Getting ready

 On the Beaufort Scale greater than 55 mph is Force 10, greater than 64 mph is Force 11 .  So it will be Force10.5 !


its going to get a bit windy, so they say. Its really the first decent storm of the winter - 40mph gusts don't   count.
So we have to get ready.
We've gone round and tied down the sheep trailer

And cleared away or immobilised  a number of loose items that  might get blown about

I reckon the chick houses  will be OK - the wind will go through them. And if it does move them , they will end up in the hedge.  We shall see

And Im not alone  in getting ready

Cold, wet and miserable

 


And the Met office forecast shows the wind and then rain (11mm so far today .. 1/2 more-or-less) and the temperature  -feels like 3 degrees . So we've still got the fire going . At the end of May. Hmmmmmm. And to think the longest day is in  just under a month .





So the pond is  overflowing and the field next to it is waterlogged












 And the water is cascading down the path






And the stream is full.














And in the main field ,the water has created another stream and flooded bits of it
 






  

And the sheep are spending their time in the shelters, trying to get away from it all.

Fed up with it ?  How can you tell ? 

But we are alone. the Radio Orkney facebook page haas had a whinge about it all as well . As has the Orkney Lambing facebook page today

Springtime in Orkney

The new lamb , which hasn't got a name yet, has been venturing out with its mother. We are at the start of a a 'cold snap' . So some sun , but with the temperature in single figures. Pleasant enough.
But then we had a brief hail shower. Junior was out exploring with her mum , and got caught in it.

something must be done

But what ?

There was an article in the local paper ( but there isnt an online summary on the Orcadian website) this week stating it has been the wettest year of the century.
The data comes from Keith Johnson , and there is a website - www.orkneyweather.co.uk .
On his website are a lots of graphs and tables, including the rainfall in Orkney.  And the graph here shows its the wettest year so far with rainfall in Birsay ( a few miles from here )  of 1266.8 mm ( almost 50 inches)

And its been wet and muddy for us as well. Here's the post from January .

The rainwater flows down the hill.  There are a couple of burns that over the year have got   quite full at times .

We had some snow and ice in January  . If you look closely at one of the pictures there is a little stream flowing across the drive.

As the evenings are getting lighter , ive been thinking about gardening.  So i had a look at the small garden and raised beds . All the water that has been flowing across the drive has been going somewhere  - and its been going into the vegetable garden .

across the drive

And then goes across the lawn

and is held up be the wall

and on the other side, carries on 

 


 until it gets to the vegetable garden , where it hangs round a  bit, rots the grass and converts soil to mud.
















Something must be done.


But what ?