Before......
In the queue........
During......
After!
Steve has also had a pre-spring shave - although not with the sheep shears (and the other end)!
Before.....
After!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
A Close Shave
One of the jobs in the countdown to lambing is shearing the back ends of the ewes, known as 'crutching' or 'dagging'. This keeps them clean and also helps control blowfly strike later on in the spring. We're half way through - 200 to go!
Before......
In the queue........
During......
After!
Before.....
After!
Before......
In the queue........
During......
After!
Before.....
After!
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Wind in the willows!
Three years ago I made my first basket out of willow and hedgerow cuttings...since then I haven't stopped! It's a craft I really enjoy and I have been busy weaving during the winter months, experimenting with new shapes and designs:
Baskets were used by our ancestors from the cradle to the grave. Findings of woven twigs pre-date any fragments of woven cloth and even certain forms of pottery. Before the potter's wheel was invented, basketwork was used as a mould for clay objects.
The convenience of the throw-away cardboard box and the ubiquitous plastic carrier bag have made people dispense with their old shopping basket, although with the present focus on recycling, the basket is coming back into fashion.
"Prayer baskets" were made in early Christian communities such as on Iona - maybe here on Enlli too. They believed it important to discover a rhythm of prayer as they worked, so baskets were woven simply out of reeds as the monastics framed their prayers, the simple manual task assisting to bring focus to the praying heart.
The withy beds here on Ynys Enlli were planted in order to supply willow for making lobster pots. This was replaced by cane, which is slightly easier to use, and then by today's netting and metal frame lobster pots. The withies are now managed as habitat for wildlife and areas of mature or overgrown willow are coppiced on a rotational basis in order to encourage fresh growth. This is ideal for basket making and winter is the time to harvest it , as the rods are more pliable and less likely to snap when the "sap is down". I now tend to use a mix of island willow and imported willow from the mainland (Conwy, Llyn and Somerset!)
Baskets have been used for every conceivable purpose; as containers for gathering and storing, for carrying and hauling, for living and sitting on, for travelling in and with, and for holding food - and even water. Basketwork has produced fencing and fish traps, huts and hats, chariots, chairs and clothing, cradles and coffins. They're are increasingly being used in our household, in various shapes and forms!
Daisy (asleep in Celyn's basket!)
Tia's basket
Celyn posing infront of our log basket 
Beginning with a woven base
Inserting the side stakes to create a 'spider'
Weaving the sides
The finished basket.
These will soon stock the craft shop......but orders are welcomed too!
Baskets were used by our ancestors from the cradle to the grave. Findings of woven twigs pre-date any fragments of woven cloth and even certain forms of pottery. Before the potter's wheel was invented, basketwork was used as a mould for clay objects.
The convenience of the throw-away cardboard box and the ubiquitous plastic carrier bag have made people dispense with their old shopping basket, although with the present focus on recycling, the basket is coming back into fashion.
"Prayer baskets" were made in early Christian communities such as on Iona - maybe here on Enlli too. They believed it important to discover a rhythm of prayer as they worked, so baskets were woven simply out of reeds as the monastics framed their prayers, the simple manual task assisting to bring focus to the praying heart.
The withy beds here on Ynys Enlli were planted in order to supply willow for making lobster pots. This was replaced by cane, which is slightly easier to use, and then by today's netting and metal frame lobster pots. The withies are now managed as habitat for wildlife and areas of mature or overgrown willow are coppiced on a rotational basis in order to encourage fresh growth. This is ideal for basket making and winter is the time to harvest it , as the rods are more pliable and less likely to snap when the "sap is down". I now tend to use a mix of island willow and imported willow from the mainland (Conwy, Llyn and Somerset!)
Baskets have been used for every conceivable purpose; as containers for gathering and storing, for carrying and hauling, for living and sitting on, for travelling in and with, and for holding food - and even water. Basketwork has produced fencing and fish traps, huts and hats, chariots, chairs and clothing, cradles and coffins. They're are increasingly being used in our household, in various shapes and forms!
Daisy (asleep in Celyn's basket!)
Tia's basket
Celyn posing infront of our log basket
The basic procedure of making a round basket:
Beginning with a woven base
Inserting the side stakes to create a 'spider'
Weaving the sides
The finished basket.
These will soon stock the craft shop......but orders are welcomed too!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Starry,Starry night....
In a recent survey of the distribution of dark skies throughout the U.K ,Ynys Enlli and Pen Llyn were among the clearest.The survey hilighted the difficulty of seeing the beautiful details of the night sky from areas where light-pollution is a problem.Our nearest light pollution (apart from the lighthouse!) is the faint orange glow from Dublin,about 60 miles away.
Having already had an interest in Astronomy,it was an obvious place to bring my telescope to take advantage of the stunning night skies. However,the challenge here on the island is the almost continuous sea breeze that causes the telescope to shudder and spoils the view.I managed to get permission to install a small observatory dome behind the farm that now enables me to use the scope even when there's a breeze.
Some of the fainter sights of the heavens can better be seen by taking long exposure photographs,which I have been having a go at and include here some of the results...so far.
This is the core of the Andromeda galaxy,just over two million light years away. You can see this with the naked eye on a good night.Apparently it's about twice the size of our own galaxy and contains 300 billion suns! The smaller fuzzy object is another,smaller galaxy.
This next one is the Triangulum galaxy. It is only one third the size of Andromeda but of similar spiral shape,though we see it more face-on than Andromeda.
Next,in black and white,is the Whirlpool galaxy,or M51 by it's Messier catalogue number. This galaxy is 15 million light years away and sits just under the tip of the handle of the Plough. There are two galaxies here,the larger one gradually pulling the smaller one apart through gravitational forces.
The Great Orion Nebula ,located in Orion's sword,is a large area of glowing hydrogen gas and dust.The nebula is being illuminated and blown apart by a grouping of stars at it's heart called the Trapezium. This is quite an easy object to see with the naked eye or binoculars.
Finally,the Rosette Nebula. This is the largest nebula in our galaxy,about three times the size of the Orion nebula,though appears of similar size because it is also three times further away (4,900 light years).
Having already had an interest in Astronomy,it was an obvious place to bring my telescope to take advantage of the stunning night skies. However,the challenge here on the island is the almost continuous sea breeze that causes the telescope to shudder and spoils the view.I managed to get permission to install a small observatory dome behind the farm that now enables me to use the scope even when there's a breeze.
Some of the fainter sights of the heavens can better be seen by taking long exposure photographs,which I have been having a go at and include here some of the results...so far.
The image below is the Horsehead and Flame nebulae. These are 1,500 light years away in the constellation Orion. In fact the bright star in the shot is the left hand most star of Orion's belt,Alnitak.The Horse's head is a large cloud of interstellar dust outlined against red ionised hydrogen gas.
This is the core of the Andromeda galaxy,just over two million light years away. You can see this with the naked eye on a good night.Apparently it's about twice the size of our own galaxy and contains 300 billion suns! The smaller fuzzy object is another,smaller galaxy.
This next one is the Triangulum galaxy. It is only one third the size of Andromeda but of similar spiral shape,though we see it more face-on than Andromeda.
Next,in black and white,is the Whirlpool galaxy,or M51 by it's Messier catalogue number. This galaxy is 15 million light years away and sits just under the tip of the handle of the Plough. There are two galaxies here,the larger one gradually pulling the smaller one apart through gravitational forces.
The Great Orion Nebula ,located in Orion's sword,is a large area of glowing hydrogen gas and dust.The nebula is being illuminated and blown apart by a grouping of stars at it's heart called the Trapezium. This is quite an easy object to see with the naked eye or binoculars.
Finally,the Rosette Nebula. This is the largest nebula in our galaxy,about three times the size of the Orion nebula,though appears of similar size because it is also three times further away (4,900 light years).
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Mud,mud,glorious mud!
People are often asking us what it's like to live on Ynys Enlli through the winter.One of the consequences of being so close to the sea is that we escape the extremes of temperature. The arctic blast that has just gripped the U.K dealt us a far softer blow and we only had a few days of frost with barely a dusting of snow. The weather station only got down to O degrees C on a couple of days.However,the one thing we do get plenty of in the winter is...MUD! The situation around the silage feeders gets particularly interesting,as you can see in the pictures below .The ruin in the background is the 12th century Augustinian Abbey.
The Fulmars are back! Over the last couple of weeks we have begun to notice the fulmars returning to their nesting ledges on the east side of the mountain. Although the Winter has some way to run yet,the birds give us our earliest sign of approaching Spring.
The history books tell us that some of the caves on Enlli have been used by Saints past as dwellings. We took the opportunity of a fine day on Sunday to go and explore one or two. Ben thought that this particular cave looked promising but I wasn't convinced that we could get enough living space inside for the four of us plus three dogs...! Besides which, Rachel found a few cave-spiders already in residence and didn't fancy sharing...
The Fulmars are back! Over the last couple of weeks we have begun to notice the fulmars returning to their nesting ledges on the east side of the mountain. Although the Winter has some way to run yet,the birds give us our earliest sign of approaching Spring.
The history books tell us that some of the caves on Enlli have been used by Saints past as dwellings. We took the opportunity of a fine day on Sunday to go and explore one or two. Ben thought that this particular cave looked promising but I wasn't convinced that we could get enough living space inside for the four of us plus three dogs...! Besides which, Rachel found a few cave-spiders already in residence and didn't fancy sharing...
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Smoke signals!
Over the weekend we were burning gorse on the mountain, as part of a rotational management programme....it was a good excuse to keep warm!
Smokey Steve!
Smokey Steve!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Moonlight meanders New Year's night...
Hi all...Happy New Year!
Thought you might like these pics I took around the lighthouse on Ynys Enlli in the middle of the night on January 1st 2010 with only moonlight for illumination...just past full moon.
Thought you might like these pics I took around the lighthouse on Ynys Enlli in the middle of the night on January 1st 2010 with only moonlight for illumination...just past full moon.
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