Crimond

British Summer Time. Clocks went forward one hour.
This clock, pictured, has 61 minutes. No idea why. The inscription is "The hour is coming".
The daughter of the minister here, many years ago, set the 23rd psalm to music, known as Crimond.
Mike is considering moving the hen run as, at the moment, there is no wind. The run has to be moved for our vegetable planting rotation. I have done my bit, planted the seeds, and am keeping up with the watering. If he considers long enough the wind will pick up...

Seals.

The Puffin is an ex fishing boat which takes visitors on cruises to see the wild life. Sailing from Macduff Harbour we viewed the largest on-shore gannetry at Troup Head. We also saw a porpoise and lots of seals.

If you are very lucky sightings of dolphins and whales are possible.

The sea was very calm on this day.

Today is another beautiful one here, blue skies and bright sunshine. The greenhouse calls....

Cruden Bay

The village of Cruden Bay has a fantastic beach.

Picturesque fishermen's cottages. Fishermen still use the harbour going out on one tide and back on another, hoping to catch lobsters and crabs. Sea Bass are sometimes caught from the harbour edge. Cruden Bay link golf course is ranked one of the finest in the world. Not far away is Slains Castle, now a ruin, which inspired Bram Stoker to write Dracula. A wee bit further on are the Bullers of Buchan, home to many sea birds, including puffins.
All this within twenty minutes of Greenbrae!
Today is wet and windy. Our guests last night were installers of hot tubs and spas. I asked them if they would be testing any today......

Hens.

The 'girls' on their way along the car park wall to the spinney.

Beautiful sunny day today, though cold. Pockets of snow here and there. Spent the whole morning clearing and cleaning the office. Now I won't be able to find anything!

Gearing up for sorting the money out, this is a large box, crammed with receipts and bank statements - all to be put in order for the end of the financial year. Really looking forward to it - no I aint.

Snow

It has all gone again. Blizzards yesterday, during the night and this morning. Now bright sunshine, blue skies.
There is a bird box in the rear spinney and I could see a tree sparrow in there, checking on the weather!
My new bird feeder - birthday present -is up and has full attendance. I had a table but it has blown over so many times, the last time made it unrepairable. The new one is metal and is stood deep into the ground.
While it was snowing I did not mind sitting in the laundry with dryer going (sorry environment) and ironing bedding.

White Starling

You will need a magnifying glass! First picture of it is in flight, second it is behind a normal coloured one on the bird table.

Busy weekend with paying guest and our own family.

My daughter, who was visiting, has taken away with her the two zebra finches, which I had been caring for for her. It is very quiet, here in the office, now they have gone. I hope to re-decorate in here and smarten it up. Although we now have wireless connection for business guests and lap tops, people do still want to come in to the office and check their emails. We also have ancestor hunters using web sites for their searches.

At the moment Minerva, one of the cats, is searching everywhere in here, to see if the finches have really gone. The cats have not been allowed in here while the finches were in residence.

Happy Birthday -to me.

Today is my birthday - next year I get the discount at Focus and a bus pass- so will be having a bit of a do.
This year's birthday I am cleaning bedrooms, and all, just like any other day.
I shall have half the family. Emily, on the right, lives with us at the moment and Polly, in the rear, is visiting with her partner, Dan, arriving later today. The other two daughters remain in Edinburgh, at uni.
As we have paying guests in tonight, any celebrations will have to wait till Sunday.

Delgatie Castle, Turriff.

My favourite castle. Best home bakes in the world. Mike is Chair of the Banff and Buchan Tourism Forum and the meetings are held at the castle. I decided to leave the room cleaning, ironing etc. and escape... It always amazes me how the scenery changes in such a short time. Pine woods, then ploughed fields, sheep and lambs on grass, rolling hills and the mountains in the distance with snow on them. Lots of buzzard sightings and brightly coloured pheasants ready for courtship.

We went in to Turriff for lunch. Turriff is a bustling market town and has its own department store! Celebrations. The restaurant is excellent. A browse round the store - I am considering spending the non existent profits on leather furniture - then back home.

Today we are away in the same direction. As secretary of another tourism group it is our AGM. The Best of Banffshire and Buchan Bed and Breakfasts. Well, we think we are, anyway.

Doom and Gloom

Its not all sun and rainbows.
Yesterday we had a 'no show-er' - room standing empty, no income.
One of our two vehicles on its way to collect daughter from train station developed a very flat tyre and Mike could not remove the nuts. He abandoned the car and I had to collect him, return home, then he went off to Aberdeen, in the other.

To end the day on an even lower note he found Jemima, one of our original ducks, dead.
This morning we had a cancellation for a double room, two nights, this weekend. And its Easter when we should be full . The person who didnt turn up last night was also booked in for then. So - our online booking system has been showing us full at Easter, goodness knows how many people would have booked with us had we known, and could have amended the availability.
The tyre was sorted this morning with the biggest nut remover Halfords could supply. Subsequently two new tyres had to be purchased.
Think positive - there was a beautiful moon last night........

Stuartfield.

An obvious winner in village in bloom. Stuartfield is a lovely village. And it has a pub. The Crichie Inn also offers food and every month there is a folk club. Stuartfield was called Crichie but now takes its name from the Laird, Geordie Burnett- Stuart. Many villages around have old names which have been changed to acknowledge the local laird's input in new building, albeit a few centuries ago, following the Highland Clearing. The Laird built the houses and work places, libraries, schools, for the people being moved from the Highlands. The old names are often from the Doric language, and are still used by some, which gets a bit confusing!
History lesson over for today.
Yesterday I baked biscuits/cookies for the guest room courtesy trays, cherry oaties. We also tried out a gluten free bread (we make our own bread) as we have a guest due who has a gluten free diet. An egg is used with the gluten free flour which results in a golden loaf. I wonder if it would come out this colour if the egg was not free range from 'The Girls' in the garden.

More geese! More guests.

They are still here.. A few thousand stomping over the shoots of barley. In amongst these is a snow goose. The majority are pink footed.
Sitting here having my cappuccino waiting for guests to finish breakfast. The family from England arrived on our doorstep mid morning yesterday. From 10a..m in a b&b it is all systems go to get rooms clean, changed, and set up for the usual arrival time after 4p.m. Which should give one a breathing space to do ones own thing... not yesterday. I was still at it when they came back after having gone out for lunch. Our other guest, despite being told crockery and cutlery were laid out for him in the dining room for his fish and chips takeaway, ate in the bedroom. I have now to fumigate the room. Some days you wonder why you do it!

Clean ducks.

Difficult to believe these are the same birds. I like to think as they are 'The Three Degrees', that they are singing 'Dont it make you feel good.'

We have a full house this weekend. A family from England coming for a Diamond Wedding Anniversary. In the village football club. The social centre of Longside. Well, the only licensed one. We did have a pub but it closed, fortunately there are plenty in the nearby village of Mintlaw.

Today, this area, is to be one of the hottest in the country. Here's hoping the ironing, changing beds and cleaning etc.etc. leaves me some space to get out into the garden.

More birds at Greenbrae.

At the back of the house is a spinney. Every year we have male pheasants shouting for a mate. Two were stomping around yesterday, one magnificent beast, the other smaller and I wouldnt fancy his chances!

The geese remained all day. Apparently they do not go so far for their food as they are resting up for the long flight to their nesting grounds.

The first picture of the geese shows the flooded valley to the right of us and the other the field to the left of us. In the distance is Mormond Hill which has the offshore telecommunications equipment and the White Horse on the hillside, bit difficult to make out as he needs a trim. The grass is removed to reveal the granite beneath, in the shape of the horse. There is a stag on the other side of the hill.

Geese!

A first for Greenbrae. Some of the 1000s of geese, that come to the North East of Scotland, decided to land in the field next to us. We just managed to get this picture as they set off for a proper feed. The green in the field is young barley. The farmer will be relieved.

Spring at Greenbrae

Host of Golden Daffodills.
We are back to work. Two guests in last night, one continuing for the week. A lady in this evening, who I am preparing an evening meal for. So - rooms to clean, a bed to change, ironing. Same tomorrow, as another guest arrives, and at the weekend all three rooms booked.
Now I am thinking of all the things I should have done while we were quiet! But I did get the summer bulbs re-planted. So with any luck something to take over from the daffs.

Longside

In the church yard is the grave of the Laird of Udny's Fool, Jamie Fleeman. On the grave stone is the inscription, "Dinna Bury Me Like a Beast." He died in 1778

Also buried here is the Reverend John Skinner, died 1807. A staunch Episcopalian, he was also the author of 'Tullochgorum'. Robert Burns said "It was the best Scotch song ever Scotland saw."

Today I am having to re-plant all the summer bulbs I put into pots as the ducks have dibbled them all out!

Longside Village.

We have a post office in the village shop which sells almost everything. A proper butcher across the road to the post office. An 18 hole golf course. Two churches. Well, three, if you count the ruined one. Library van or a proper one in the next village, Mintlaw, where also is the doctor and health centre. Prescriptions are delivered to the post office, or to your door, if you cant make it to Mintlaw. We have a primary school. Two cemeteries.
When we were moving up here people would ask where we would do our shopping! Try Morrisons, Asda, Tesco, all within half an hour. Aberdeen City is only 45 minutes away. I see the sea on my way to the supermarket. I have the dawn chorus of birds not car alarms. And I do not have trick or treaters or carol singers ever, let alone on the 1st November!
Oh and I also took four bookings this morning.

Guests?

Where are the guests? I find it wierd that I have time to do other things than cater for our visitors. We have never had it so quiet - is this a result of the credit crunch? Next weekend it is back to 'normal' and we are full. For the time being the chair is transformed and I have just a few summer bulbs to plant. In past years I am still trying to get them in before it snows! The sun is shining, blue sky, and I can do anything that I want to. Wierd.

Posh!

New windows in our sun room. I have put the old ones on to freecycle as I do not want them to go to landfill. I am keeping one to make a cold frame. Well, thats the plan...
The morning will be spent cleaning the sun room and, if the weather we have today continues, planting hundreds of summer flowering bulbs.
New entrance door yet to be fitted.
Already feeling much warmer!

Sunrise over the village.

Unfortunately this was not taken this morning, and it is raining. Yesterday was beautiful, sunny and warm. Although there was a strong wind. I watered the seeds in the greenhouse and then sat in there for a while watching the ducks.

Today is the day we have windows replaced and our entrance door - I should have known it would rain. Once our guests have finished their breakfast we will have to move everything in the sitting room and hope that nothing gets wet. One consolation is that it is not windy today so the rain is vertical and not horizontal.

Rubbish..

This is a pile of rubbish, collected by my husband on his walk down to the village for the newspaper. From Greenbrae to the village is half a mile with fields on either side. Amongst this rubbish were two coat hangers! What on earth possesses people to ditch their detritus at the side of the road?
Rubbish spelling - apologies from yesterday's post -porridge, porridge, porridge.

Back to reality.

After a lovely day out yesterday - back to a full day of work. Preparing all three rooms, ironing bedding, cleaning everywhere the guests go. Preparing an evening meal for one of them. I am shattered.
One of the down sides of the b&b business is being around and available for guests. So although I dearly want my bed and a book, I have to listen out for the door and the guests who have gone out for a meal returning and ensure they have everything for their comfort before I can seek that comfort myself. Two breakfast tables to lay out, porage to soak, bread to make, dishwasher to load. And my husband who normally does all this is at a meeting.... Oh, and the ducks to chase around in the dark to get them in to their beds.

Hump back whale

Yup- we have these here too. The occasional visitor. And no I haven't seen one. But I have seen dolphins and a porpoise and loads of seals. There is not a day goes by without a sighting of one or more cetaceans off our coast.
One of the organisations Mike and I are involved in is the East Grampian Coastal Partnership. (E.G.C.P.) The latest task of this is to identify what we have in our seas, or that lives nearby, and relies on for its survival, what is at risk, how to protect it and so on. A mammoth task. We have had an enjoyable though exhausting day out today doing just that. We had presentations on the fantastic, colourful, variety of life beneath the waves ranging from this massive wonderful visitor to tiny plankton. The days meeting was also attended by marine experts, bird lovers, planners, local authority, country side rangers, et al. And us, the accommodation providers for all those wanting to stay and visit and witness the diversity of natural life that we are so fortunate in having around us.
We also had a very good lunch!
How pleasant to spend the day away from the steam press and mix with others as passionate as we are in protecting our environment.

The North Sea.

Brrr. Today is cold and wet.
My husband is just finishing fitting all the doors with self closures. Because we have so many exits and our guest accomodation is all ground floor we do not have to replace the doors or give them any special fire resistant treatment. Whew. Extra fire extinguishers arriving tomorrow. The fire alarm system is fixed. We now do not risk incinerating any guests, although the cats are not too pleased at having to ask to go to the loo, as doors that normally stood open are firmly closed.
We are still not as busy as in past years. But we still have some guests booked in, a couple of ancestor hunters, a lady who returns to us who is working in the area and another lady who is a music examiner and visits the local secondary schools, also a return visitor. We take all the returns as compliments! Mid March the bookings really take off so I am making the most of this time to do things at my own pace.

Aden Country Park.

Aden is on the outskirts of the next village, Mintlaw. There is a working farm museum, within the grounds. Also here in these buildings a museum, and most important, a cafe.

The Book of Deer information is also displayed, though the original is kept in England. There is not enough room here for information on the Book of Deer, so google it if you are interested to find out more.

Aden was part of the Pitfour Estate and the house still stands, although just the walls. There are lovely walks in the grounds. Every year in August there is the Pipe Bands Competition, which I try not to miss, but sometimes the business gets in the way.