Hi all,
We had some good falls of snow on Thursday and Friday. Reg is getting into the swing of things with clearing the paths around the house, and getting snow off the car windows so we can drive. We drove to Loch Ness on Thursday, no monsters sighted, and visited the town of Drumnadrochit. A great old ruin on the foreshore of the Loch. Lovely snow covered mountains on the opposite shore. Went shopping in Inverness on Friday, actually drove while snowing – a whole new experience – but made it home okay. They were both beautiful trips; all the trees covered in snow, glimpses of the odd rushing stream, and the distant mountains looking like a huge masses of solid ice cream. We were by far the slowest car traveling, partly because of uncertainty, partly because of the scenery. A bit annoying for the locals I guess!
We walked down to the local pub last night. It was -2 when we left, -4 when we got home. The meals were okay, but overpriced. Reg enjoyed the beer – an English bitter – and the house shiraz was fine. We have been trying some European wines – quite cheap at the supermarket, but you take your chances on quality. So far we have had mixed results, but will continue with the task. Part of our duty to those of you who share our love of wine. Will report on any finds we come across.
Interesting time this morning with our house sit animal duties. It was still -7 at 9am! Definitely not warm. The water troughs were very frozen over and the horse food had frozen – a mixture of beets/grains and water – even though it was safely tucked inside a large food storage container inside the stables. The ducks left their stable room, got to the gate to the field, sat on their bottoms in the snow and refused to go forward. They then got up and walked back to the stables, quite happy to spend the day indoors.
We were quite happy in the cold this morning. It was still and very beautiful. Andrew still enthusiastically jumped into the partly frozen stream. We are discovering that the wind chill is definitely the factor! As long as you have plenty of warm clothes on, the air temperature can be quite low and you are fine as long as there is no wind. The moment you feel a breeze – brrrr.
Cheers and much love
Di and Reg