Spring is in the air

It feels like spring is finally upon us, what with the calm wind, the sunshine and God's creatures rearing their young.  Two calves and two goslings have come to join us on Papa Stronsay so far.  We hope that by God's grace there will be plenty more to come as the spring weeks roll onwards into summer.

 This calf is two days old.  It always amazes me how fast they are up and going!

 The goslings are one and two days old.

 Despite their small size, the new arrivals have quickly made themselves a part of the group!

A dairy calf.  She is a few weeks old now and is growing up fast.

Black-headed Gulls nesting in the irises.

A Welcome Visit from Fr Hunwicke

For several years we have been friends with Fr John Hunwicke. That he might consider travelling to us all the way from Oxford, considering the fall he had when in Rome in 2012, seemed almost too much to expect. But to our delight we were privileged to welcome him to Papa Stronsay last week, where for four days he gave us conferences on the holy Liturgy: the Sarum rite, the missal of Stowe, and the history of Papal Anglicanism culminating in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham during the reign of Pope Benedict XVI. 

Of course we did not simply receive conferences; there is nothing like having a friend to stay; it was super! And yes of course, we are hoping he will return again. 

 Fr Hunwicke's lively and engaging deliveries!
Every word clearly articulated and set to make its mark.

 One afternoon during his visit some of the brethren accompanied Father on a walk around the island.

Father has a keen interest in early monastic archaeology.

 Father examining the ruins of the 11th century chapel of St Nicholas on Papa Stronsay
which is built over an earlier one from the 7th century.

Again in the ruins of St Nicholas's chapel.

The neighbouring island of Stronsay in the background.

Not an easy walk along the beach on the eastern side of Papa Stronsay.

Our Desert in the Pathless Sea.

In Father's Mutual Enrichment blog
 he wrote about his time with us.

Many thanks Father for coming all this way!
Wonderful days!
Haste ye back!

A Tiny Reflection of the Glory of God

Last night here in Orkney we had some of the most spectacular Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights that I have ever had the privilege of seeing.  It was very difficult to capture what we were actually seeing with the camera.  It was like a light show of flashing strobe lights.  The closest I can come to describing it is if you imagine looking into the bottom of a swimming pool on a sunny day and seeing all the shimmering patterns on the bottom caused by the light shining through the water - It was something a little like that only slower, really something to see!  Also what we saw with our eyes was slightly less of a bright green than what the camera captured.  Please find below a tiny reflection of the glory of God:

Reconnected

As many of you may know, on Papa Stronsay we have been without internet access since before Christmas.  It is for this reason that our blog has been so silent.  However, thanks be to God, our internet is now restored thanks to a replacement Point-to-Point Wireless Bridge.

The Bridge transmits the internet from the neighbouring island of Stronsay, across the water of the Papay Sound and into Papa Stronsay.

 A station identical to this one is located on Stronsay and the two transmit and receive the signal back and forth.  We had previously used the same things, but there was some error with them and they had to be replaced.

As a result of our restored connection, you can expect a few updates in the coming days, so stay tuned!

This evening there have been some modest but none-the-less beautiful Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights.  I post a few photos below. It is also rather windy, and I had some trouble holding the camera still, so they are a little blurry.

 The small red dots are the safety lights atop the wind turbines on the island of Sanday.

 The vast majority of out lights are a green/grey colour, but here we see a little spot of red.

Calendar OUT NOW!

The 2014 Papa Stronsay Calendar is OUT NOW! Packed full of beautiful and diverse images, daily liturgical calendar, major anniversaries and so much more. A fantastic addition to any home, office, or anywhere else!

ORDER YOUR COPY NOW HERE: tinyurl.com/papastronsay

Two Pilgrims and a Cross

Recently we have had the pleasure of making two new friends: Sam and Wojciech from Doncaster, England.  They had decided to make a cycling pilgrimage from Doncaster to various churches and shrines, ending up on Papa Stronsay.  The over 600 miles took them 12 days to complete!  The pilgrimage was made for the intention of the teaching of solid doctrine to return to the Church, and for the faithful to receive this teaching.  They stayed on Papa Stronsay for 3 days during which time they erected a Pilgrimage Cross.  Following in the tradition of the "Vow Cross", we invited Sam and Wojciech to erect this Pilgrimage Cross as a permanent memory of the completion of their pilgrimage. 

Sam and Wojciech with Fr. Michael Mary, F.SS.R. as they prepare to concrete the steel support which they had spent many hours preparing.

 Making sure the steel is straight now is important, as once the concrete is in it cannot be done.

 Sam prepares to pour the first load of concrete which will secure the steel support into the ground.

 All done.  Now it must be left over night to dry.

The first Pilgrimage Cross to be erected on Papa Stronsay.

  

 A worthy testimony to the effort and devotion of these two pilgrims!

The Cross will now be painted and blessed for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on Saturday.

New Life on Papa Stronsay

Just over a month ago our goose, Duchess, began sitting on a clutch of eggs.  Yesterday, on the First Saturday of the month, her eggs hatched.  The last of the little goslings to hatch was exiting its shell as these photos were taken.  Of the seventeen eggs that she sat on Duchess hatched thirteen goslings.  One of these died, and the remaining unhatched eggs were unfertilized.

 Duchess sitting on her nest with her little ones gathered under her wings.

This morning, the whole family was out to enjoy the sunshine!

 Duchess takes her little ones...

 ...to be introduced to the water.

Br. Seelos filling up the water.

Thank you Blessed Lady, Mary, for this wonderful First Saturday blessing!