More photos from Doune

 

Some birds I do know at Doune were the great tit, left,  the song thrush, below with Mary Doune, and the chaffinch, a young female, left, with Gripper, as well as  other finches and siskins, all of which came to eat from the bird feeders outside the dining room.   There are other birds too that flit around by the shore.  I’m guessing there may be sandpipers and pippits among them.  They don’t stay still long enough to get a positive description of them, or they are too far away to see clearly.

The wildlife we none of us care for are the highland midges, particularly fierce tiny little biting beasties – only the female bites, they say, but who can tell which is which without a microscope!!   We all have our particular favourite midgie repellent, and this year I remembered to use one that really isn’t a midge repellent at all, but a skin softener!   So I can say that not only do I have soft skin now, but I escaped the midge bites that usually plague me with their itchiness and swelling.  However, there is one plant that is said to keep the midges away and that is bog myrtle, left.  A few crushed sprigs  tucked behind the ears or pinned to your clothes, works pretty well.  A friend was once talking of bog myrtle to someone, years ago now, when her little son piped up and asked,” Mummy, why is it called bog-mental?”  So as bog-mental it became known, not only in her family but among my friends too.  Well, mental or not, I reckon it works!  It seemed to in Skye at any rate.

When Friday came along, it was time to take stock.  Here’s my waterlily – a quarter done – sorry you can’t see the lace itself due to the forest of pins holding the threads in place.  I’ll see if I’ve made mistakes when the pins can come out!  Margaret had done a good deal more than me, but was planning to cut it off as she wasn’t happy with it.  I think she might tackle the hexagon pattern too eventually.

Janet worked quite a bit of her pattern but then she had already got started before she came over from her home just across the water, on Skye.

 

This was Sheila’s sample piece of a rather complicated Continental lace.

 

She had taken a drawing and designed her lace herself!  For what it’s worth I think the thread is too thick.  It needs to be more delicate, but isn’t the pattern beautiful? 

 

Norma had rattled on with the wedding garter and was nearly done. 

 

Joan’s was coming along well too…

…and Lisbet?    Well, she had a whole notebook of fabulous little sketches and paintings.  She should publish a book!

 

 

 

 

Talk again soon