The morning after Burns Night.......

I am sure there are alot of sore heads this morning after the celebrations throughout Scotland of Burns Night. Burns Night is an important date in the Scottish calendar and celebrates the life and works of their national poet, Robert Burns who lived between 1759 and 1796. Burns Suppers are held every year on his birthday on the 25th January where various celebrations are conducted amongst family and friends.These include age old traditions such as piping in the guests, the Selkirk Grace, piping in the haggis which will be eaten acccompanied by 'neeps and tatties' and drinking a toast or two of whisky to his memory.

This morning there was a sharp frost on the ground which has stayed all day. The temperature is just above freezing and It has been very chilly but all this has been offset by a beautiful clear blue sky and a wonderful reflection on the water.

Aviemore sled dog rally 2012.

The snow has returned and the surrounding mountains and lower ground is covered. Although it is very pretty to look at it is also very useful this weekend for the biggest husky race in Britain around Loch Morlich near Aviemore. About 1,000 sled dogs take part including Alaskan malamutes,samoyeds and Canadian Eskimo dogs. These are guided by 200 teams of human "mushers" and are encouraged by over 3,000 spectators. The first rally took place in 1984 with just 12 teams but now this annual event is one of the biggest gatherings of its kind in the world.
Although we are not going to watch we can imagine the excitement. We have been to Loch Morlich several times in the warmer weather and viewed it in the distance as we looked down from the top of the funicular railway and also enjoyed many a picnic beside the loch - even sharing it with the many noisy ducks.

Lunch is served

Very cold over the last few days and there was a sharp frost this morning which will remain all day. The temperature is about zero with no sign of it rising much in the near future. We can keep warm and cosy and well fed but when the ground is frozen the wildlife finds it hard to cope alone. This is when we step in and give extra feeds of peanuts, sunflower hearts and suet balls, all foods rich in nourishment for them. The bird bath is frozen solid so I have put food on top of the ice there.
Today we have been visited by numerous red squirrels, the pheasant sisters as well as a wide variety of birds including the tiny male goldcrest - UK's smallest bird.

Nairn beach.......brrrrrrrr

Made the most of a lovely day with a clear blue sky and headed out to Nairn for a brisk walk along the beach. Caught the tide going out and had the beach almost to ourselves. Although we had lots of layers on we did not expect it to be so cold and the wind chill coming off of the water was absolutely freezing.


We were quite glad to get back to the warmth of the car and decided to thaw out in the Cawdor Tavern where we had a great lunch beside the log fire.
On the drive home the sun was just beginning to go down and the effect of the winter light was weird and wonderful.

Reclaim the beach !

The snow has returned along with cold temperatures enough to make your eyes water but the surrounding scenery is very beautiful. We have not had the extreme winds today that the central and southern belt are experiencing.
Took a walk down to the beach and found the water level of Loch Ness had receeded. The solid beach furniture was still there and out of the water but buried quite deep in the pebbles and surrounded by bits of tree trunk and logs of all sizes.
When the weather is more kind we will go down and try and dig out the furniture so as passing walkers and our guests can sit on and enjoy.....we will reclaim the beach !

 

Where has the beach gone ?

The warmer weather lately plus the rain has caused most of the snow to melt from the mountains surrounding Loch Ness and thus fill up the loch to the highest we have ever seen it. It has also been very windy over the Christmas holidays and there is alot of wooden and vegetation debris strewn around the sinking chairs and also at the 'nearly underwater' Farigaig Pier.We were surprised when our guests went down to the beach with their dog as usual and called up to say that the beach had disappeared !
Going down to see exactly what they meant I found the end of the path was underwater and the waves were lapping around the old rowing boat. The chairs were sitting sadly alone in Loch Ness.....so no rest here for any walkers for a while !

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY.

 

Lyn and Ray wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy 2012.

Throughout 2011 we have had some lovely people staying in Aspenwood Cottage overlooking Loch Ness. Regular visitors return and we always enjoy seeing them again and catching up with their news. Some guests arrive for the first time and often on their very first visit to Scotland. We try hard to make your precious holiday very special and we both hope that the 'Aspenwood Experience' will be a very happy memory to take home.

A very Happy Christmas to all the guests and their dogs we have met during 2011......

Jeff & Carol, Barbara & Steve, Christina & Gary & Adam, Barbara & Phil + Andrew & Adam, William & Julie, Mike & Joyce + Jean & Peter, Sandy & Dean + Charlie Amelia & Annabel, Susan & Roger, Mary & Dave, Angela & Robert + June & Robert, Sarah & Paul + Lauren, Keith & Tracy + Ben & Becky, Dawn & Paul + Heather & Adam, Brenda & Chris + James & Joanna, Liz & Stephen + Daniel & Imogen, Lillian + Marc & Lisa & Mia + James & Nan, Penny & Rob, Julie & Tony, Sharon & John & Megan + Cathy, Steven & Amanda + Hope & Lauren, Ian & Elaine, Andrea & Tony,

Also thanks to all the Cottage Diary followers throughout the UK and beyond. We are glad that you all enjoy seeing just what we get up to during the year... although we don't tell you everything !

The red squirrels send their love and thank you for all donations to their Nut Fund.

Feed the birds

It has turned really cold lately with continuing flurries of sleet or snow.  Due to the shortening length of daylight hours the birds now rapidly gorge on any food put out for them and the feeders need filling up twice a day.The bird bath is usually iced up but there are other water bowls in the garden [normally ex roasting pans as it is easier to bash the ice out of these]. In this frantic time when their natural food of insects are scarce we do see more varieties of birdlife than we normally would. The Long Tailed Tits descend fleetingly in gangs for a quick fill up and make alot of sweet noises. The larger Great Spotted Woodpecker is watched warily by the smaller birds as it flies in. We have had welcome visits by the Goldfinch and Greenfinch and a pair of tiny Goldcrests,our smallest bird,has been seen on the feeders.The female has a yellow stripe compared to the bright orange of the male.Lots of blackbirds now and chaffinches galore.The Robin is the boldest of them all and will fly on to the bird table whilst I am laying out the dish of the day.