Tag: #ScottishAdventure

Rescue Me 4 paws

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I come from a long line of serial animal rescuers, growing up in a busy, bustling household, we always had a range of various rescued beasts about the house, from adored dogs to crazy cats, a goldfish that systematically ate its piers over a good number of years, finally meeting its own end at the claws of one of the crazy cats! For a while, we were home to 3 ex zoo tortoises, which would zoom (and I kid you not) about the ground floor of the house, terrifying dogs, amusing us kids, by nibbling our toes when left carelessly dangling within reach and infuriating the crazy cats in their efforts to consume said resilient reptiles.

There have also been terrapins, rabbits and a number of goats, the last being Kevin the Kid, who came to us when my mother swapped 2lb of mince meat for him, as he was unwanted and was ‘gonni gea in ma freezer’, according to her neighbour, and I must not forget the ex riding school pony.

In my adult life and with the support of the long suffering husband of mine, I have modestly continued the tradition, acquiring, dogs, cats, a couple of ducks, rescuing owls, moles (from our own crazy cats) and most recently finding ourselves the reluctant adoptees of a very elderly ewe, who clearly likes being by herself, is most interested in our daily antics and has firmly resisted all efforts on our and her farmer owners part to return her to her flock.

Giving an animal a home is dear to my heart and I am keen to support organisations that promote animal welfare, we are part of the animal kingdom and I believe have a duty to be ethical and mindful in our relationships with other animals, upon who’s bounty we greatly rely upon.

I came upon this organization and their ethos really made me smile. Re-homing and or sharing a pet, is a fantastic idea, good for the animal and the person they go to. Spread the love and the intent. Well done ‘give the dog a bone’

For more info visit

http://www.giveadogabone.net

Ewna – the escaped Ewe

A Little Goes A Long Way.

So we live next door to a ruin, in actual fact we have a semi-detached ruined Castle and it is not an easy neighbour. As I write, the sky outside is an electric translucent blue, visibility is clear and it is 11pm at night. Outlined against this charged sky, bats zoom about, zipping past my window in and out of their Castle home, gulping midges along their way.

This year we are aiming to make a significant difference to our state of being and our state of doing and that restless pile of stones next door. You will have heard me banging on about the undergrowth and managing the grounds, however what everyone clearly wants is to know is how and when our uneasy neighbour will be a) fixed and b)when can people get inside? The answer, as ever is how long is that length of rope, from which we dangle?

I watch my darling husband, night after night, at his computer, working, on various ways to make the business of ‘Restoring a Castle in the Highlands’ work. I see how hard he fights to keep going and I know how hard we both work to raise our family and make our lives work in this remote and rural place that we love. Like any other family in the UK right now, we are getting on and doing what we can, despite political and the economic uncertainty about us, we remain optimistic and I am proud of my man. His was the vision that started this crazy life we live and his is the vision that is moving this project, surely and sometimes slowly, although always steadily forward.

He is sitting next to me, well actually at the other end of the sofa, with Illustrator open, designing, he is working on two new ideas. One being our ‘Wild Adventure Wedding & Party’ packages (more on that to follow) and an the all new Castle Package, which enables any corporate sponsors or individuals buy into the actual Castle and I do mean ‘into it’, buy sponsoring 1 square foot with the Castle and be recorded as part of Dunans Castles history, to really become part of the buildings story.

Needless to say, it is mostly him and me, we do have a small part time staff helping and even the girls pitch in. So at the weekend, when the sun shines, out we all go. Last weekend the hard hats came out, the digger was fired up and I got to light one huge bonfire. So here you go chaps… ‘let the clearance begin’.