White Christmas

It started snowing on South Loch Ness on Saturday 19th December and we have had flurries and heavy showers ever since, even snowing on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It was really magical especially as we were watching the Bing Crosby film 'White Christmas' as the snow actually fell giving us and our guests a real White Christmas. Our guests have had to leave their cars at the top of the lane leading down to the holiday cottage as the snow is just under one foot deep. The temperatures are well below zero during the day now with the threat of -10C tonight. Look at the forecast for the Highlands. Beautiful as it is we have not been able to get out in the car since last Tuesday as the driveway is sheet ice and the side roads are treacherous. Birds have been well fed and the deer and red squirrels have turned up now and again. HAPPY NEW YEAR to all who enjoy reading this blog.

Red squirrel in the snow.

While we were preparing the cottage on Saturday for our Christmas guests the snow began to swirl and then fall quite thickly. We were very surprised to look out and see a red squirrel on the nut feeder outside the lounge window. The longer he stayed eating the more snow gathered on his bushy tail until he looked a bit like a Christmas decoration but he ignored it and just carried on enjoying his lunch. The red squirrels do not hibernate and need feeding all year round. Enjoy seeing him playing in the snow.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY.

Freezing fog.....

Could not see anything out of the windows yesterday morning except a very thick fog which stayed for most of the day. Could just make out the trees in front of the house but no sign of Loch Ness and we felt really cut off. The whole of the east coast had it very bad and Inverness airport was closed for a while due to the extreme foggy weather. At 5pm a mountain rescue team were called out to an area known as the Lost Valley in the Three Sisters in Glencoe in the Highlands to assist two climbers who had foolishly ventured out in these atrocious conditions. Unfortunately one of the climbers had died after falling in the mountainous area and the other is now recovering in Fort William Hospital. Today the fog has lifted slightly and we can see a little more of the loch and Urquhart Castle looming eerily out of the mist on the opposite shore. It will be below freezing all day and promises of -4C tonight. The log fire beckons.

Scenic route home.

On our way back from Inverness this morning we took the scenic route home passing by the lochs on the top road, a road which used to be the main route from Inverness to Fort Augustus. This is always a pleasant ride which we never get tired of as there is always something new to see and my camera is always at the ready for snapping birds,wildlife and scenes such as these.

Long tailed tits arrive.

Very cold today with freezing fog drifting down the Great Glen from the west. For a few hours in the late morning the fog cleared revealing a clear blue sky with snow still laying on the mountain tops enveloping Loch Ness. We wrapped up warm with the intention of clearing our gutters of debris but found that the leaves in the gutters were actually frozen to the plastic pipes and also the hose was frozen. We had a quick vote and abandoned the idea and decided to wait until the temperature was at least over zero. While we were inside warming up with a special coffee we noticed a flock of long tailed tits arriving on the nut feeders and suet balls...their first appearance this winter. See them in action.