From my second blog page 'Picti'

Young Mystic Warrior Pencil sketch. Tea wash. Watercolours.

My Tribe. Young warrior. Back washed with green tea. Pencil sketch and watercolour layers

First Autumn pickings

Just a breakfast you say, and you'd be right except........after a year we finally have a fully functional kitchen! It's a long way from finished but I'm cooking with gas, literally. First meal cooked in my new kitchen was a special moment for me, made more special by freshly foraged Chanterelle mushrooms from a kind neighbour. Happy days 😊

Insects caught in the spotlight in the rain just now 😲 #freeshow #nature #bugslife #scottishhighlands #lookingthroughthewindow #likemagic

Little Hoglet snuffling & foraging. He missed the lesson from Mum about being nocturnal #hedgehogs #Hoglet #babyhedgehog #littlecutie #scottishhighlands #nature #wildlife

At last .....

So....today the plaster board finally goes up in the soon to be kitchen. It's been a long old haul but after today we just need the boards taped then we can get painting and more importantly order our cabinets. This may seem common and uninteresting in terms of world news but a year without a proper kitchen means I am jumping up and down, doing a jig and punching the air in a virtual frenzy of happiness whilst typing. My excitement knows no bounds. Now I'll leave you to get back to your toast. Photographic evidence to follow....ah moments in our little world history 😌

Mother Nature is a true artist #mothernature #mothernaturerocks #mothernaturesbeauty #mygardentoday #mygardenflowers #lovemygarden #scottishhighlands #scottishlandscape (at Tomich)

Tropical Rainforest in the Scottish Highlands

The weather in the highlands this past week has been almost like living in a tropical rainforest. It's rained on and off everyday, soft heavy summer stair rods of water interspersed with really warm breaks of sunshine. The air is humid and warm and just perfect for the garden. Everything is growing like crazy ..... We are already at the point where we can pick lettuce for lunch and herbs for dinner whilst waiting for the more substantial veg to hit the plates later in the year. We are waiting for the team to come and plasterboard the kitchen then we will at last be fitting a kitchen 🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗 Life is very good right now. We are relaxed and loving life. Learning everyday. Stepping off the treadmill was the smartest move we've made. Recycling anything and everything. New uses for old stuff. Time to breathe in the amazing pure air up here and soak up the smells. Alarm clock only once or twice a week for work the rest of the time we wake when our bodies or the birds tell us too. Steve's been here a year now and I followed about 6 weeks later. Do we miss anything from our old lives? Only people .....not work or fancy goods. The more you earn the more you spend and what is that all about? It's just stuff!! Onwards and upwards 😌

Salad toms in pots and Beefsteak in gro-bag 🍅🍅

Golden Wonder main crop 🥔 in grow bags and Jalapeños in the greenhouse

Peas, beetroot and Carrots all starting to grow

Lollo Rosso and Rainbow Chard loving this humid weather

Election party night for two

Yes we are having an election party night at home tonight. Just the two of us. It's getting heated. Open another bottle. It's going to be a long night!!!

It will take years to learn what will and won’t grow up here in the highlands but I am determined to succeed with a bed of Asparagus. I bought one year old crowns which arrived in May. Steve built me a trug for them. Two days after planting the small ferns turned brown and died. Despair 😩 More reading recommended cutting off the ferns. I was left with minute twiglets, very dead looking. No sign of life until this week. My excitement knows no bounds!!!! Tiny, tiny fragile little spears have started to appear Can’t say more right now. Have to go tend to my precious babies. Must check the weather in case they need a blanket tonight 😌

Not far off the plaster board stage now then it's time to fit the kitchen. Excited? Me? .......🤗🤗🤗🤗

View from dining end of new stud wall to create a small utility/boot room