13: Our Water Source Dries Up! Can we Fix it Using What we Have on the Island? Scotland Hebrides 

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I am learning so much. I think there are many of us who yearn to ‘do it ourselves’. It’s so funny for centuries we’ve worked to make life easier, only to recognize what we left behind.

Your last comment about forgetting Who causes it to rain is so true. We seem not to appreciate the seasons which in time provide us all we need, not necessarily all we want.

I used pot belly stove paint .We buy it at the hard ware shop .Will come up beautifully

Thank you. I enjoyed seeing the ruins of the village. They are often fascinating.

You can absolutely recondition the wood stove. We had one that was not quite that badly rusted but still pretty bad. I used a wire brush attachment for our drill as you did, then I spray painted the whole thing with a black heat resistant paint. With all the moisture in the air the only thing you can do is paint it to stop it from rusting further - we deal with a similar situation here in the Pacific Northwest. If you could find a heat resistant clear coat you could try that if you like the rusted look, but any exposure to humid air will cause it to further degrade. Good luck with the restoration, we use our restored woodstove each winter and it works well.

It feels good to be able to care of things. Problem solve. Love seeing the buildings.

The old stove is beautiful. I do believe there is special paste you can buy to repaint the stove it is called 'imperial stove polish paste'. It is available here in the UK also the place where you are buying your spare parts might have it. I was thinking the building was perhaps a Byre or else a croft. Very beautiful with all that bracken and moss not to mention the views. Imagine having gone to school there, judging by the size of that school house it must have been a fairly large village. Another beautiful video and thank you for taking us along. I look forward to your videos they are very interesting and you both have a wonderful way of sharing all that knowledge which I have learnt a lot from you.

I tend to think that if an enclosure is circular its for sheep /animals ( a shieling) and if it has square walls its for people. Some crofters houses didnt have windows, due to the fact that they didnt have/ couldnt afford glass windows and an opening in the wall would let in the rain, so the house was built as solid walls, with just a door way.

I'm from Glasgow and i'm currently saving for a house. Watching this has made me think of doing something similar is a viable option. Would be interesting to know the process for starting this and more about the requirements Also perhaps doing a workaway type thing in spring/summer once you have more plans about what you want to do and could do with the extra help

Hi Kate, well-done on fixing the water trench. And I'd suggest making up a sediment catching area before your actual pipe catching area. So having one mini dam before the main mini dam so to speak. Your sediment catching area needs to be dug much lower. Then, you can place a small wide pipe between the 2 pools to connect them and allow the water flow but have this at the high edge of your first catch area.. like making a "waterfall" if you know what I mean. You may want to use some stones to hold it in place. Then have your pipe going into the cisterns again high up from the other side of that main mini dam.. This way you only need to clean up your sediment catching up area, and the other "dam" only so often. And your pipe to the cistern should keep a lot cleaner and not get clogged up. Hope what' i'm saying makes sense :) I call them dam, as I thought that's the easiest way to describe it. As it is flowing down, it may require a few adjustments and maybe you'll work out something a lot better :) Also you may be interested in a whipper snipper / brush wacker most likely to create paths and clear the ferns super easily 😊 Your little stove is going to be great!

On Repeat: I really Love your vlogs and your island home! I’m a Thompson by birth, lived in French southern Louisiana, USA my whole life, and have dreamed of Scotland, but may never physically be able to go there, but thanks to you I am enjoying becoming familiar with your island views. I love the sound of the wind in the trees! I can’t thank you enough for sharing! ❤🌿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏝️

Thank you for sharing your daily life and "struggles" with us.

Awesome viewing thank you so much for sharing your journey. It's not all cups of tea by the sea view a lot of hard graft. Lots of love

Another great video! Nice words at the end ... it made me stop and think about things, very good insights 👍

"....and we forget Who causes it to rain"........thank you for reminding us all of that very important thought!

Neo-bhàsmhor, neo-fhaicsinneach, Dia a-m hàin glic, Ann an solas do-ruigsinneach falaichte bho ar sùilean, Is beannaichte, is glòrmhoire, Aosda nan Làithean, Uile-chumhachdaich, bhuadhach, T'ainm mòr molaidh sinn

Another wonderful video, thank you! I’ve been thinking of your insights at the end, and agree. In society’s mad rush for new and convenient, we can so easily lose our connection to the land and our past. I’m from East TN, and part of my family is descended from Welsh hill folk near the Black Hills. I often wonder what they would think of the world today and how much of the traditional customs and craft have been lost. Thanks for your gentle words reminding us that there is a simpler, more connected way to live. ❤️

I really enjoyed this episode, I can see how hard you work at everything you have to do. But I'm glad that the end results were that you were able to obtain water. Looking forward to seeing more of your videos and what goes on daily, and what's upcoming for the future in restoration.

Linseed oil or Tung Oil will keep that rust at bay. I'm in California in snow country in the mountains and let me just say, cast iron stoves are the best. Don't give up on it. Oil it. Go online and ask the question, " what keeps a cast iron stove free of rust".

Please - eye protection when using those power tools.

Such a wonderful trek with you and I find myself absolutely curious and wondering about the community left in ruins there including what remains of a schoolhouse. How did you know it was a school and what do you know or imagine happened to that community? Is there any way to date how far back they came and when they may have left and why? So many puzzle pieces and plenty of time to unravel it all. The blue sky and clouds were magnificent and the deer family enjoying the shore. So serene. So thankful you are both so resourceful with spring water catchment repairs and soon to be good as new Victorian wood stove. And I'm sure so many of us nodded with your heart-felt words regarding the deep need to connect with the land, grow things and provide, and feel purpose in our lives. Indeed. Thank you and blessings always❤

Interesting discoveries.. Thanks for taking us for a wander around the old village. My Aussie farmer Dad always said 'A trickle is all you need, it's what you keep that counts'. Glad you found the trickle :)

Wow, so much work to do. The water situation is pretty grim, how is the power supply looking before winter. Love you guys, take care, safety first.

The stove should be ok as long as the internal firebricks are in good condition

To stop the rust, it has to be seasoned-oil treated then heated on a low temp for a few hours. Twice, it I'm recalling correctly. Eta: inside and out. All surfaces, including underneath.

Oh, well done! That sense of achievement must be very pleasing.

I can’t believe you do all the nasty rust work on your nice, clean doorstep area 🫣😄Do they still make Zebo stove black? Love visiting the area you are in. I think many of us have the dream but few have the balls to do what you are doing. Vicariously it is then! 😊

Hi. Recently you saw a purple meadow flower which you thought was thrift. It was field scabius.

Your closing statement was very encouraging. I am enjoying watching your journey. Being able to live off the land is a way to I've simply. ❤

Vinegar cleans dust off well...then use stove blacking paste/polish

To use on the stove to help the rust. Use a iron blacking product. You should be able to find it in a farm store that sells feed and machinery or a regular hardware store. I have used it on old wood burning stoves in the past.

You can get a paint for the fire that will preserve and make it look better. Good old Google should help or You Tube. Sorry if you already know this. You are both doing an amazing job at restoring the cottage and land take care ❤

no need to run a new pipe either unless you want a larger diameter, just buy a coupler and extend the existing one save yourself a few bob

Greatly enjoying your adventures, they make good viewing and take me back to my childhood many decades ago when I roamed about the area on bicycle with my pack lunch and unpasturised milk in my gas mask case. The abandoned homesteads raise interesting questions about the highlands and the clearances and other causes of emigration to Canada and Australia which was the fate of many of Clan MacDonald (including some in my family). If you're interested, in the estate in which you now live, it is known that up to 1850, 18 out of 24 households emigrated. Recent research, which you can find on the local history pages, suggests that this was due to the fact that the land was unproductive and that there simply was not enough food to provide for the population. That is a very neutral statement and I can't help asking whether that is because the population suddenly became too large (as did happen in other areas of the highlands and inner hebrides with industrialisation in the UK) or whether the land became unproductive for some reason, perhaps because all the able young men who would have tilled the ground went off to the cities to earn good money there and so never went home - that was the case in Caithness where others in my family hailed from. But it would be interesting to find out if the particular homesteads shown in the video were those where the households had to emigrate, why, and what happened to them. I guess this work could be done if you knew the names of the islanders at the time. There is a name search facility on the local history website but I don't know how accurate it is as the census information only really started to be carried out in the 1840s from what I can remember of the estate records. The schoolhouse that you show, is that on the larger, part, of the island, or on your smaller bit? I can see that I am going to have to, at some stage, renew my recollection of what's on the ground. I'm just working from memory and references to the current OS map doesn't help too much. I'll have to get the old OS maps out and see what they, with the OS mapmakers MS Notes, can produce.

This is a bit random, but I think you’ll like “The Scots Kitchen: Its Traditions and Lore, with Old-time Recipes” by F. Marian McNeill (1929) and her other cook books. There are several recipes that use plants native to Scotland(such as nettle soup and rowan jelly), so you may find it useful 🙂

Wow…would be interesting to find out when the inhabitants were leaving the island and why….very interesting, i wonder if the locals still know the Story of the island…❤❤❤

The stove won't draw right with the Isinglass missing from the front. Also there's the tried and true Rust-Oleum Rust Dissolver

We have heated solely with wood for the past 17 years here in Ontario. For the sake of safety and to minimize volume of wood needed l would highly recommend a newer stove, one that is rated for its ability to burn more efficiently and for less harmful emissions. It is possible to find one that more closely resembles the old style.

Do you do any writing Katy? I love your Philosophy about life and making our way. That explains the longing I have felt often in my life, for an older more settled life. Unfortunately I am to old and my body cannot do these things anymore but I love to hear you speak of these things.

The island is so beautiful and always a hike to make. The view of the water is so amazing. ❤️🤗

Enjoyed watching your show,thank you for sharing your life and the beautiful island

You could build a little catch area (pool) for the water and then the pipe could collect from there and wouldn't be laying on the ground.

Those old stone structures could be from more than a thousand years ago. I watch tons of Time team here on RU-vid. They are still making Time Team episodes for RU-vid.

Love your intro music🇨🇦♥️

You need to oil your stove. That will help stop the rusting.

The croft/ cottage may have had a cental fire not a chimney breast on a wall.

My water runs the same way, it's wonderful! Your island has lots of surprises!

Well done! We know all too well the trials of a spring supply. Our pipe kept getting blocked by drowned frogs, they were being ‘sucked’ into the 50 metre pipe through a breach in the joint at the pond! Hard physical work resolved the problem thankfully Looks like you also got the good weather yesterday and hopefully the rain today 👍👍👍

You need a metal detector.

the old stove is so nice, much nicer than getting a new one for sure. I really enjoyed the walk on the the mainland going to the old village..So interesting to see and adventurous. So many hidden gems there to see and explore

If you see smoke coming out from any of the cracks or seams, my old neighbor gave me a great tip (good to do while outside. Spread Ash liberally and push into the seems, while the stove is heated get a good burn going and the Ash will seal the seams, repeat as necessary. Try not to bang the stove around too much when you take it into the cottage, once you get it all set light it again and look for any seams that have opened up just spread more Ash and get a good fire going. Such a beautiful little stove! Last year I purchased an old cast iron wood stove with two burners on the top so it's long and narrow and I was able to cook on it last winter.

Jenolite Rust Converter - one application. Wash off. If desired, paint with Jenolite Heat Resistant paint (up to 650oC).

Re your wood burner, we had something similar, when I was a youngster, and mum clean it with a substance called, Black Lead,

Job satisfaction, you can't beat it. Sterling work there, I presume it filled up overnight?

Maybe you have wd 40 and I read about lemon and vinegar

We are cheering you on!

Do you not have a lid for the one tank? I would be concerned a small animal could fall in and contaminate your supply.

As I sit here hundreds of miles from where you are a peace sweeps over me as the sun sets on your isle. I agree about the the drive we have in us to want to be on the land working with our hands. It is a blessing that you two are carrying us on this adventure. My day is drawing nigh I hope my feelings of peace and solitude of this journey stay with me in the land of my dreams. Enjoyed the video

Wow you have your own sphagnum moss. Gorgeous product but expensive.

its cast iron.... season it with oil like you would a skillet to keep it from rusting more

Oh wow that stove is amazing wow a bit jealous I was raised on a diary farm an it was the best time of my life we lived a simple but hard working we had 2600 cows goats pigs chickens horses but my mom an dad divorced an we sold it when I was 13 sure miss the simple life

I think the only way I could live in the highlands is by winning the lottery. 😂

I love it I love it I love it can I say anymore.❤ 🙏

Have heard of a "warm welcome " but you take it to a new hight ! Regarding the deralict house you were looking for a fire place-- but if ( as you say ) its very old it could be one of the "black houses" with a fire in the middle of the floor .

To stop the corrosion it should be sand blasted just heat doesn't work. Bluing the stove requires the rust to be gone. We tried it your way with wire brushing the rust and reblacking with stove black from a wood stove dealer. Ha ha joke on us the rust came back from under the blacking. What next? Our stove took 4 guys to move it to put it in the house when it was built. The only option for us was to grind the rust spots down then reblacken the stove.

Do you know what the winters will be like in this part of the world and are you ready?

The old building which have rounded corners where most likely to be used for keeping animals in. As the rounded corners made it easier to catch them as they couldn’t “hide” in the corners.

I’ve seen some restoration videos where they soak old rusted metal in vinegar to help stop and soften the rust to help remove it. Extra work though for sure.

Try? There is an old Japanese sword restoration method. Boiling water kills rust. Heat up stove. Use a spray water bottle w wire brush. Nice finish.

There is a special paint for wood heaters you can spray on. We needed 3 x 22,000L tanks to collect rainwater. One is meant to be a fire tank. But we are very safe from a fire, even though we have grazing land behind. Must be prepared for summers with no rain and winters with reduced rainfall. We had a bore sunk to water the garden. Tested as drinkable but smelly, so not used inside our house.

I see you have a cordless drill. Have you thought for emergencies of a drill pump and flexible hose. I use one they are good. You could if required pump water when needed to fill the tank. They are not expensive. Mine was less than £10. Very useful .

If the 'cottage' is as old as I think it is then fireplaces and chimneys were not in existence. It would have had a roof thatched with bracken or sods with a hole in the highest point for smoke to escape. I'm new to this channel but love it. Your lifestyle is one I understand although my poor heath would never have allowed me to live in such a remote place. Hopefully you will get some goats. The place is goat heaven. Go for something with a heavy coat (not angora)like Bagot. A goat will thrive on saplings, ferns, rough old scrub and provide you with more milk than you can drink, therefore make butter and cottage cheeses. Put the female in kid every couple of years and when billy kids are born, you rear them until 6 months and then eat them. Goats are the perfect smallholder/cottager livestock. At one time I produced all my own meat, milk and eggs.

Very interesting Your entropy music go halainn ar fad. Looking forward to your next episode

Kate , do ye remember the old Black Polish we used to use for the stoves. It works a treat, and it's still available. Looks like you need a new gasket for the door. It is a good old stove worth the effort.

Watching you Katie , makes me feel totally spoilt , surrounded by all the convenience’s of modern day life , so true in your last words . We do take everything for granted now , & we shouldn’t .

My wife and I found your RU-vid channel... we don't watch TV... but enjoy RU-vid videos.. We sadly have made a mistake and binged watched all your videos. LOL! At the beginning of each entry you play bagpipes... love the tune you choose. Believe it or not ~ here in a small town in America, we have a bagpipe shop! ( MacLellan Bagpipes of Zebulon), they have lathes and turn their own pieces. I think of you two when I get posts from them. They play for various occasions each month.. Best of luck on your venture! John & Connie

Btw... I don't remember you injuring your wrist Katie... prayers for a speedy recovery... ❤

Questions? I have questions! What is your definition of a "township"? Here, as in the Eastern US, it means an incorporated rural area, not a town. Don't you have snakes on the mainland or island? If so, are any poisonous? You seem to traverse without worrying about reptiles. Did I understand that the abandoned track on the mainland would have, at one time, connected with your island track? Does that mean that your island only became one recently, as in the past hundred years or more? Have you always lived near the water or is this a new experience for you? Are the deer "owned" by someone or are they part of a reserve? How are you going to manage supplies when the you are not able to cross the waterways in the winter? We live in a very low rainfall area. Our house and outbuildings have gutters which drain into barrels or tanks so that we can water our animals and gardens. Do you not have that option on your buildings?

Did you check the fire brick in the bottom of the stove? You should paint it with heat resistant paint. It makes it look nice but mostly keeps the rust from deteriorating the stove further. You might like to make a small pond about 1 meter side to side and 1/3 meter deep. Line the pond with some smooth rocks and raise the pipe up off the ground.

Humans were hunter-gatherers before they became farmers about 12,000 years ago, that's when it all started to go wrong! Living next to our own mess, over exploiting the land. But it could be argued that is what made us a dominant species. Now we have to learn to manage our species and it's behaviour so that we don't ruin it for every other species and living simply on the land is a good start. Love watching your videos, wish I were still young and fit enough to find a remote place and do what you two are doing!

Steel wire wheel on a grinder will do the burner half a hour and make it look new 👍❤️that ones far to small 5-6” wheel

Another question: do you sew? I notice that all your dresses are of the same pattern although made from different fabric.

Question. When you were filming the old school house and panned to the left was that a utility pole?

Hi Your boots are fantastic what make are they ? Is that your socks folded over the top of the boots or is that actually part of the boots? Thanks

My dream is to move to scotland and live out my life. I can't afford an island, bit hope to buy a lodge in a residential park. Scotland is the most beautiful place on earth.

Im fr Swden and here we have a graphite paste tingy that we use to battle rust and keep wood burner blackish

really enjoy your videos what your doing is beautiful I just wondered if you have a Postie and how they get post to you?

And do not forget aluminum foil with it. In short there are plenty of ideas. Just google

Please get some protective goggles guys.

Enjoyable video!! Jim in California

Well done young lady! What fortitude!

Loved your last words 👍🏻☺️

The fire could have been in the middle of the floor

Is the water we see fresh or salt water? And what do you suppose was the purpose of the low wall (walkway) out to the small island?

You can start to see the colours changing on the treetops and the next couple of months will be amazing for that, before winter and the cold & wet months set in. Hope you'll be wind and rain and water proof long before then. Exciting stuff. As a wee aside, I'd love to see some drone footage of the island, but appreciate a mix of costs and maybe location/privacy issues would rule that out.

At 21:00, anyone know what is the white thing sticking out of the water, above the three deer? Looks like a tank of some kind, maybe?

Does rust compromise the integrity of the stove? We have an old wood, cook stove that is very rusty. But not rusted through. What do you think?

Sola Deo Gloria

Sorry I've been traveling so a bit late. There is a cream for stoves it used to be called black lead. You can still get it from stove shops probably a different name It Doesn't matter if the stove is rusted just rub lots onto all the metal when cold leave it to dry and then buff it up. It needs doing regularly but it will look imaculate and will keep all the rust at bay. I used to find it very therapeutic with a great result at the end of the day