July 13, 2010
Today marks the beginning of the annual HebCelt festival, so the town is full of visitors. Well, not really, but there is a bit of buzz (mostly among the local dudes who hang out An Lanntair).
Meanwhile crofting activities wait for no event. So more eggs arrived today for hatching and I spoke to a man about installing an electric fence. On Thursday we are to collect two pigs from the isle of Skye. Produce at the Bernera polytunnels is coming along nicely, apart from the infestation of cabbage root fly. Nasty little beasts -- mini maggots in the stalk of the plants just below soil level.
It is also show time on Lewis and Harris, with the Point Show being the first of the season. I am hoping that the Bernera Community Assoc. tunnels will produce some things to enter next month. I particularly like the multicolour carrots. And they taste even better.
 cheep, cheep!
 Good looking Welsummer
 Any winners here?
 Rams at the Point Show
 Coloured carrots
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
June 28, 2010
4-1 Ha ha! Of course, the Germans have a word for this. Schadenfreude. Blame the ball? Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna.
June 18, 2010
The publisher thinks you might be interested in the house that E and I are having built in Earshader. I am not entirely convinced as a lot of “look at my house go up” blogs have been posted in past few years. But here is where we’re at. We have agreed to a SIP-style structure, which means cassettes of highly insulated panels will create the frame of the house. We are also pursuing socalled passive house standards, which means ideally no heating is necessary. I doubt we will be that lucky... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
May 24, 2010
I don’t really expect to have much finished produce this year to sell via the weekly Farmer’s (Crofter’s) Market in Stornoway. But as we always have excess stock from our annual sowings, I thought I might try my luck selling some plants this spring. Took several into town on Saturday morning. Not bad, sales-wise. All of the tomatoes were bought and most of the courgettes. Not a great appetite for Brussels Sprouts, but I will keep trying. They're a purple variety so maybe I need to emphas... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
May 24, 2010
As we are beginning to sell produce from our endeavours, I thought we had better get our ‘domain’ sorted. So, went for the easy option: earshadercroft.com. That will go on all labels and marketing from now to eternity. As for sales, it has been modest but successful. Eggs (mostly hen) are being sold from the ‘croft gate’; ie, the roadside as one can do this without registering the operation (not that we have anything to hide). Sold out yesterday (Saturday). Boxes are clearly marked, as y... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
April 18, 2010
Bernera Bridge

Standing Stones of Bernera

Old Road Sign

Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
April 5, 2010
A couple of weeks earlier than normal, the crofters of Tir Mor, Bernera, brought sheep in from the moors Saturday 27 March. Meeting at 8 am, about 10 of us headed south with crooks, quads, and waterproofs from the cattle grid at the Lundal pens. Destination: a set of disused pens along the old Uig road, about half way between the Bernera road junction and the turnoff to Scaliscro House. A bad bearing on one trailer with a quad slowed progress slightly as the wheel would lock up at the least op... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
March 28, 2010
. . .....of 4 Earshader
<iframe width="562" height="314" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Siabost,+Eilean+Siar+HS2+9,+ United+Kingdom&t= h&layer=c&cbll=58.202803,-6.827329&panoid=yQRc_i3ydHgDBoAsoRBf8w&cbp= 13,259.68,,0,5&ll=58.202785,-6.827686&spn=0,359.996985&z=18&source=embed&output=svembed" ></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Siabost, +Eilean+Siar+HS2+9, +United+Kingdom&t= h&layer... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
March 22, 2010
You know, I can’t even think of that word now without doing my There Will be Blood / Daniel Plainview impersonation, at least in my mind. Daniel Day Lewis bellowing like John Huston with constipation: ‘Drainnn-edddggge, Eli, it’s called draaainnn-edgggge.’ Anywho, I am not sucking any one’s oil dry using a metaphorical straw. No, I’m freeing the locked water on the croft. This is as satisfying as Plainview’s drainage.  drains follow the old 'lazy beds' These photos are poor but I ne... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
March 22, 2010
Let me bore you with more crop developments. Tomatoes and tagetes have been pricked out of their seed trays and potted on. Both were quite leggy, which troubles some folk.
 potted on
It occurs as we don’t have a greenhouse. Though the room with the propagators is the brightest in the cottage (which is on the dark side), there isn’t sufficient light. So those early leaves stretch, leaving long, stringy stems. With these two plants, as well as many others, it ‘s not a problem. Just gently bu... Continue reading...
Posted by John McKenna. Posted In : Crofting
Colin Macleod - Local Lad + Landscapes:
Again in the music-videologue-of-Lewis-vein: this one features the rather frightfully handsome lad, Colin Macleod. Pal of Dotjr, apparently. New CD (on Geffen) due out soon.
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About Me
Barry Shelby, American-gone-native-Scotsperson, Journalist , Photographer, Author and....Crofter located now at Earshader on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. Barry, based for years in Glasgow, is now with his wife Elizabeth on the Islands off the North-West Coast of Scotland.
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Lewis (Scottish Gaelic: Leòdhas, also Isle of Lewis) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides (an archipelago) of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is 683 square miles (1,770 km2).
Lewis is, in general, the lower lying part of Lewis and Harris, with the other part, Harris, being more mountainous. The flatter, more fertile land means Lewis contains the only town, Stornoway and three-quarters of the population of the Western Isles. Beyond human habitation, the island's diverse habitats are home to an assortment of flora and fauna, such as the golden eagle, red deer and seals and are recognised in a number of conservation areas.
Lewis is of Presbyterian tradition with a rich history, having once been part of the Norse Kingdom of Mann and the Isles. Today, life is very different to elsewhere in Scotland with Sabbath observance, the Gaelic language and peat cutting retaining more importance than elsewhere. Lewis has a rich cultural heritage as can be seen from its myths and legends as well as the local literary and musical traditions.
(source Wikipedia) |