Looking for food...

There has been no more snow here for the last few days although it has been bitterly cold and there are long icicles forming on the sheer rock surfaces at the bottom of Inverfarigaig hill. The road into Inverness is clear and has been well gritted so we went into town to get some provisions, passing a picturesque snowy Urquhart Castle jutting out onto Loch Ness on the way. This famous castle is open all year except for Xmas Day and is a very popular attraction, steeped in history and mystery.

On the journey in and out we noticed several buzzards by the loch side keeping a beady eye out onto the snowy fields for anything edible, which would be very easy to spot in these untouched white conditions.

We even saw a buzzard sitting on a post at the side of the road in town on the new road by Fairways Golf Course. On the way back we got behind a line of cars stationary near the Dores roundabout and wondered what was going on when we saw a deer on the pavement by the side of the road. It had emerged from some woodland and nobody was quite sure which way it intended to run. It took a long look at all the cars and wisely decided to go back into the woods. Before we went home we drove to Aspenwood to feed the birds and noticed lots of footprints in the snow, birds, pheasants, deer and a pine marten's prints crossing the carport. All the creatures are really looking hard for something to eat.

Later in the afternoon we noticed a weird scene towards the east just beyond Urquhart Castle. The sun was glistening very brightly on the snow but we knew that the sun set would be in the west....a strange but beautiful weather phenomenon.