Dare I say it is spring?
These little beauties were posted to me as bulbs 25 years ago having been dug up from a friend’s garden in Whaley Bridge, High Peak. They are shy little flowers and they hide underneath the rosa rugosa bushes (which I imported from Sutherland 20 years ago). The roses have migrated along the ridge of soil thus hiding the snowdrops from view, but they were lopped down this time last year so the snowdrops are again on view. By the end of March they will have vanished underground, but according to someone I saw on television last night, different varieties will flower up until early spring, so there’s an excuse to trawl the interweb for some new bulbs. Maybe!
We have been blessed with fine sunny weather for the past week or two, which is a bit of a change from the previous six weeks of wind, rain, snow and hail that nobody enjoyed. Added to that I was able to get over to Kirkwall for my belated dental appointment (should have been 22nd December) so now I can smile again without showing a huge gap in the pearly whites.
I have even ventured out into the garden to continue building the new flower bed, which was shown in the previous post called Predators. The outside posts are in the ground now and the supporting timber is in place. I was interrupted making the gate this afternoon so it will now have to wait until tomorrow after a visit to the shops for a couple of hinges and a latch. Then finally I shall attach the green rabbit proof netting. It will have a lid on it too, which means the pheasants will not be able to get in.
In the foreground if you look hard you will see the first shoots of some daffodils. I’ve not yet decided what will be going in this bed but in the greenhouse there are wallflowers and foxglove plants all ready to go out (thanks Bryan) but I can’t risk doing that as there is a good chance of a heavy frost before March has come and gone. There are lots of plant pots in the greenhouse, lined up waiting for new seedlings to be planted and brought on so this particular bed will be a little empty for at least the next four weeks.
Outside the front door I have pots of bulbs bursting into life, see the lonely daffodil above and the pot of chives below.
A chrysanthemum, seen below, that originally lived in where the new bed is being prepared. Along with ten other pots these chrysanths have overwintered in the greenhouse and are now sprouting, ready to be separated into many new plantslets to be placed somewhere in the garden, possibly below the sitooterie. I have to be careful because the rabbits will eat anything, especially something that is exciting and new.
March begins at the end of next week and that means 30 days to Easter, when the schools break up and the island has its first batch of visitors. The accommodation providers are now busy sprucing up their premises ready to welcome the latest guests and the island will start buzzing again.
My birthday is in March which means a special treat of fish and chips for lunch in the hotel, and it is well worth waiting for. Generally folk start to make their holiday bookings right after the Christmas season because as Westray is a small but busy island, there are limited numbers of bed nights available so accommodation providers get booked up quite early. If anyone reading this is thinking of visiting this year I suggest they get their skates on, check out the tourist association web site and get booking.
The ferry timetable changes early May so before that there are fewer vehicle places available at this time of year and only two crossings a day whereas there are more after that date. If you have a vehicle booking is essential both ways. You can book and pay online for both the ferry and the plane, which nowadays is essential.
Broadband speeds have improved but the full fibre is not complete. As I write, the Openreach team is working its way down the island from the exchange opposite the kirk. Last week there were cones on the road but they may have completed the work by April, that is an unknown just now. I use the EE mast which is just fine.
The grass is starting to wake up now so no doubt the golf course will soon be having regular cuts to bring it to pristine condition. I am not a golfer but I thoroughly enjoy walking past and admiring the view, and a maybe a blether with Billy if he is on the big mower.
Westray is coming alive again after the winter, so we look forward to welcoming visitors again in 2024.
One from the best of the best poets…
The Robin cam to the wren’s nest
And keekit in and keekit in,
O weel’s me on your auld pow,
Wad ye be in, wad ye be in.
Ye’se ne’er get leave to lie without,
And I within, and I within,
As lang’s I hae an auld clout
To row you in, to row you in.
Robert Burns.