the winter has come with a bang in Orkney

~sorry to hear allyour hard work came down~you did it yourself?~have you lost many plants?Will be happy to send some in the spring if you like~it's the thinking behind the new Severn bridge barriers-if the wind can go through it's not so damaging and the bridge can stay open!
Pity you had to find out the hard way,commiserations!
Arlene

Awww Islander sorry to hear about your weather and your New Wall, will you be building a New one?

That happened to me once years ago. I built a wall as part of an enclosed patio and the wind blew it down after a few days. It fell into the garden next door. lol

You would think someone would have mentioned to you about leaving wind-holes in the wall while you were building it.
I hope your plants are not too badly damaged. Pleased to know your greenhouse didn't suffer too much.

Thank goodness Lassie wasn't near the wall when it toppled. Do you think you can reuse any of the concrete blocks to rebuild?

I've given this blog a 'like' ~ not because I like your weather or the news about your wall, but because I like the way you describe conditions of living on the island. Very interesting.:o)

Ive been looking at your pics, Your wall was Lovely with the Trellis, What a shame..

thank you Arlene and youngdaisy
That is a very nice offer Arlene and its nice to know someone i never met could be so genorous. however i do have loads of plants growing in pots waiting for me to create a place for them in thhe garden so I will be fine I have banged up a temporaly fence to stop Lassie wandering off and will rebuid the wall next year , but will probably build it like giant steps with each level filled with soil and planted with trailing fuchsias hopefully this would be a better way to do it

islander, sorry to hear you had really bad weather, hope you didnt lose too many plants

I like that new idea for the wall... soil and trailing fuchsias ... sounds brilliant. Glad to know you managed a temporary fence for Lassie. For us dog-owners fences are especially important. ! :o)

Its awful Islander2hear about the Terrible weather your having so soon & got it 4 6more Months! :( 2 lose your Garden Wall what a horrid thing2happen so sorry its gone, Hope only little Damage is left by the Awful Weather.

The only saving grace Islander is that you were not near the wall tending your plants when it came down.

Oh dear - your weather sounds dreadful! Has it eased off yet? We would all be happy to send you plants - but it sounds as if you have plenty of spares. Give us a yell if there's anything missing!

I know that the scenery is fabulous up there, but being a cold mortal, I couldn't handle it at all. I hope you are well-stocked up with thermals, Islander!

So sorry to hear about the bad weather & your wall, but like BBsaid nobody got hurt, all the best keep warm.

Thank you all for your kind remarks and offers. despite the winters I love it here....
today was absolutely beautiful sunshine all day and no wind, almost like may.
it is usually Feb and March when the winds are really wild, this year has been an exception.
yesterday it was snowing hail torrential rain and wind, the weather here changes frequently and suddenly.
however our temperatures in winter are higher than mainland Scotland and the north of England due to the effects of the gulf stream, but having the atlantic ocean to one side of us and the north sea on the other makes for balmy weather and frequent gales. snow is quite rare and when we do get it it rarely lies for a day or two, before the rain washes it away.
If Orkney didn't have bad weather it would be a paradise in one way, but it would attract so many people to come and live here that the very nature of the islands would be spoilt.
as things are we have very low crime rates, the lowest in britain, i can go fishing for trout on a loch and have the whole loch to myself most of the time. Incidently trout fishing is free and rod licenses are not required in Scotland.
So to me the damage that the wind does is amply repaid by the nice cosy lifestyle that wee enjoy.
I fill in the winters with indoor hobbies playing guitar keyboard etc. and I do courses having qualified as a computer engineer (although i am retired) I play Snooker at the local legion and generally enjoy the life
summer here is spent gardening and fishing mostly, though for the last two years i have been renovating a house i bought.
i go to sea at least once a month fishing for cod, ling and haddock. so I guess it is worth putting up with the stormy weather

~sounds like a nice life!

it is Arlene,
but you have to have the right kind of nature to live here, a lot of people come on holidays and think they would like to live here, and buy a house and move in but most of them leave after thier first winter

~ I can believe that!I love to watch Spring and Autumn watch but know that I would get itchy feet if I was too far away from the bright lights on a permanent basis!

I would miss the charity dog shows, but apart from that, as long as it was warm indoors, I would love it. I like the countryside. I keep away from the towns if I can !
Do the islanders have good heating ???

yes terra
most houses here are centrally heated. normally oil or electric as we don't have gas. the houses are mostly timber framed nd well insulated. I think your dogs would love the moors and the lochs. but alas the chances to show your dogs would be very limited.

If I were up there, I would be organising summer fun dog shows for residents and visitors, in aid of all the charities on the island. :o)

charity events go well here the islanders are very genorous, you would do well. you could train lassie for me
at the same time

Sounds very tempting ~
I'd soon have Lassie helping you with your fuchsia cuttings ~ in fact advising you on which ones she likes the best :o)