Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Tourist group meeting

Drove over to The Whitebridge Hotel for a meeting of the South Loch Ness Tourist Group. A very good turnout of members at the meeting with a lively discussion covering various topics followed by a warming lunch. The snow is still laying quite thickly amongst the autumn colours and clearly silhouetting the stag and his hinds in the nearby fields. The scenery was spectacular and we all agreed that this is an amazing place to live and, more importantly, for people to visit.
Enjoy the slideshow...........

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

After a very cold night and a sky full of stars we woke to clear blue skies and snow laying all around the house. Went up to Aspenwood and found the guests had ventured out to enjoy the picturesque scenery. The cottage always seems to sit cosily in Farigaig Forest overlooked by the dramatic mountains opposite.
The numerous red squirrels are still regular visitors to all the nut feeders and hopefully they will continue to appear throughout the winter as they do not hibernate. Last Saturday we saw some squirrels digging in the grass behind the cottage and realised they had buried some nuts to enjoy later.The Nut Fund is going very well thanks to all guests who have 'bookmarked a squirrel'.
As I look down the loch towards Inverness a wall of white is heading this way and Urquhart Castle is disappearing in the approaching snow - beautiful.







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Monday, October 27, 2008

Snow on tops.


The first heavy snowfall of the year fell overnight on ground above 1000 feet. We woke up to see the mountains opposite covered in snow. The forecast for tomorrow is for a chilly northerly wind with snow showers during the day laying at lower levels.......watch this space.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Tufty

 The characteristic ear tufts of the native red squirrels are becoming more prominent as winter approaches. They moult their tufts once a year in late summer and grow them again in preparation for the cold weather. Unlike the grey squirrels the reds do not hibernate and so we will be keeping all nut feeders full throughout the cold winter months when the pine cones and hazel nuts have disappeared from the trees in the surrounding forest. The squirrels are still very much in abundance around the cottage and it is very amusing to watch their antics.

Friday, October 17, 2008

River Oich walk

Yesterday was a fine crisp dry day so we decided to make the most of it and have a walk in Jenkins Park on the outskirts of Fort Augustus. We drove over the Struie and then downhill passing Loch Tarff on our right. On the TV the other evening there was a replay of the film 'Local Hero' set in Scotland. In one of the early scenes the two American oil guys had to park up because of the dense mist. In the morning the mist cleared and Loch Tarff was in front of them. The stroll in the Jenkins Park forest at Fort Augustus was very refreshing, peaceful and colourful, about 4 miles at a very leisurely pace. Part of the walk is beside the River Oich which is always beautiful and relaxing. Just before we reached home we noticed two cormorants on the small boat jetty parallel with Inverfarigaig Pier no doubt stopping for a well earned breather.





Monday, October 13, 2008

Stag near Aspenwood

Guests staying in Aspenwood Cottage last week were walking casually up the driveway when they noticed a large stag on the path ahead. It was standing quite still and staring at the two strangers approaching. Steve realised he had not got his trusty camera with him and, although very excited, he managed to keep his cool and slowly turned round and went back to the cottage for the equipment.When he returned the stag had not moved a muscle and thus the evidence was produced.Only when Steve and Barbara tried to get even closer did the stag turn tail and run off into Farigaig Forest. Thanks for sharing your photos.