More Snaps From Skye

Paul in the otter hide.


Violets were everywhere.




Nothing makes Paul smile like marmalade pudding. Mmm.

On the Trail of the Elusive Otter

Part of our reason for wanting to visit Skye was to do some otter watching. We spent a whole day with Grace & Paul from the International Otter Survival Fund & they showed us how to look out for signs of otter activity.

1. Frog Skins


Frogs are apparently a favourite snack for otters but they don't like the skins so discard them instead.

2. Footprints


We spotted these track marks near to what was probably an otter holt.

3. Spraint Mounts


Or, to you & me, otter poo. Otters use their droppings to mark their territories & they can recognise other individual otters in the area just by the smell of their spraint. You can spot a spraint mound by the patch of unusually vivid green grass around it (natural fertilizer, you see). Paul & I drew the line at sniffing the stuff but Grace got right down there amongst it & was able to tell how recently the otter had been there & what it had been eating.


Despite all these signs there wasn't even a sniff of an otter sighting that day. All was not lost though. We were able to spend the day listening to Paul & Grace's fascinating stories about otters while we looked at this amazing view. We were also able to use their tips to help us locate an otter later in the trip.

Skye

Some snaps from our recent trip to the Isle of Skye

The Barton Boys

It was my father-in-law's birthday at the weekend so we had a family day out at the canal boat festival in Little Venice followed by a pub lunch. It was fun being able to nosy into people's homes & we even came across a boat owned by some Bartons. Naturally a photo was required.

One a Penny, Two a Penny

On Thursday before this horrible cough descended I popped to the shops to get ingredients for making hot cross buns.


I spotted these lovely lamb-shaped cakes in the window of the Polish bakery.


My hot cross bun recipe has been adapted (& veganised) from one by Silvana Franco. The best thing about it is that it uses dried blueberries instead of currants.


The next best thing is it uses white marzipan for the crosses.


I guess being stuck indoors with this horrible lurgy has its compensations. I get to eat most of these myself!

Back to Yorkshire

Spring was really peeking through when we visited Nunnington Hall in North Yorkshire a few weeks back.

Lovely Friends, Lovely Gifts

It's Easter & I'm stuck at home with a horrible, horrible cold so thought I'd catch up on some long overdue blogging.


Recently we had some friends over for a board games/cocktails evening (as you do) & they brought us the gift of this beautiful pineapple. When we'd finished turning some of it into garnishes for our pina coladas there was still about half of it left. What do you do with half a pineapple?...


Turn it into cake, of course!


The pineapple came with its own specially made label. Despite its tropical appearance, its maker told me the image is actually from Butlins. God, I love Butlins! When I holidayed there with my family in the 80s I have very special memories of this restaurant.