27th-29th February 2012

Monday 27th was very wet. Toby and I braved the beach...

but the rest of the day was spent illustrating. Janet and I have been feeding Mrs Chicken (real name Matilda, we are told) on the grass outside the French windows with old pitta breads. A large flock of Chaffinches have also been enjoying the feast. And the sheep paid another brief visit due to somebody leaving the gate open... not us.

Tuesday 28th was a much drier and brighter day. Janet and I clambered back across the rocks to the little bay where we had spotted the otter. Toby and I scanned the waters for some time but without luck.

Later in the afternoon, Janet sat reading happily as the sun shone through the French windows. Toby snoozed. I snapped this picture looking up from my desk.

Wednesday 29th was also dry. I worked all morning before setting off for Craighouse where we had lunch in the Jura Hotel. We bumped into Sharon again who went to the same convent as Janet and who had recognised Janet when we were in the Jura Hotel on a previous visit. Janet and Toby decided to walk back to the cabin via Corran Sands while I visited Small Isles Primary and did some drawing with the children for World Book Day (which is actually tomorrow). The session was great fun. Because there are only twelve children in the school, the ages are quite diverse but they are lovely gentle kids who seem to get on well. Many ‘horrible’ drawings were produced!

The sun was shining on the drive back and there was a sunbathing seal balanced on a submerged rock in the bay. It is often there so I imagine it is the same seal sitting on the same favourite rock. 

I’d like to think so anyway.

Worked all morning listening to The Archers omnibus and Desert Island Discs. Had lunch at the Jura Hotel. Toby waited patiently for his walk.

The feral goats were in the village today. 

These unpopular animals roam freely causing damage to plants and property. They are said to be descendants of goats that escaped from the wrecks of the Spanish Armada. Many of them live on the little islands that scatter the bay.

The rain had stopped by the time we left the hotel so we stopped at Corran Sands for a walk. Janet carried on to the cabin on her own. I came across an ancient Golden Retriever on my walk back to the van. 

The owner was nowhere to be seen but the dog seemed quite happy and, I imagine, belonged to one the crofts.

Watched rugby and footy in the afternoon.

work

a wonderfully windy walk

then we watched wugby

Thursday Feb 23rd

We were relieved to find Toby had recovered from whatever was troubling him yesterday. Even so, we decided not to walk him too far. I worked from seven to midday then we drove to Craighouse and walked to the pier. 

Toby found another buoyfriend.

We had lunch at the Jura Hotel and then returned for more work followed by Scrabble. An exciting day, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Friday Feb 24th

I took a day off from illustrating today. We left at 9:00 for the ferry to Islay stopping at Corran Sands to walk Toby first. But Janet slipped in the mud and got totally soaked from the waterlogged ground so we returned to the cabin for a change of clothes.

The weather changed from sunshine to rain and back again all day long. There was a rainbow over Port Askaig while we waited for the ferry. The usual ferry was away for its yearly service so we boarded a different one this morning. 

Not the usual drive on drive off but drive on reverse off - not that easy with a camper van.

We visited the Bunnahabhain distillery which is just across from the sound from Jura. 

The Paps on the far side were rising up above the stacked barrels. 

I bought a bottle of Bunnahabhain 12 year old single malt - smooth and non-peaty for an Islay whisky. 

We drove on to another distillery but found it closed. Before driving to Bowmore we had a windy walk along the beach. 

The shore was covered in seashells.

I spotted two that looked like they were having a chat.

We had lunch in our favourite place - a window seat at Duffies Bar in Bowmore. The view across the water was beautiful as we wrote postcards home.

 Janet did a shop at the Co-op while I made the most of a strong signal on my iPhone and dealt with some emails.

We were back on Jura by 3:30 and driving across the island in sunshine. 

20th - 22nd Feb

Monday Feb 20th brought the worst weather we’ve had yet. Rain, rain and more rain. Janet braved the beach but I preferred to work.

Tuesday was a little better. We drove into Craighouse for a bit of shopping and ate lunch in the bar at the Jura Hotel. We decided to go for a drive after our meal and set off for Lagg with one of Joe’s compilation cds blaring away. I spotted a large bird of prey circling over the conifers - pretty sure it was another eagle.

Janet and Toby espied some well camouflaged deer not far from the road.

A young stag and some females.

Despite the dull weather the light appeared quite bright on the coast north of Lagg.

The road across the island is a single track strip of tarmac, often potholed and with very few places to turn round so I took the opportunity to do a three point turn at Lagg and we drove back to the cabin.

Mrs Chicken was loitering outside the patio doors so I threw her some bread. She was happily pecking away when a seagull appeared from nowhere and stole her snack! I replaced it with a generous handful of Kellogg’s Just Right - not so easy for a gull to spot from a great height.

Wednesday 22nd Feb - a bleak day - more rain. Stayed in our cosy cabin mostly. Toby seemed unwell. We started our walk to the beach in driving rain but after a few yards he refused to go further and I carried him home. I carried on by myself as I had been working intensively and needed to get out. 

 The mountain streams that run onto the beach were choked with peaty rust-coloured water. 

It was a bleak and blowy scene.

Spent the rest of the day either working or watching Pride & Prejudice - an excellent programme might I say and now I must write no more as the language of P&P is finding it’s way into my blog. Good day to you.

... this is the second half of today's blog. I was having problems loading so many photos - scroll down if you'd like to read the first half first!

Anyway, where were we? Oh yes... after a bit of sliding and clambering we arrived at a little bay and sat in the sun on the rocks for a rest.

We thought we were watching a diving bird of some sort on the far side of the bay but then the creature spotted us and swam over to investigate. Not a bird but a nosy seal, we thought. As it swam closer we could see that it wasn't a seal - it was an otter! At last we have seen an otter on Jura. He swam over, took a good look then dived and swam back to far side of the bay. Amazing.

Not very good photos but just so you don’t think I’m fibbing...

I’ve been feeding bread to Mrs Chicken who lives in the bushes by our cabin. She is a fine looking bird with a feathery hat - much needed as she lives outside all year round. If chickens could wear gloves I expect she’d be up for that too.

Toby chases cats. Well, most cats. But the cats that live here seem to like dogs. When he approached Iain’s ginger cat it hissed at him cautiously...

... but stood its ground...

Toby was most impressed and gave Ging a kiss on the ear.

Back at the cabin I finished my octopus illustration and emailed it to London.

Friday 17th Feb. Janet’s flight to Islay Airport was due at 5:55 pm. It was a grim looking day.

Toby and I stopped for a sandwich at the Jura Hotel on our way to the ferry. There’s a painting in the bar featuring many of the local characters that lived on the island when it was painted twenty or thirty years ago. Note the hand on the mermaid’s bum.

The rain beat down as we waited for the ferry across to Islay.

And it bucketed down as I stopped to shop at Port Ellen’s Co-op.

We drove through Brigend towards Port Charlotte and stopped for a windy walk so Toby could have a wee.

Despite strong winds and poor visibility Janet’s flight was only a few minutes late. It takes 25 minutes to drive from the airport to Port Askaig for the ferry back to Jura. The last ferry was due to leave in 25 minutes so we had a speedy drive across the island to try and catch it. I’d brought sleeping bags in case of we were forced to have an overnight sleep in the ferry car park.

The ferry was just packing up when we arrived but they took us across.

It was great to bet back on the island with Janet. We celebrated with a curry and a pint at the Jura Hotel.

Saturday 18th Feb.The following day was wet and windy. Janet and Toby were caught in a ferocious hailstorm on the beach. Janet had to pick Toby up to protect him from the hailstones. Meanwhile, I was watching Sunderland beat Arsenal in an FA Cup match. The storm passed quickly and they arrived back wet and battered but still in one piece. 

A power cut early evening meant watching a DVD on my laptop and going to bed early.

Sunday 19th. Power was still off when we awoke so I went over to Iain’s house to check the trip switch. The trip was down so I flicked it up and we soon had the kettle and the heating back on. The lighting from the sunrise was incredible this morning. A warm orange glow was lighting up the sheep and highland cattle at the back of Iain’s croft. I dashed back indoors but in the two minutes it took to get my camera, the light had gone. V annoying. I snapped a couple of semi-orange shots anyway.

The sun came out late morning and we had a fantastic walk to the far end of the beach. The scenery was amazing.

I insisted on taking a photo of Janet on Joe's rock despite the tide being in.

Here we are on the same rock in November 2010

 We decided to explore a bit further and see what was around the headland...

But you'll have to read my next blog to find out what exciting creature we spotted because this blog won't let me upload any more photos - not sure why!