What is getting closer? Well we automatically think of Christmas as we enter December and that is not many days off and I am sure if most of you are as organised about it as my wife, you could have it tomorrow, cards purchased,(tick) . Cards written and posted (tick) Turkey purchased and in the freeze, in case there really is a shortage (tick). Decorations down from the loft and mostly up (tick). Christmas tree picked out of the garden but not yet felled in case it looses to many needles early (tick). So yes she is organised and it is definitely closer for her.
More important to me is the weather is getting closer to proper December weather instead of this abnormally mild conditions we have been having. a North wind will blow and later this week we SHOULD have snow, let us see.
9th
It has happened our first snow at our level of the season, so just for you I braved the cold and went out with the camera and took these few shots below, all before I went in and lit the log burner.
Just showing you what the temperature was at eleven this morning, having been (as you can see by the reading) minus five overnight it is still sitting on minus four at this hour.
First job after snow is feed the birds then straight into clearing our driveway, the road had already been gritted by ten thirty, so it was just the drive.
The Goldfish do not eat much in this sort of weather so fairly deep down in the pond, with the pump keeping a channel from freezing right over.
Guess who never put the car in the garage last night?
Just to show you our single track road had been salted by the gritter, one great service we get to enable the school children up the glen to be picked up.
A few shots follow of a (not to long out and about) walk I took and the things that caught my eye, including this fence post.
The barbed wire .
A couple of seed heads.
Plenty of berries for the birds to feast on over winter, but I honestly think they prefer the sultanas we feed them.
Lastly an optical illusion, this looks like a branch well buried in the snow, it is in fact a twig growing out of the parapet of our road bridge and about six inches high.
11th
Last night the snow was washed away at our level by rain and sleet, but up on the Munros it fell as snow and added a bit more white to the scenery. A sunny morning but still at minus three.
The distant hills towards Rannoch are that bit lower than a Munro so as you can see didn’t get the same level of snow. Still a cracking view though.
The cairn on the hill opposite us has just a dusting, waiting for a bit more depth so that we will see the stags coming to this spot to feed.
Twenty past ten in the morning and the moon is still visible for another half hour or so.
12th.
I am sorry if this next batch of photos bore you but I am so fascinated with them that I could not decide which ones not to show you, so you got the lot.
The temperature overnight dropped to minus twelve degrees C and when I took these shots around ten am it was still minus ten. The first two are our external wood shed door, with the frost making incredible patterns.
These next TEN are baubles hanging from my trees and lights, the patterns are not printed on the balls, they are genuine frost collected on them, making them even more special.
13th.
This weather minus thirteen last night, sure gives you some wonderful photography. I can only manage twenty minutes or so before I have to get in to the warm living room with the log burner, but that time is well spent. Though this first shot was taken through the d/g of the bedroom.
A beautiful Fieldfare taking advantage of the bumper berry crop this year, looked straight at me for the shot , thank you Fieldfare.
The weir on the River Fender that allows water to be taken off to the hatchery that used to be the tank for the trains to fill up on down in the village. The green canvas at the top of the shot is protecting that flow from freezing up to continue to feed the hatchery.
Close up shows the water coming over the weir is mostly frozen with a flow coming over the top of the ice.
Even closer shows the balls of ice that look like giant cotton wool buds.