Pheasant for lunch anyone ?....

This juvenile male pheasant flew into the grounds at our house from Aspenwood and was glad to eat on the sunflower hearts placed upon the logs for ground feeding birds - whatever their size - before having a paddle and a welcome drink in the  'designer' bath which has now defrosted after the harsh snowy weather over the weekend.

Spring clean.

We have had a thorough spring clean of Aspenwood during our maintenance month and we were very lucky to employ this local lass to help us out with the more challenging tasks in the cottage as she is well sought after in the area.
Keeping an eye on her made us really exhausted so we escaped as soon as we politely could for a lunch at The Snow Goose in Inverness followed by an afternoon matinee of 'The King's Speech' to recover. A very fine film with excellent acting and we came out feeling refreshed.
As soon as the temperatures rise a bit more we shall do some outdoor jobs at the cottage but just too chilly right now.Still snow on the mountains opposite and zero temperatures some nights but it is staying lighter longer. The birds are starting to sing in the mornings and as well as providing food here we walk up every day to feed them at Aspenwood Cottage so everyone is happy.

Long Tailed Tits.

We have had noisy gangs of long tailed tits around recently and they have been returning every winter.They are easily identifiable by their black,white and light pink plumage and small black button like eyes.Their prominent black tail with white edges is longer than the body and is used for balance.They feed mainly on insects and spiders but in winter when this source is scarce they visit the garden feeders for vital nourishment.Because of their small size they often huddle in groups at night to keep warm.
We had a flurry of snow last Friday just when we thought we were safe although it did lay on higher ground and is still on the mountains opposite. These little birds had better huddle up tonight as it is still chilly and zero degrees are forecast.

Wee weasel

 Sitting watching the birds feed one afternoon when I noticed a siskin suddenly disappear into the earth. Went out to investigate this strange phenomenon and found the dead siskin stuck head first in the mouth of a narrow tunnel. As I was digging it out and filling in the hole to ensure no more future accidents I heard rustling from underground very nearby. As I watched, luckily armed with the camera, two little black eyes and a head emerged from another hole about 2 feet away and I realised it was a weasel that we had merely glimpsed recently as it darted rapidly around under the bird table. It emerged from the hole, gave me a good hard stare of disapproval for blocking up one of his tunnel exits and disappeared back down the hole. The weasel will certainly keep the mice and vole population down but they have been known to take squirrels too. Luckily our red squirrels are not showing in this cold spell and are tucked up in their dreys in the forest only occasionally popping out for food they have stashed away somewhere. 

Scottish Open comes to the Highlands.

 

A golf course near Inverness in the Highlands is hosting the Barclays Scottish Open for the next three years. This has been held for the last fifteen years at Loch Lomond Golf Club but it is now coming to Castle Stuart on the Moray Firth between July 7-10th. There will be live coverage of the event, which is part of golf's European Tour, on Sky Sports and BBC and it is the most northerly British venue to stage a European Tour event. The Castle Stuart Golf Links club only fully opened last year and has already been voted one of the best new links courses in the world. It has an unusual art deco clubhouse overlooking the Moray Firth and is within easy distance of Inverness Airport and should be very good for a variety of businesses in Inverness as well as the surrounding area. It is perfect preparation for The Open Championship which this year will be staged at Royal St. George, Kent from July 14th. Last year the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond was won by Italian Edoardo Molinari.    Click for more information.
Aspenwood Cottage is about 25miles from Castle Stuart.......why not combine golf and Highland scenery and stay in luxury accommodation overlooking world famous Loch Ness.



Flush with success.

The temperatures did rise over the weekend and all the ice around the house melted making it safe to go outside once more. We went up to Aspenwood where we saw a hungry Philip the pheasant helping himself to the peanuts on the fence feeders. At the cottage we had arranged to have two new super-dooper modern push button flush toilets installed in the bathroom and en suite and they do look great. 

Had a fair amount of rain since but we mustn't complain about that seeing what others in the world are going through. Not been able to get outside much for a decent walk and stretch of the old legs but our two Loch Ness Mini Monsters found something else to do to keep them occupied in the rainy season....maybe we should follow their example.

Picturesque scenes.

The deer are coming very near the house in their attempt to find food under the snow. The birds are also desperate for food and I had to be very careful this morning putting the seed and nuts out as there was a treacherous icy layer sitting on top of the snow. More snow has been falling mainly on higher ground making Mealfourvonie, the highest mountain around Loch Ness, look very picturesque. The clear skies overnight have caused an extra problem of the recent snow and sleety rain icing up and the driveway is a glistening sheet of ice so we are not venturing out today for anybody. More snow is forecast for Wednesday morning and below zero temperatures for a few days and nights ahead. The good news is that by Saturday the temperature is expected to be a tropical 10C so we might be taking a dip in the loch....not!

 

Weather update.....brrrrrrr

The snow had cleared from around the house at the beginning of the week and it was quite pleasant to walk outside without layers of clothing and wet wellies on. The hungry deer came to feed on the visible grass and moss on the front bank leading down to Loch Ness. Then the temperatures began to fall as did the snow on Thursday. We are now covered again in the white stuff and, although it is very picturesque, it would be lovely to get back to seeing all the colours again. Temperatures below zero during the day and at night the clear sky is full of amazing stars.