Posie's Blog. Tales of island life on a hebridean hill farm

Posie's Blog. Tales of island life on a hebridean hill farm

Monday 30 July 2007

Summer days





The island really comes alive in the summer months. Each day the ferry arrives, laden with cars and visitors, once the ferry traffic has dispersed, the hustle and bustle disappears and evaporates as the island happily consumes its visitors, and although you are aware that there seem to be more people out and about in the sunny weather, the island maintains its peaceful atmosphere.

The farm has been particularly busy with visitors too as friends make their yearly pilgrimage across the sea to visit this beautiful island. Yesterday the girls’ friends arrived off the afternoon ferry. There was great excitement. These friends have been visiting the island since they were babies, when they first ventured across the farm yard from the holiday cottage; they had not long learnt to take their first tiny steps. As each year passes, they make the same journey over. Yesterday saw them all sat high up in the hay shed on the round bales, catching up where they left off, as if they were together only yesterday. How quickly a year seems to pass, and with each passing year, how quickly they all seem to be growing up, gone are the cuddly unicorns that they each used to race through the fields with as they set off on some fantasy adventure to ‘fairy hill’. Now the squeals, giggles and cuddly unicorns have been replaced by horses and going for long strolls and serious chats. Their
friendship growing and strengthening with each passing year.

The happy farmer went shopping yesterday, just to get supplies from the main village. He often disappears at some point on a Saturday to visit the stores, usually taking much longer than you or I would. He always seems to meet someone. Yesterday he met his Edinburgh friends, stopped in for a chat, before arriving home laden with bags of shopping and several of the friends he had happened to meet along the way. I do enjoy the spontaneity of the happy farmer's shopping expeditions!

13 comments:

Unknown said...

Sounds idyllic!! How lovely that the girls visit every year. You're right about time going quickly, I often wish it would slow down just a little!

Pondside said...

I love the image of your island just consuming all the guests - what a lovely image that it to me!....very peaceful, and that is, I'm sure, what the visitors are looking for. Lovely, too, to think about children and friendships that last summer after summer.

Suffolkmum said...

I will be arriving off that ferry one day! It sounds so wonderful. How lovely for the girls to have 'grown up' with friends who return each year. So poignant tosee them all getting older.

snailbeachshepherdess said...

What a lovely sunny atmosphere you create in a short space of a blog!

You mean you went to college with my hearthrob??? Not in Walsall surely? i know his cousin very well Rosie...one of the reasons I was in Dorset was trying to find her ...but she has moved on after a relationship crash

Anonymous said...

You lucky wife you! I wish I could get J to pop to Morrisons for me. Mind you he'd probably come back with chocolate biscuits and nothing else!

A lovely bright blog.

Crystal xx

bodran... said...

i'm with crystal there Jaffa cakes and custard is what c brings home...ahhhh you have mad dog on a trampoline to xx

Blossomcottage said...

Your lovely dog on the trampoline reminds me so much of my JRT Spice who loved to float around the swimming pool on the kids lilo.
I love the sound of your beautiful Island.
Thanks for taking me there.
Blossom

Westerwitch/Headmistress said...

Oh it does sound wonderful - you could well find us on your doorstep in the not too distant future.

Cait O'Connor said...

A lovely, cheering, sunny blog. What wonderful memories those children will have.
Talking of sun the farmers here are able to cut the grass at last, much work going on today.

@themill said...

I love the spontaneous arrival of friends found along the way. Lovely blog. My boys are bonfiring on the beach tonight with their 'seasonal' friends. Seems only five minutes since they were all building sandcastles.

@themill said...

Forgot to say, our labradog loves the trampoline too!

Un Peu Loufoque said...

I do hope you buys enough supplies to include his impromptu visitors in a merry lunch!! I grew up in an expandable household and it has taken me years to get used to the idea that I do not have automatically add an extra bit to teh dishes in case some one drops in!! The French are not dropper inners sadly!!

Bluestocking Mum said...

I love the thought of them returning year after year. We have Greek friends who we try and go and visit most years...they love to see the boys and how they have grown...

warm wishes
x