We have lived at The Lint Mill since October 1st 2009.  We have been learning to live sustainably, to learn from our land and to listen to the wisdom that sits in this place, our home, our landscape.

 

Milk Flower of the Snow (from the Latin)

Did you know that there is a Snowdrop Festival, featuring fantastic events throughout winter across Scotland? There is so much written about the snowdrop, its symbolism and its place in folklore and literature. One of my favourite stories about the ‘Fair Maid of February’ is this ancient German tale; At the beginning of all things […]

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Soays in the Snow

January and February are tough months. It’s the deepest part of winter without the light filled festivals to lift our spirits. As I write there is a ‘weather warning’ for snow but so far we only have icy winds and threatening skies. When there is snow on the ground everything is so much harder for […]

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At Home at The Lint Mill

People who visit The Lint Mill often remark on how exactly like our website the place is and how at home they feel. In truth, I’m always a bit relieved because like everyone, I take photos of the place looking its best and write about its loveliness, leaving out the bits about the dark, rainy […]

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All About Ivy

This newsletter begins with a little British obsession about the weather! Well, it has been the wettest October in parts of Scotland since 1838 and it’s also been a pretty soggy start to November here at The Lint Mill! However we mercifully missed some of the worst effects of Storm Babet. Sadly, the frosts and […]

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Paperwork and Pumpkins

October is only half way though and it’s proving a much busier month than we had expected. At this time of year, we run our last ‘Beginners Guide to Organic Smallholding’, take the pigs off to the butcher and then have a moment of pause, a long exhale, to catch our breath and enjoy a […]

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Good Food, Good People

In early September we enjoyed a wonderful few days with a really great bunch of people on our Coracle Building Experience. It got us thinking about eating outdoors and the power of communal dining. Anyone who has visited The Lint Mill knows how important food is to us. Not just the loving attention we give […]

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Missing Pieces

Do you ever have an experience that makes you feel you been able to find a missing piece of the puzzle? Or have you ever met someone who gives you a real ‘aha’ moment as new connections are made? Well, that was our experience of meeting and foraging with Clare Holohan from West Highland Herbal […]

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Living Wilder

As I write this month’s journal entry, we are in the thick of preparations for our weekend of foraging courses with the amazing Clare Holohan of West Highland Herbal. By the time you read this our event will be almost over. Really, we should have gone on the foraging course ourselves before planning the catering […]

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What a Picnic!

We all have childhood memories of picnics. I expect we’ve all got an ideal image of the perfect picnic in our heads too, inspired by everything from Manet’s paintings of un déjeuner sur l’herbe to the Famous Five’s misappropriated lashings of ginger beer*! I remember childhood summer holidays when the spontaneous ‘let’s go for a […]

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Our Greatest Gladness

Every time we run one of our ‘A Beginner’s Guide to Organic Smallholding’ courses we cherish the moment of introductions, where the participants share with us their hopes and dreams for their smallholding futures. It’s a precious and vulnerable moment hearing those ideas voiced, for some people it’s for the first time. It returns Colin […]

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