First of all – a huge apology for the delay in posting recently……no excuse except that old farming saying ‘ make hay while the sun shines’……not that we are making hay yet, but we have been busy with planting veg, processing, selling, tending to fields and today we sheared the Estate tups. The sun has been shining – it is lovely, but we are now at the point of ‘please rain!!!’ just for a day – we’ve planted carrots, turnips, radishes, pumpkins etc in one of the fields the pigs had turned over for us – and now they really need some rain to boost the initial growth phase.
The thing about living on Skye (or anywhere in the north of the country really) is that the planting and growing season is so short. Best to plant mid to late May as before then there is still a significant risk of snow, and harvest time is usually September at the latest. With mid summer arriving next weekend, it is a stark reminder that the wheels just keep-on-a-turning whatever it is we are doing, and most of the time we feel we are chasing our tails (oh for being able to afford employees!).
So picking up from the last post, we processed our pigs, sheep and venison and promptly had sold it all within two weeks. Since then, we’ve been tending fields, marking lambs, and all of the aforementioned. In between times there have been a few moments in which to draw breath, and appreciate the beautiful place that we live. Yesterday we had 150 + dolphins visit the bay below the holding – they are magical to watch…..one of these days I will get brave enough to face the cold water and go swimming with them!
Last week I was privileged enough to accompany the RSPB on their ringing mission of this year’s sea eagle chicks. Some of you may have seen the reports more recently about lamb and sheep predation by sea eagles. It is an area of great sensitivity between hill farmers and wildlife organizations. There is a serious problem on the west coast of Scotland hill farms with predation of hill flocks, and it is significantly contributing to the decline in the highland sheep population. We would like to see a solution workable for all concerned, most of all for the eagles, who were re-introduced into an environment where the ecology could not sustain the sheer numbers being released. They are magnificent birds, and we wouldn’t be without them on our Estate, however we believe that the evidence and scale of livestock predation points towards a catastrophic end if a balance cannot be found. If the hill sheep farmers are driven out of farming the hills because predation has made the flocks unsustainable, then the eagles will leave…or worse still, starve.
Politics aside, going to the nest site and seeing the chick was amazing. The parents have a very clever system in place where they have lined their nest with clumps of sheepswool and they have a mini composting system going with maggots and grass to quickly and efficiently decompose the prey remains. Sounds pretty foul I know, but actually appears very efficient as it provides warmth for the nest. I was concerned that the parent eagles might have a shot at us while the chick was being ringed, but I was assured that they would keep their distance, and they did. The mother flew around above us tutting, and the father sat in a tree across the glen watching intently. The prey remains collected from the nest consisted of gannets and 5 lambs (and thousands of maggots….yes it was gutwrenching!). A once in a lifetime experience though, and I feel very fortunate to have been involved.
Apologies for no pics this post, but I have (hopefully) temporarily mislaid my camera – it is one of those very annoying things! As soon as I find it I will take some snaps of the veggie field.
Keith and Rachael Jackson's Blog 