I’m in the field at the back of Einar with a phone which has a simple panorama programme. Can I get it to stitch the images together to show the view?
When you arrive at a house that has been closed up for a long time there’s an important routine to go through. Firstly, turn the electricity on. Good. Then check for water damage or leaks before turning the water on. Good. Then there are the little things to think of, like emptying the toaster crumb tray [...]
Sunset in the garden at Einar silhouettes the hair of the cattle rubbed onto the barbed wire in the fields.
Einar has a new roof on the old school building. Now there’s no more need for builder’s buckets to catch the rain.
Einar is under construction – just like my new life.
Westray cattle are a breed apart. I’m used to seeing docile unthinking beasts in Devon. Barely alive, seemingly semi-conscious, the Devon grass grazers are unaware of anything save a single ancestral flick of the eyes to register whether danger approaches. Westray beef steers, however, have a different life. Curious beyond normal measure, they race to [...]
“How many years can a mountain exist, Before it’s washed to the sea?” by Bob Dylan from Blowin’ in the Wind. It takes three of us over an hour to assemble it. The instructions are good, but it’s quite heavy and takes a fair amount of manouvering to get all the pieces in alignment. The base alone weighs [...]
“Something’s calling me back There’s a light in the black Am I ready to go I’m coming home” from Light In The Black by Rainbow November in Orkney and the days are short and the nights are long. I’m told that the reason many people love to visit Orkney is the reason few can [...]