Belt and Braces

 It was a bit  windy over the weekend. 

  we went round a moved or tied down things that would get blown around. 

But we didnt do this one 

 so a bit of pushing a shoving . 

 

 

 I got the fruit cage the right way up

 

 and a couple of fence posts and guy ropes

  And we shall see what happens in the next storm

oops

So we have some raspberry plants.
And we have lots of birds.
And birds like raspberries.
So i decided that i would make a fruit cage - a bit more permament than just heaving some netting over the plans when the respberries appear.

Ive got some timber lying around  - not enought to make the whole thing , but I thought I'd make a start and finish it when the lockdown is over - for  builders merchants at least.

But then we had a little orcadian spring breeze

So do  I
 1. put the whole thing back up and retro-concrete in the base. it might be difficult becauase the whoel thing is on a slope and the far end is propped up about 9" on stones.

2. Weight it all down twith as many parge stones as i can find

3. Something else .

 Watch this space

A bit windy

heres the windbreak to try and protect the trees .  Its been there through  since last year.  Didnt do much for the apples from the trees though .

Heres a tree, being protected

 And heres the windbreak after last nights' storm ( storm Deirdre)
 70 mph gusts where we  are.

 And the Orkneyharbours.com website gives live weather updates

Here's last nights' winds

 60knots =69 mph.

Grit

Hens need grit - as explained here .

 

 

Spray, at a distance

a wave or few

One of our excess cockerels went to a neighbour , who said the gizzard was full and the birds needed more grit.  Obvious really - there is a lot of mud here at the moment and the hens will be getting enough of that but anything insoluble will probably be washed away .
And our neighbour recommended a spot that was ideal for collecting grit.
So early one morning , we went with some buckets
Its a bit windy ,so we took a few other pictures as well
































 And some grit for the hens

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

63.6

Its been a bit windy over the  last few days. Of course its nothing exceptional that gets reported in any of the local news.  But the anenometer  came up with a new highest wind speed  - 63.6 mph .

There is a storm coming in the next 24 hours - the are saying up to 90 mph ( but that's the Western Isles , so we may not be as bad )  . Watch this space for a bulletin !