Well Lorraine put a post on Facebook on the new position on Rona for a couple and we were picked up by the Daily Mirror yesterday as a News Filler then it was on the TV briefly where it ceertainly created a bit of interest. So much so that we have had quite a few enquiries and it will take time to go through them all and get back to folks.

But in the meantime I also see that there has been quite a bit of interest in my blog. I hope those now looking at it will enjoy the pictures and stories. It is a wondeful place to stay, very challenging at times and now with me becoming a pensioner with reduced energy levels and a huge workload we are indeed looking for a couple to help us.

There is a full gale outside and I guess one of the strongest this year, the internet is off but we have back up phones. The trip next week may or may not be on, the weather controls everything. It has been a very wet winter and more grey than sun but when it is sunny it is beautiful. It is a great place to live.

I will give an overview of ‘The Job’ soon, but like my blog posting these last few years, that one could take time to get round to.

In the meantime I will finish the latest ongoing post and I am sure there is much on the blog to keep any visitor busy.

Busy Days Ahead

I was going to start this blog bemoaning the last Lister Generator we bought. A twin cylinder TR2, which was what you would call a Monday morning or Friday afternoon build. But, given the interest in our vacancy we have just advertised, it looks like a busy time ahead . Job Opportunity

So here we are doing a typical Winter job during a very typical January. The weather has been as usual difficult, it has been pretty much wet and windy since October with odd stunning days and occasionally cold. But it is what it is so we just get on with it. At this time we catch up on house/machinery maintenance hoping to get some good weather for the stalking. Now that the New Year ceklebrations are past it is time for preparing for the coming season and possibly a wee break away.

Last week Calum came over and we took the week to rebuild the top end of the last new Lister generator we bought amongst other maintenance jobs. This one had barely run for 2000 hours when it started leaking oil from the top end. It turned out that the parts used to build these otherwise reliuable gennies were not the quality that Lister usually sourced and they were what they call a bad batch.

After a bit of a battle we got Lister to replace ‘some’ parts (as it was just out of warranty) but it was up to us to sort their problem, we are less than impressed. I installed the spare generator (a TS2) three days before our annual holiday last year, when the oil leak became critical but it was only a temporary measure. It was not performing as it should and it was up in the garage awaiting its 20,000 hour re-build.

With only one Lister engineer now working full time in Scotland it is difficult to tie him down to come over but he was very helpful over the phone and as we have to do here we just got on with the job.

We have done this quite a few times so on a good day we will exchange generators, but it is time consuming. Fingers crossed our repair is good for a few years now.

We had a full card of engineering to carry ouit but the generator took longer than expected (the exhaust started to fall apart requiring some ingenuity).

Not much to report on our two windmills, yawl bearings were a wee bit worn so we replaced them, some nuts and bolts. Then extra springs at Dry Harbour. But overall the Proven Wind Turbines have been good, with low maintenance.

Our friends at Fladda (Summer Residents) are away just now so we thought after the gales that we should go down and check the properties. All was well, with some nice hinds feeding on their lawn. No Eagles about, hopefully the Avian Flu has not killed any more than the one on Skye.

Although we missed out on central heating anmd electrical work, we did get the outboards looked at. it is the first winter the boat has been left in the water and as I write it is getting a hard time on the mooring in 60 mph winds.

The swimming continues, it is cold but fun. Not so much fun for this Dolphin that was washed up on the shore.

It was well out of the water and would have been pretty rotten in no time so a plan was hatched to put it somewhere less intrusive.

We decided to put it out to the Island in the harbour well above the High Water mark where the birds can deal with it, waste not want not!!

Callum’s week went quick and our next visitor was Steve up from the South for a weeks stalking, on this ferry we had a delivery of deisel. We usually get it from Mallaig by landing craft but at this time of year it is handy to get it on our Ferry Seaflower.

The following week another 1000litres which is always helpful. But it all takes time, putting the pipes out, pumping the fuel, delivering it to its various destinations then tidy up, most of a day.

We were sighting in Steve’s rifle when a hind appeared in this very small block. I was astonished to see it in there and NO we did not shoot it. It looked like it had tried to jump over the fence and had landed on it. The fence was well down but no trees were damaged, I think it had happened that night, if not shortly before we got there with the rifle. Even in a half acre block it is important to keep the fencing tight otherwise the deer will find the weakness. Forest Land Scotland take note!!!!!

After a trying week of weather when we only managed 4 hinds Steve left for home. Of course it was the best day of the week, calm with a bit of sun, but it quickly deteriorated yesterday and to-day Storm Malik.

But every cloud has a silver lining they say, a calm swim of at last 480 yards, as I swam out to the Island to change the card in the trail camera, nothing but Black Back gulls coming to dine on it . The Sea Eagles must have plenty food.

To-day it is Saturday, no days off here. (my choice) I’m in the larder all day finishing off the hinds. Tomorrow we will make burgers then prepare for Calum and Irene to relieve us whilst we head off for a few days.

That is the way of Rona, it is definitely not a nine to 5 job, it is typical of Estate work that there is always something to do should you choose, things turn up all the time. Of course there is down time, for me it is swimming just now that I am enjoying (but not in this storm), reading and trying to sort out the millions of photos, mostly of Rona on my laptops.

The variety is immense, from stalking to engineering, boat work, guests, butchery, the list is endless. It is not ‘A Job’ it is a life.

Now where was I? It is light enough now so I’ll do the rounds and see what has been destroyed last night by the storm (no sleep last night BTW with the noise)