West Word Article April 2023
Lambs, lambs, lambs!!! The lambing season has started in earnest and by some luck, the weather has answered. The sun has been shining pretty much non-stop for the past two weeks, and it has been mild despite an occasional north easterly breeze. The fields are filling up with sheep and their lambs as they move from the labour ward in the big barn out to the lush, green pastures of Canna. Gerry, Caroline and Isebail have been working around the clock, fuelled by cake, fruit, chocolate and no small amount of caffeine! There is an air of extreme focus around the farm square ensuring the whole operation runs smoothly. The farm has seen many twins and triplets born this year which is largely due to Canna’s rich grass throughout the year and top quality tups.
And we mustn’t forget that the calves are still appearing either! Mini Belties are standing looking slightly indignantly at passing vehicles or scamping after their mothers or simply sunbathing. O the life of a Canna calf!
Earlier in the year, Canna took part in the Small Isles Marine Litter initiative. Winnie and Pete each chose a stretch of coastline to clear. Each item was documented and the data was sent off. We now have a large stash of fishing nets and rope to be collected; this will be taken away and recycled to be made into useful, everyday items.
The Canna Compound has sprung into life with the Canna House Project getting underway. Simpsons have arrived on island and work has begun preparing ground works, shipping containers and various bits of moving equipment. The thing that has the islanders talking though is the arrival of a pool table…..I can see an islanders vs builders summer league in the pipeline!
Cafe Canna will be opening its doors for business on Friday 28th April. Gareth has been busily preparing for the coming season, frequently seen marching off for a seaweed forage and large deliveries of goods have been arriving ready to be turned into delicious meals for our visitors and locals to enjoy! This year sees the launch of “The Jack” in a bottle which can be enjoyed with your meal or taken away to sip whilst watching an infamous Canna sunset!
This month we welcomed Nathan and Vikki Cridland to Canna. Nathan is our new gardener and will be working in and developing the Canna House garden as well as maintaining some of the wider Canna landscape. We are looking forward to working with Nathan to create a bountiful garden for all to enjoy. As with all things Canna, Vikki will no doubt find herself being roped into things as soon as her foot touches the slipway! With their arrival, our human population increases to 18 and our canine population increases to 10 - welcome also to Fergus, the golden doodle!
More yachts and visitors have begun arriving as the Spring/Summer season gets underway. We have welcomed 2 groups of rock climbers to Canna in recent weeks and they have reported that the climbing here is excellent with good routes and stunning backdrops. They also appreciated our Community Shop where they could stock up on tasty, energy fuelling treats ready for a day's climbing. The Community Shop is fully stocked in preparation for our visitors and locals alike.
The first corncrake has been heard with its familiar, somewhat grating call. It is the earliest a corncrake has been heard on Canna for a number of years. The farm has been working to maintain our corncrake habitat over the winter so we are hoping to see/ or hear plenty more of them arriving on our shores. We had a visit from a large flock of swans back at the start of April. There were around 50 of them that stopped in for a night, then headed off the following day.
The Puffins are back! Every year hundreds of Puffins make our sea stacks and cliff tops their home. It is a good idea to take your binoculars with you so you can see them clumsily coming into land on top of the stack as well as the impressive display of them peeling off the stack in large numbers creating a wave of puffins swooping over the sea. Our Puffin Trail will soon be up so visitors can make their way there enjoying the sights of Sanday as they go. It is a good idea to stick to the trail as otherwise you might get dive bombed by our Great Skua population defending their nests!
Photos by Margaret Willington




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