Crumbs, it’s December again…

…when did that happen??? Is it just me or is time speeding up? Maybe it’s just my perception as the world moves so very fast these days. I caught something on the radio yesterday about how we have reached “Peak Hype” or the epitome of consumerism – apparently, the latest whatever is now only fashionable for a week or so before the next big thing hits the stores. I fear I may be joining the ranks of the crusties but I think that this is a particular cliff edge we need to be backing away from really quickly – the planet is burning due to our rape and pillage of her resources and our inability to deal with our own detritus – FFS.

We have had another interesting and challenging year here on the Loch of a Thousand Winds. Unlike previous years, our weather patterns have been characterised by lack rather than excess – it’s been exceptionally dry meaning that our water turbine has been mostly under-performing. That certainly wasn’t a possibility we’d considered here on the West Coast of Scotland when we installed it! Still, we have been buoyed up by our Solar PV array doing the business and have now had a full year of electricity. As we are not connected to the national grid, when we over produce electricity it gets dumped into the electrical heaters in our yurt which made for sweltering conditions over the summer. Eventually I twigged that we could connect fans to the system instead of the heaters – our sultry summer nights became immediately more bearable and better sleep patterns and moods were restored.

This year we have again had a steady stream of friends who have helped us out with their generosity and skills. We built a shed around the water turbine in an attempt to muffle the noise somewhat. However, because of the lay of the land around it, the shed was much bigger than required so we roofed it with polycarbonate sheeting and grew tomatoes in there too.

Turbine/Tomato Shed

Our first crop

The shelter it provides was most appreciated a few days ago when we had to flush the hydro pipes to clear out some small stones that were blocking the jets and reducing the turbines power output. Outside it was lashing down (finally!) and blowing a hooley but inside the turbine/tomato shed we were dry if not warm. We are now overproducing electricity again and the yurt is toasty warm.

We also upgraded our composting toilet shed as the winter rains here laugh at and leak straight through the woefully inadequate wall panels, so we have re-clad the whole structure with overlapping sarking and extended it across the back of the yurt to provide a bike storage area. We also strengthened its roof to accommodate two solar panels that charge a battery to power our diesel heater which provides back-up heating to the yurt. We stood back to admire our handiwork and decided it looked a little like a clinker built boat – we plan to add a ships wheel and fly a Jolly Roger for decoration. My dearest sister, who has a way with words, has named it the ‘Piratical Shitter’ – it makes me giggle every time I go to the loo now.

The Piratical Shitter under construction

With Andrew’s help, we also managed to rabbit proof the vegetable beds this year and I planted a few bits and pieces, however, due to my taking on some teaching work, I wasn’t around too much at weekends so they became overgrown with the tall grasses and reeds that flourish on this land and we didn’t have much of a harvest. My guess is that (along with my lack of attention) the nutrient levels of the peaty land are not conducive to excellent vegetable growth. We will have to experiment with soil treatments next year, I hear that rock dust is a good thing.

Our first batch of humanure will be suitably mature in another 12 months and we will be able to put that around the bases of our fruit trees to help them along. Despite the inconvenience of an outdoor toilet and hauling the poop barrels up the hill to the midden every couple of weeks, I love that our waste will be put to good use instead of flushed away.

I experimented with making beeswax candles using our rushes for wicks this year in an attempt to make use of the only plant that currently grows in abundance on the croft grown along with a non-fossil fuel. The result was quite frankly dangerous and filthy! The rushes do burn well – sometimes too well with flames of over 2 inches high but the wax drips profusely down the candles onto whatever surface is below it and the resulting mess and waxy sooty residue of the rushes just isn’t worth the effort. I have resorted to buying my wicks on the internet so will continue to make them for our own personal use but have kissed my dream of Bairstowpian Beeswax Rush Lights being our first commercial croft product goodbye. Time to go back to the drawing board.

 

Try to restrain your mirth

We had hoped to be well underway with digging our house foundations by this point in the year as we have been awarded a croft housing grant which will help us out with the build. However, we are still awaiting our building warrant due to a lack of urgency on the part of our Structural Engineer whose report we are still anticipating. We have our digger driver on standby but alas are tied up in the complicated web of expensive paperwork that is the reality of building a house. We are hopeful that by this time next year, we will have some thing that looks like a house here in Bairstowpia, at least from the outside.

In February, I was lucky enough to go on a work related course in Hawaii – yes it was work, honest! I had a marvellous time and saw some fabulous sights, organic farms and wondered at the abundance that a more favourable climate can bring. I also was caught in wonderment at the similarities…

Bairstowpian sunrise

Hawaiian sunset

We also managed a family holiday in London for a few days in the summer, we had a super time and walked our legs to death. It was wonderful to visit museums, exhibitions and The Globe but we were also pleased to leave all the busyness behind.

The Globe

Millenium Bridge

Mick, Joe and I continue to thrive here in Bairstowpia. Despite all the challenges, we love it. The air and the water are clean, the view is always spectacular and the community we live in is exciting and progressive. We are very lucky. The challenges of living far away from the bright lights of Ullapool remain and as Joe grows up we are very fortunate to have my folks living there so that Joe gets the best of both worlds. It is truly a gift to have them so near. We would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. With love from Alex, Mick and Joe xxx