Preparing for our first harvest

We're into March already and although the weather is coming at us with its usual vigour, we are slightly encouraged by the stretching day length - at long last - though there's still plenty of the winter to come.

I often wonder how people coped in winter hundreds of years back, living in the rough stone huts, the ruins of which now cover Mull in their hundreds. However wet and cold we get, you always know that once you are home, it will be warm, dry and dinner will be ready. It's always very humbling to walk the silent deserted glens, passing by the ruined townships that once were homes of so many hardy people, victims of an agricultural and economic disaster on a massive scale, when things were so bad that to leave, or being forced to leave, was the only option for most.

Back in real time, there's still plenty to keep everyone busy, and thankfully some undercover jobs for the worst days. The mussel ropes will need reconditioned, this is a task that occupies every bad weather day through our winter months, on better days we've got boats to overhaul, moorings to replace and mussel sites to inspect for storm damage. This week we have one boat on the slipway for a new shaft bearing and a paint-up. With any luck we will be starting the first harvest next week - fingers crossed...