The Wall

The wall . 

  So the hens were managing to jump over the wall. 

So ive raised the wall. 

So that seems to have stopped them hopping up 

:-)))

Moving them out

 So the hens went into the greenhouse .  But as the sun gets above the hill, the greenhouse reverts to its proper function - a sun trap. And this isnt good for the hens. Whilst Avian Flu

So we had to move them. So we moved a hen house , and transferred the hens and after a day or so  locked in whilst they became familiar with  their new home, we let them out and they went exploring their new environment. 

 

 

 

And the lights got moved as well , and they kept on laying ( which is good) 

 

 But we have discovered a problem 

They've discovered they can hop over the wall. 

So we  either

- live with it  . But if they discover the vegetable patch thats not going to be good. 

- put up some fencing 

- rediscover my drystone walling skills 

 

The Inside Hens

 

 

 So in line with the diktats about Avian flu, we have  been able to house the new lot of hens inside the greenhouse which , fortuitously , was erected in the autumn. 

 

 

 

 

  And ive fixed up some lights - and a result !

 

 

Views from (halfway) up the hill

 So to check on the fencing before the sheep go back onto the moor for the rest of the winter, I had to go round and check there were no gaps in the fencing that the sheep could possibly escape through.  So i took a camera with me . 

 

Looking back down the hill to the house 

 

 

 

 

And looking out the east , there is the island of Rousay in the far distance.

 And the Lyde Road, winding up the hill going west to Harray.

The Apple Crop

Trees went into the polycrub that I put up .

 

And we put some of the trees in the AppleCrub i erected 

 (taken on the sunny day  in June)

And we have some that are planted on the bank. 

And as its getting colder, the leaves are falling , as are the fruit,  so its picking time,. 

 

13.9 Kg of apples . Some will keep into the winter in the cool, dry shed outside. 

 

 

Sunrise

 

 

 

 

 7.37 :56 am

 

 

 

 

7.40 :35  am

 

 

 

 

 

 

7:46:23 am

Greenhouse

 

 After several years, I've finally got round to erecting the greenhouse. The excuse is that it was a 2-man job and I had to wait until my mate was available.

Slightly complicated because Alton couldnt provide construction  instructions. It was carefully taken apart in Newcastle, and transported here and stored in the shed , along with all the bitsnpieces

The main difference between Newcastle and Orkney and a sectional greenhouse  like this one is its ability to withstand winds of up to 80 mph.  So we've tried to anchor it down well. 

The (hopefully) sheltered site has a bit of an incline, so some hardcore to get it level, set out the concrete base blocks and fix the sectional sides to the base . And prop it all up until its all fixed in place.

 

The base units were concreted into place. 

And then a 2metre, 3"x3"  fence post ( a stab in Orcadian)  concreted into place at each corner

And then fix a  length of 4"x2" timber to the posts. And fix the sections to the horizontal timber and to the posts 

 And to help keep the roof on, some additional 3"x2" timbers have been bolted to the posts and screwed to the roof section 

So we shall see if it survives the winter. if it does , I'll plant something in there in the spring .