CHRISTMAS 2024

This year AI has been used to produce this newsletter. That is the Artificial Intelligence of computers, not the Artificial Insemination of cows that Peter used to do on the farm! Yes, this letter has been dictated rather than typed. Thérèse never knows if Peter is speaking to her or the computer, and she gets into trouble when her reply becomes text in a document. So Peter’s motto of the less said the better holds true!

P&T’s responsibilities have reduced. Hiddenglen Holidays is slimmed down with both lodges moving to long lets, Pisces Caravan replaced by a friend’s pod, Rowantree Chalet not advertised, and the Birchwood Cabin retreat has few changeovers. They will miss the many guests who have become friends over 34 years. One of these families has taken on the tenancy of Treetops Lodge to use as their second home.

On the crofting front 88% of the land is owned by Laikenbuie Ecology Trust. P&T don’t own any cows or sheep, the Trust lets the grazing to an organic farmer from Ardersier, and the hens have been halved to 30, enough to supply eggs to the community at Laikenbuie and a few friends. As you can see Peter has been looking after hens for 70 years, and Therese grades the last eggs before the grader was sold to a neighbour who has taken over supplying eggs to Skydelights in Nairn. They have graded over 850,000 eggs between them over this grader.

P&T now feel confident that they have found the right people to look after Laikenbuie far into the future. David and Genevieve arrived in February and are the custodians that we hope will spend their lives here. P&T had just left things undisturbed to do their own thing, but as ecologists and entomologists D&G are more proactive in their aims, however they have the same love of this glen and it’s nature. They have just spent Christmas Eve measuring the peat depth up on the south west corner of the croft which in places they found was deeper than their 3m rod. D&G have the knowledge and ability to turn Laikenbuie into an ecology centre, and engage with the general public. With their connections they have already attracted 10 experts to monitor what is here and start a baseline survey. These include a county botanical recorder, a licensed bird ringer and a wildlife cameraman. Last weekend the bird ringer was excited to catch a green finch, the first one in his record book with 5000 entries. Greenfinches have declined 70% in the last 55 years, mainly due to disease spread by garden feeders. Feeding concentrated groups of birds in the garden is not a suitable replacement for widespread natural food sources. This problem can be reduced by regularly washing and disinfecting bird feeders. Luckily there are good populations of greenfinches at Laikenbuie. The other skill that D&G excel at is motivating volunteers and social media. Genevieve runs a WhatsApp Laikenbuie wildlife group, and the same photos with more description can be seen on Instagram if you prefer less interaction. Contact us if you wish to join the WhatsApp group.

David replacing fence posts.

Pond where D&G have identified most of the 12 species of damsel and dragonflies found this year.

An exciting moment on a woodland walk.

Thérèse plans to do more walking and has a new light weight one person tent. This autumn she walked 24 miles to Mar Lodge from Blair Atholl , and a few weeks later the length of Loch Ness sleeping only in a bivvy bag, another 39 miles. Her other two passions are still mandala design and gardening. Peter has also noticed her spending more time on other craft work making God’s Eyes and folding origami.

Peter is becoming more insular in his old age with Thérèse complaining that he rarely leaves Laikenbuie to give her time on her own! His main passion is Scottish country dancing. In winter he goes dancing 2 or 3 times a week [Thérèse a little less but they always go together on a Tuesday evening], and a little less in summer. Peter organised the third trip of 17 dancing friends to Mar Lodge in September, and with the help of a friend organised a dance in Braemar Village.
They are also organising a hybrid

Hogmanay Ceilidh with a mix of Ceilidh and Scottish country dances.

When not dancing he is at home doing property maintenance and planning for a retirement that is yet to happen. In the autumn he had a 12 week Bootcamp with Scott, a friend he enjoys working with. They completed many jobs together. Shown here is a before and after of (mostly) Scott’s work, preparing a garden for Mel and Karen.

This 1956 entry from a great aunt’s visitors book in Cornwall was found following the death of her daughter. Peter made his first entry aged 4. He has enjoyed the challenge of being an executor for cousin Anne.
Easter Ardoe farmhouse, 4 miles from Aberdeen, is where Peter’s mother, Margaret Still’s ancestor, Robert Still lived in 1770. P&T visited the area while in Aberdeen earlier this year.

Members of Thérèse’s family visited with Michael and Krysia in May and Helen, Mick and Co in August. Michael will be spending Christmas and New Year at Laikenbuie along with Jo and Sam with his partner Leonie. Jo’s partner Owen spends Christmas with his mother in Wales. Jo now works just three days a week, and being able to work anywhere with wifi has more freedom to travel. Sam’s motivation to come over was an invite from a friend to a Slipknot concert in Manchester, which they both enjoyed, but was described by Leonie as loud and sweaty! The visitors started to arrive on the 20th and Sam will be at Laikenbuie for over two weeks. He and Leonie are very happy in Squamish with Sam planning Canadian citizenship. While home he will be reducing the height of the trees around the barn for the Ecology Trust.

A new almost permanent addition to the household and community is Isla, a 4 year old border collie who was brought to Laikenbuie as a puppy by Duncan and Piper. Duncan has a new flat in town and often works away from home so has asked P&T if they will look after Isla most of the time. She can always find a friend by checking around the seven properties, but has never wandered towards the public road. She is a favourite of everyone who meets her.
Isla is pictured towards the end of the walk to Mar Lodge and to the right is Red Campion flowering in mid November following a mild autumn.

Peter’s sister Anni and Tony now live next door full time. They have sold their property in Lanzarote and are experiencing a Scottish winter for the first time in many years. Tony enjoys building projects to keep himself busy and has recently built a strong new bridge at the head of the lake. They are finding life within Laikenbuie community more fun than the isolation up at Linton House.
Anni is pictured on her Omeo when she and Thérèse visited Aldourie Castle situated on the shore of Loch Ness. It is owned by the Dane Anders Povlson, the UK’s largest private land owner. He is doing good work having started rewilding before it became fashionable, but whether one person should own so much or use a private jet so frequently is debatable.

To finish is some of Thérèse’s beautiful craft work and a photo of those who attended the course that she ran at Nairn Community Centre.

As always we send our best wishes for a safe and happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.

With love to you all from
Thérèse, Peter, Jo & Sam.