Well the weather hasn’t been as good this year. We have had short spells of sunshine. Having said that it has been warm which has made everything grow really well. The garden is lush and the trees have grown a lot. We can see a big difference in the maturity of the garden this year. We would also not be happy with the temperatures that have been seen across Europe this summer.
On the 10th of July we welcomed Ruby into our family. Michael’s daughter and her husband had a gorgeous little girl. Apple of Grandpas eye. All doing very well.
The same day we had a very welcome visit from the Sandwick WI. A group of very fun ladies who were really appreciative of Michael’s work and enjoyed a look round the gallery, workshop and garden before heading off to Kirkwall for tea.
On the 21st of July we attended this years first open day for The Ness of Brodgar dig. Yet again a fantastic day, very busy, interesting and great fun. For those of you in Orkney the second open day is this Sunday the 18th Aug. There is lots to do for all the family at the site and at the Stenness School (which is where we will be). Come along and join in the fun and say hello.
After this the dig will continue for a couple of days and then be covered up again for another year.
At the end of July we took a short break and did the tourist things with my brud and his wife visiting us from Germany. We had fun down the beach, shopped, visited places and ate very very well. We took the opportunity to visit some new places we hadn’t been to before like 21 and Eviedale Bistro and returned to places we knew were good like The Kirk cafe and Lucanos
We also finally gave David (Brud) his overdue birthday present. We had purchased a bronze oak leaf from @ashleaf, a stunning bit of art, which Michael then presented on a burr oak base. Brud was delighted. 👍👍
Beginning of August is show time in Orkney. We didn’t attend any, but still enjoyed the buzz. Our main wood supplier in Inverness, GM Forestry, was here for the shows and after they had packed up they dropped by for a cuppa. While here we took 3 lovely boards and 45 young tree sampling plugs he had left over out of his van for a good deal, not much point in him taking them all the way back home.👏👏🤣. They are a great bunch and it was lovely to see them again.
On the four legged friends front we have looked after our Grand doggie while her Mummy and Daddy and baby Ruby attended a wedding in Glasgow. Ruby was a flower girl 💝. Poppy was recovering from a little operation and had to wear a vest. It was a bit hot at times but she is such a good dog and is all better now. Our friends down in Burray have got themselves a new puppy. A shetland sheep dog called Patch, who at the tender age of about 12 weeks is already wrapping friends and family around his little paw 😍. He is extremely cute and very very clever. However we have no urge, at the moment, to get another dog and just enjoy having ones visiting.
Currently we are building a Polycrub. These are polytunnels built out of old fish farm feed pipe and poly sheeting. A fantastic design and if they can withstand the wind in Shetland it will be good here. 🤞
I will let you know how it goes.
As to the rest of it-
The business is doing well. We are getting to meet lots of people from all round the world as usual and enjoying every minute of it.
We are having fun with old friends and some new ones and are well and happy. We hope you’ve all been enjoying summer too.