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We had a dusting of snow earlier this month. I hadn’t expected to see a layer on snow on North Ronaldsay, with the air being so salty and mild, so it was a nice surprise to wake up to he island cover in a white fluffy blanket. Olly and I made the most of it and got out for a walk with the camera along Linklet Bay and down to Stennabreck. I was hoping to see the sheep on the snowy beaches, but they were further round the coast, where the snow hadn’t laid. Clever sheep.
We took a tiny carrot out with us from the garden to make a tiny snowman. I’m sure one of the sheep or rabbits enjoyed that tasty treat later on!
This month I delved into the world of sourdough after seeing Kat Goldin’s New Year bake along (now in her highlights), which inspired me to make my own sourdough starter.
I’ve enjoyed the process of feeding and looking after the starter. A few days into it I discovered the my scales were on the blink, measuring my ingredients double or triple what they should be! So the first few loaves weren’t great, but they’ve been slowly improving, with new scales and better technique.
I love the routine of it, feeding, watching it become active, discarding, feeding. At the beginning I ended up with loads of discard in my fridge, which sparked a hunt for recipes to use it up. I made my first ever crumpets, and sourdough brownie which was to die for!
This month James has finished his dyke training and has been working on a section which has recently fallen down near Ryas Geo. We had beautiful blue skies for it. Seeing the blue sky and sun, for even a short time makes such a difference to my mental wellbeing. I’ve been feeling relieved that last winter was a particularly harsh one, with back to back storms and such wet and windy weather. This winter has been much kinder so far, fingers crossed it continues!
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