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Another very cold day at Beechbrae, preparing more willow, then cleaning and repairing the hen house (carefully supervised by the chickens and the robin). The chickens prefer to roost in the top of the apple tree rather than in the shelter of their house, despite the frosty nights and windy days, whereas I'm wearing 4 layers of clothes and I'm still cold!

Skye is beautiful in all weathers. And we got to see the Northern Lights on our second evening at Craigan Farmhouse - a fascinating experience, and one to tick off my bucket list (no need to travel to Scandinavia now!) We saw not only the columns of 'merry dancers', but also a broad ribbon of light in an arc above our heads - the rare STEVE or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. Experts believe the light is made up of a fast-moving stream of hot plasma, known as a sub-auroral ion drift, breaking through into the earth's ionosphere.

More about Skye's geology - we visited Kilt Rock, where hard basalt columns meet the coast, and a river pours over them into the sea. From there we drove up to the Quirang, a jagged escarpment which has dramatic views over the Trotternish peninsula. The Quirang was formed by a massive series of landslips, where the weight of overlying lava flows sheared off the sedimentary rock layers below. Although the immediate area of the Quirang is stable, the surrounding area is still slipping at a rate of a few centimetres per year, leading to the need for frequent road repairs. The fantastic views all over Skye are made from the contrast of the softer rocks and the harder basalt and lava mixed through them.

A short break in Skye with my significant other, during which we were blessed with all the weathers (except snow), and I got to admire and photograph the magnificent scenery, between the showers. We stayed near Dunvegan, at Claigan, which meant I enjoyed a walk to the famous coral beach, a tiny oasis of white sand which shone even on an otherwise dreich day. On the journey there, I looked at the grey rocks (basalt/lavas, mainly) and wondered whether I was even on the right path, but as I crested a small rise, the sun came out and the coral beach shone. Thing I learned (afterwards) - the white 'sand' of Claigan is in fact not sand. It's also not coral. It's formed by the deposit of small pieces of 'coraline', hard seaweed called maerl that is crushed by wave action, dried and sun bleached on the shore. There was just time for a quick paddle before a mighty rainstorm bore down on us and soaked me through - Skye really is 'if you don't like the weather just wait 10 minutes'! On the way back I met a friendly birdwatcher, who was offering snacks to the local hedgerow birds, including a plump robin. Another thing I learned - there are two different kinds of robins in Scotland. The European robin has a paler colouring than the UK one, more of an orange breast than a red one, and tends to be shyer. I think today's robin was definitely British, it was practically sat on my shoe :)

(2 hrs) Handed over my teaspoon holder, which was much admired. Today we worked in the polytunnel, cleaning and clearing out spent vegetation. The robin hopped around hopefully, keeping out of the wild and wet weather outside. I cut down fennel and took it home to dry for Xmas decorations - it's now hung in bunches in the utility room, pegged on to a sock hanger. I also collected the untidy marigolds sprawling on the paths and got a pretty bunch for the house.

(2 hrs) To Beechbrae, where we spent the afternoon stripping leave and sideshoots from willow clippings for use in a willow weaving workshop tomorrow, and tidying up the wood pile so it can be mended and restocked. As there was plenty, I took some willow home to experiment, never having tried weaving before. I found a simple project online, and managed to make a flat 'dish' with some gaps in the weave, after a couple of false starts. I'm going to put a hanging loop on it, and turn it into something that can store teaspoons. At Beechbrae there's nowhere to keep the teaspoon (solitary) in the shed where the kettle is, but there is a pegboard above, so hopefully my teaspoon keeper will be useful. I'll donate a couple of extra spoons too.

We visited a Neolithic Cairn in Largs that is estimated to be over 3000 years old. The tomb belongs to an ancient people known as the Beakers.

23 Oct 23 (2hrs) To Prestonpans and Port Seton harbour beach - lots of sealife thrown up by Storm Babet, including hundreds of brightly coloured queen scallops, a pink burrowing starfish (astropecten irregularis, see pic), spiny starfish (main pic), a small brittle starfish (not pictured) and a sea mouse (aphrodita aculeata, pictured). There were also enormous, hand-sized scallops and whelk shells, much bigger than I've ever seen before, and of course, still occupied by their dead or dying inhabitants. It was both distressing and fascinating to see the huge variety of creatures and shells dredged up by the storm - I had no idea that our local marine life was so colourful. As a small child I spent many hours on Prestonpans beach, since my dad and aunt (who now lives on Vancouver Island) were born there. I knew that it's interesting in terms of the variety of rocks, bricks, pottery shards, shells and sea glass that can be found, but I was unaware of the teeming sea life offshore. While in Prestonpans I also admired the John Muir mural and the totem pole outside the Gothenburg pub, which is carved from a Douglas Fir felled at Chemainus, a town on Vancouver Island famous for its brightly coloured murals, an idea which was copied by Prestonpans. The totem pole was erected in 2006, at which point it was brightly painted, but wind and rain have taken their toll. Great care was taken to collaborate with first Nation carvers from Vancouver Island in the making of the totem pole, which, as with all totem poles, has representations of important local figures and activities to tell the story of the town.