Nearly November Already!

Where does time go?!  It was back to school for Ben in September, tackling the last year of his A levels (in between disappearing with his camera to "record the autumn migration").  Both he and Rachel are currently in Kenya volunteering with A Rocha (see http://www.arocha.org/ke-en/index.html) Rachel is doing some wildlife illustration for them and Ben some photography.
They just managed to get off Enlli in a narrow weather window last week and Steve took them to the airport. Since then another autumn storm has passed through so he is still on the mainland waiting to get back.

Steve managed to get a pre winter break in September, achieving his paragliding pilot's license, so he has since been exploring Enlli air space (on the rare calm days!)

When he gets back there's plenty of fencing on the agenda for the next couple of months...

Meanwhile, tupping has begun with some handsome new Welsh mountain rams, and the cows are just about to move from the lowland pastures to the mountain where they will stay for the winter.

And a few random photos....

Summer catch up

Once again summer on Enlli has flown by and the summer busyness has now begun to slow down.  As it is "back to school" tomorrow (for Ben at least) we thought a summer resume would be appropriate.....as usual a photo round up of our June holiday will have to wait for sometime in the autumn.

It has been a fantastic summer, crammed full with activity, both work and play, punctuated with precious moments spent with friends and stunning moments to stand still and capture the beauty on display all around us.

Silage was harvested throughout July and August, whenever the weather was suitable, with 320 bales now stacked ready for feeding the cattle in winter.

What would it be like without the machinery challenges thrown in?!

The ewes and lambs have frequently needed attention in one form or other.....now they are weaned and being fattened on some particularly lush clover rich pastures:

"Miss Piggy" arrived in July - another pig with character.  She especially likes going for walks with Steve:

(with instructions not to touch the Autumn Ladies Tresses!)

One of my projects has been to monitor the lowland and maritime heath.  The heather is particularly beautiful this year, filling the air with fragrance, despite becoming quite drought stricken in the dry period during July.

The honey bees are busy

The heath suffering from drought in July

The cafe and craft shop has been busy, with a few boat-loads of day visitors most days.  We have just about kept up with demand for cards, prints, honey and other shop items, and  I've enjoyed making a few extra commissions, like this particularly large wool rug:

Day visitors enjoying tea and coffee:

We've all had some summer fun, whether underwater.....

.....in the air

.....or on land

Ben's 17th birthday barbeque on Traeth ffynnon

It's always sad to say goodbye to so many precious friends who become part of the summer Enlli community...

And some views to round up:

We had some lovely views of noctilucent clouds a week ago. These are made up of ice particles in the upper atmosphere ( approx 80 km altitude !) They tend to occur in Northern lattitudes ( above 50 degrees) in the summer months and during late twilight ( after about 11p.m.)

Spring Flowers

A frequent question we are asked is "what was your winter like?".  My response this year is that it feels like we have had three consecutive winters!  The cold temperatures persisted well into May...finally it feels like spring (or is it summer?) has arrived and the warmth this week is balm to the soul.
Consequently, most of the spring flora has been held back (as well as the vegetables!), with many flowers just bursting out of their buds this week.
Here is a round up of some of the wildflowers that are decorating Enlli at the moment...some bold and brilliant, like the golden Gorse; others hidden and delicate, like the tiny blue starry Spring Squill.

The European Gorse (Ulex europeaus) has been spectacular this year, apparently a sign of a good summer to come!

 Each head of gorse is full to bursting..

Bird's foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) lining the track

The foxgloves are only just starting to open

  

 In sheltered spots the Thrift or Sea Pink is flowering well, but the usual carpet of flowers amongst the maritime heath on Pen Diban is lacking this year.

 Spring Squill (Scilla verna)

 Bluebells flowering at the edge of Ty Pellaf wetland

 Ragged Robin (Lychnis flos-cuculi)

 Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratensis) another delicate flower found in the wetlands

 Brooklime (Veronica beccabunga - great Latin name!)

 Dandelion clock - so pretty (as long as it's not in my polytunnel!)

Great Horsetail (Equisetum telmateia)

English stonecrop (Sedum anglicum)

Lambing live

Lambing has picked up pace over the last few days and is now in full swing.  It must be a bit of a shock to be faced with such cold temperatures after the warmth of the womb, but thankfully the Welsh Mountain are a hardy breed.  It's a bit different to this time last year, when we were enjoying abnormal summer temperatures and going around the lambing paddocks in t-shirts!  

The first few sets of twins that arrived at the beginning of the week were premature and needed extra treatment.....the lower oven of the Rayburn is ideal for warming the tiny lambs up.....

Meanwhile the goose has laid a large batch of eggs and made her nest in rather an exposed location, just next to the sheep race.  We have provided her a  roof, made from an old broken pool table!

And just to fill in a few activities from the previous weeks....

The gorse had a chance to dry out in February, so we were able to burn this year's quota on the mountain just before the cut off date which is marked by the return of the Manx Shearwaters in early March.

The goat kids, Eirlys and Eirwen, are growing fast and are definitely taking after their dad rather than Eira.....they have quite a mischievous streak, and it wasn't long before they too were exploring the heights of the farmyard walls.  This photo was taken after they had been along the arch and back!

I (Jo) accompanied Rachel down to West Dean this time, where I did a rush weaving course while Rachel did a Life drawing course as part of her Art Foundation year.  I really enjoyed learning some new weaving techniques which i'm hoping I can adapt for use with the Juncus type of rush which is so ubiquitous on Enlli.

 Here is one of Rachel's life drawings:

We have been busy getting the craft shop ready for another season, and it is well stocked with contributions from us all.....more rushwork and baskets, Rachel's jewellery, Steve and Ben's photos as cards and prints, wool items (rugs, felt and knitted hats and gloves etc.) and hand-made soap.  Of course, these are still available on line if you don't get to visit the shop!  www.beautyforashes.co.uk

And to finish the late winter photo round up, here's a shot that Ben took from Pen Cristin early one morning last week, with Cadair Idris in the background: