I started out the morning by going on a short walk along the shoreline. And by short, I mean exceptionally short. The damn midges were out again! In full force. I think I accidentally slapped myself in the face trying to rid myself of them.
But, in that brief period of time I managed to find a sheeps tooth that had washed ashore. I considered it a sign of good luck.
I then went to task making Flord's Favorite Courgette (Zuchini) Cake. I don't know who Flord is, but she had the right stuff going for this cake. The icing has cream cheese, powdered sugar, lime juice, and pistachios. I haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like heaven.
After an extended lunch, I went to work up at the peat bog. Wow.
While the view is quite possibly impossible to beat, the work is back breaking. Earlier in the year, they cast the peat and have had it laying out to dry ever since. It's nearly impossible here, but some of the pieces have dried.
I was tasked with baging and raising the peat. So, when I would find bits of the peat that were dry, I would toss them in a giant bag. I did 12 in all.
It's not easy finding those dry pieces, and even less easy hauling around a 50 lbs bag of peat all over the place. It honestly wouldn't be so bad, but as is often the case with peat, it is accompanied by a boggy situation.
I had to make good use of my new pair of wellies.
At one point, I thought I lost my camera (my mini waterproof one) but then had to have it pointed out that I had put them down my pants instead of my back pocket. Whoops.
After we had collected all the dry peat in bags, we stacked a few of them and carried the rest back up to the car for use at the house.
It was grueling work.
And my hands were dirty by the end.
But damnit, you can't help but love every minute of it when the weather is breezy and cool and the views look like this:
I got back in time to pop some ibuprofen, grab my camera and catch the sunset.
There is supposed to be a massive gale hitting tomorrow. And I can already hear the wind blowing as I write this late at night. Looks like we're in for a wild ride tomorrow!
Until then...
Location:Hillswick, Shetland
Sara, those photos are amazing! Gathering the peat sounds really interesting...it looks like a cross between coal and a cow patty! Is it just the mossy part that burns?? or also the dark stuff, too?
ReplyDeleteBy the way...was that one photo a thistle? If I remember right, that's Scotland's national flower. Isn't that odd that we categorize it as a noxious weed!
There was a picture of a field with cows...do they just roam freely? or are they penned in?
Thanks for posting so many pictures. On your next post, please remind everyone to click on the photos for a larger and much clearer image...it makes a big difference!
I look foward to seeing photos of St. Ninian's Isle!
mmmmmmm....peat. they also use it to flavor scotch whiskey, particularly in the Islay region. doesnt that make you want to drink it more?
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