CROFT7 - Working with Nature
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Spring willow planting on the croft
A DUCK EGG A DAY
The Croft7 Hens
Looking North East, Fasaig Village 1960`s
New Planting on the Croft

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Spring willow planting on the croft

We have started our spring time planting down on the croft starting with over 400 willow cuttings, Salix viminalis,candida, 
nigra. There have been some great sunsets over Loch Torridon. Candida is a shrubby willow and should give us good firewood sticks in four years time.


Sunset over Loch Torridon
Sunset over Loch Torridon
Sunset rom the croft
 : Loch Torridon Sunset
Loch Torridon Sunset
 

A DUCK EGG A DAY

Muscovy Duck,an egg a day from our muscovy duck and on pancake day Throve Tuesday), pancakes made from our own duck eggs and lashing of fruit from last years, red currant blackcurrant and raspberry harvest. Muscovy ducks are native to Mexico, they large amusing clown like with nig broad bodies, wagging tails, and the males hiss rather than quack they are ducks with attiude. They live in a big rushy pen over planted with willow down on the croft. This year we have had a lot of rain through out the autumn and winter which they have enjoyed.

The Croft7 Hens

Our hens have been surviving the continuous wet winter weather and provide us with 3-5 eggs a day, they run free range in our forest garden area of the croft. Recently they have been scratching away on the banks of the croft burn where the ground is drier and quite sandy. We cleared gorse from the bank and have been planting a mix of fruiting trees along the cleared ground. Amelanchier, John Downie  (Crab Apple), Sea Buckthorn. On occasion we will use the hens as    chicken tractors

Looking North East, Fasaig Village 1960`s

Write your post here.FASAIG IN THE EARLY 70`S,   always looking for old photos between National Trust Centre and CORRY CHURCH


picture from John Charnley collection



New Planting on the Croft

 Two buzzards hunting over the Torridon crofts today,   one was very high `mewing` and soaring yesterday in the cool blue  air but strong sunny day following a frosty night.   But things warmed up a bit today and it was possible to plant up some recently bought bare rooted trees, Amelanchier `s or Juneberries\Shadbush which will grow and produce sweet black elderberry sized fruits after a show of hundreds of white petalled flowers in May. Sea Buckthorn was also planted for its vitamin rich orange berry crop, crab apple James Downie, Blackthorns.

EAGLE OVER THE CROFT

Working down on the croft today was one of those special days.  I was busy planting raspberry canes in a 10 metre bed, having lined the bottom with cardboard and then infilling with a layer of seaweed topped with a deep layer of compost. Whilst I was doing this I got a sensation of a shadow going over, it has been a bright sunny but cool day after a night of frost.
Looking straight up a very large broad winged bird with slow moving  wings was flying up above me , a golden eagle which made its way with the same slow wing beats into the distant corrie of Beinn Alligin.

Old New Year into the Future

   Here we are in the wet and windy north, but hey ho, New Year, New Website......on we go