Christmas reflections.

 Woke up to a beautiful reflection on the loch on Christmas morning. Most of the snow on the mountains opposite has been washed away by the recent rains. As we were admiring the tranquil scene before us The Lord of the Glens cruise ship steamed right in front of our window and disturbed the reflection. It doesn't usually come this side of the loch and we realised just how big the craft is. It travelled up to Urquhart Castle where it stayed for a long while, possibly while Christmas lunch was being served. Later in the afternoon it sailed back down towards Fort William and we gave everyone on board a seasonal wave.

That was the week that was.

A real start to the week with strong winds and driving rain. Quite a few trawlers chose to use the Great Glen route to avoid the choppy Pentland Firth and several ferry routes to the islands were cancelled due to the high winds. The Loch Ness Lifeboat has been seen out on training exercises. We were quite surprised to see 'The Lord of the Glens' cruise liner travel along Loch Ness towards Fort William. It glided silently past in the dusk of the late afternoon with a light shining from the front mast.
The wildlife has been abundant in the colder weather. The red squirrels have been daily feeders on the nuts.

In the morning the various birds wait in the nearby trees for their breakfast menu to appear and the tiny, but bold, coal tits fly round the table impatiently as I put out their favourite sunflower hearts. Male and female pheasants have been sauntering up the driveway and then hop over the small fence and disappear down the bank. Deer have suddenly emerged out of the bracken in the surrounding forest and munch on the leaves of the blueberry bushes.

Had snow flurries yesterday for most of the day and we woke up this morning to find it had laid on the high ground opposite. More is forecast for today all over the country with temperatures well below freezing tonight. Definite log fire and a few warming drams called for.

'Lord of the Glens'

The weather this past week has been quite gloomy with a low cloud base, showery, murky and generally miserable. Today it is pouring with rain and I can just see across to the other side of the loch where 'The Fingal' activity barge is progressing slowly back through the mist heading for Inverness. The weather doesn't seem to deter the hardy sailors out onto Loch Ness and several yachts and cruisers have braved the elements. Sunshine is promised for tomorrow ! The cruise liner 'Lord of the Glens' has been busy taking passengers from Inverness through the lochs of the Great Glen down to Fort William and beyond to the islands.

During a break in the wet weather the wildlife can be seen. The brown mountain hare has been spotted on the driveway eating the grass on the side verge. The two year old male deer has emerged from the forest on his own for the first time. His velvet antlers are nearly one foot tall now and he looks very healthy and in his prime. No sign of any female deer with offspring yet.
The bird life is abundant and the predatory sparrowhawk has been zooming about hoping to catch his lunch on the wing but usually goes away hungry. The young red squirrels have been keeping us amused as they chase each other in circles around the tree trunks. Had four of them in the garden yesterday and for a long time two of them were performing synchronised nut feeding - I think they deserve a gold medal at least !