We are getting very close to the full Moon and my theory is coming together again. The sky becomes clear at night and the temperature on a full moon plummets, especially over the Winter/Spring months and this month is no exception, the last two nights have gone down to minus seven and minus three, but the beauty is the lovely daytime in between. A good start to getting out for walks in bit warmer conditions and a bit of sun on your back, definitely makes for a happier me. If this weather keeps up I may just believe that Summer is just around the corner.
17th.
A busy day photography wise, I always take my camera with me when we go for a walk and the sunlight on the underside of the Buzzard was wonderful. Then seeing the local farmer having just fed his sheep heading back across the fields , most probably heading for a cuppa after another completed daily task.
Then around dusk my wife alerted me to a sight we have not seen in the field in front of the house before. Normally we would get a maximum of three Roe Deer coming into feed, but tonight we had five. Of course one of the three bucks headed in a different direction to the others ( must have been camera shy ), but I did manage to get four together and lots of single shots, so below are a few of those.
The bucks in the last shot (furthest left and nearest the camera watching me ) have just started on their horns and in this stage are known as “in velvet” as the horns have a velvet finish on them.
18th
The weather is wonderful, heavy frost’s overnight and glorious sunshine all day. This of course has got the Spring flowers going , though the seed heads are still about from last year.
19th.
All the early flowering HJeathers are out and by about midday when it has warmed up, so are the Honey Bees, not very clear, but at least one in the centre of the shot.
22nd
Went down to Loch Dunmore to check on the 390 Tench we have stocked with yesterday, all between 6 and 8 inches, travelled up from a fish farm in Shropshire and not a dead fish in sight, a great addition to our stock.
While I was there I was surprised to see these nine Tufted Ducks, we often get a pair, but never seen this many before. Plus of course our resident male Mallard, showing off his reflection.
A busy day, as it was so beautiful in the sunshine we went for a walk up the glen in the afternoon and managed to catch a shot of two of the four Wagtails hopping along the stone wall, plus a pair of Geese waddling around the field.
26th.
I am sorry but this sunshine is to good to miss and I have gone a bit mad with the camera today. Spring is well and truly sprung with all the wonderful colours of the flowers, just love this time of year. The first butterfly in the garden, the goldfish coming up to the surface of the pond instead of sulking all winter in the depths. A very grumpy looking Toad that hated being on the concrete so I moved it to nearer the pond and it still didn’t have much of a smile. Lastly the squirrel saying ” I do wish the leaves would come on this tree then he would not see me to photograph me”.
27th.
The price we have to pay for all these glorious days is clear skies at night also, clear skies at night means at this time of the year, cold nights and in the last eight days we have gone below zero centigrade every single night. Last night was no exception when we went down to minus three and the resulting frost on the grass. I put the above picture on to show the warmth in the sun doing it’s bit to make it another great day, where the sun is on the turf no frost, the shadow from the house stops the sun getting to the rest of the lawn hence the white stuff still there. I know what you are all thinking, “that’s a lawn?” yes it will be once it starts growing and the roughness is due to the wives hard work in raking out the moss, which in Scotland is no mean feat.
Sorry it has been a fabulous day and we had some wonderful sights on our walk after lunch, so loads more shots for you to see.
Just to show what a beautiful day, look at that sky not a cloud in sight. These two paragliders were well over a thousand feet above us, soaring like a hawk on a wonderful journey.
As you can see not much snow left on the Munro, but we are expecting another load later in the week, so this picture could well change.
This doe Roe Deer spotted us way before I spotted it, finding a bit of shade.
Finally on our walk is this pond that has the most wonderful clear water and small Brown Trout in it, But today none of that mattered as the frogs were spawning in their hundreds and yes I do mean hundreds, the noise was incredible and to be honest I must have taken thirty shots , but will only bore you with these three.
31st
Today our youngest son moved from Sheffield six and a half hours journey from us to East Ayrshire, just two and a half hours from us (well pleased). So we went over for the day to help them construct flat pack furniture and establish the kitchen (food has got to be a priority right?). This is the view from their bedroom, a bit different from inner city Sheffield and nearly as good as our view, all facing South. Our moving in present to them was two bird feeders, seed and peanuts, within a couple of hours they had about thirty Goldfinch down on to the feeders, along with Sparrows a Redpoll and Siskins, a real cheery site for us all to see. Did you know one of the names for a flock of Goldfinches is a Charm, well it certainly was a charming site.
At last the weather seems to be getting a wee bit warmer, Snowdrops, Crocus are doing ewell though two days of constant rain has battered a few of the Crocus down and definitely filled our spate waters. Of course I realise up here that the snow can return as late as the back end of April, but you can but hope that the worse is over. At least getting out and about a bit more on decent days as this part of the months blog will show.
1st
A walk up to the trout water of Blair Walker to see what wild life was about just these Swans and Geese.
Not forgetting a couple of Oyster Catchers digging into the soft mud.
2nd.
Went into Perth to try and capture my elusive bird the Kingfisher, two hours with a few dashing sightings, but no photos, so took the heather gardens in the park instead, so that it was not a completly wasted journey.
,.
3rd
As by now you must be aware we get terrific sunsets and with the fairly decent weather we have had the last few days I have had plenty to choose from, but I think this is most probably the best.
6th
While the good weather lasted we went for a trip out to St Andrews for the day, most of the following shots are of the derelict cathedral which in times past you could walk around, but it has been inspected and today it is considered to dangerous to do so. so a few skyline shots over the high wire fence.
Even though the water this time of the year must be freezing, some young women still went in for a dip.
Liked this shot with the Angus Hills covered in snow right in the distance.
15th.
Had some miserable weather in between the last few shots and this one, so did not venture out with the camera much. The last shots show a Goosander on Loch Dunmore took a few shots of them the first successful the last of it diving, not so successful. I have now got to spend a couple of days going down a bursting a few paper bags to disperse the gang of them (four males three females) as they are eating a lot of our fish and with a new batch coming in to stock the loch in April costing a couple of thousand pound we do not want them all eaten by these guys.
As I write this we are in the middle of Storm Eunice, which this morning dominated the news, with all down South preparing for the end of the world, where for us it is a strong Northerly wind with a fair bit of snow attached. Went out to clear a path down the drive and the snow was sitting about 4″ deep, but easy snow to clear and now about 2 hours later it is starting to thaw a bit, so no real panic for us. From the warmth of our living room I managed to capture these two through the double glazing and of course the always clean windows helped.
As you can see the Pigeon was ruffled up a bit out of the cold and facing away from the wind, but it was definetly waiting for me to go out and feed it.
A bit blurred through the glass but this Red didn’t mind being out in it. Though they do not hibernate like Greys, more often than not on days like this they normally stay in the dray and it is rare for us to see them out in such conditions. It didn’t stay long ate a few peanuts and was gone, after all we all have to grab some breakfast whatever the conditions.
19th.
The snow on the hills looks spectacular enough under normal conditions, but with the sunrise it turns the snow this amazing shade of pink and pulling open the bedroom curtains certainly does start you day off wonderfully.
As an added bonus to the previous shot the sun shining on the hills and the near full moon just setting.
27th.
We had just as much snow on the hills as in the previous two shots just 3 days ago , butn rain and a temperature of 7C has got rid of all the low lying “stuff” and now just a dusting on the hills.
Went for a walk in the sunshine up in the hamlet of Struan and by the River Garry this shot doesn’t look much but for this section of the Garry it is high due to the snow melt.
This shows the snow melt spate a bit better, it seems incredible to think that in six months time the Salmon will be climbing these falls and weir so they can spawn, that is if there are any left in our rivers?
Just a little history lesson on my past life . 52 years ago the person with the spade in his hand in the picture below was in fact me . I was part of a group of fire fighters (fireman in those days) who went to a remote farm in Hertfordshire looking for the body of a Mrs Murial Mckay, who was the wife of the then News of the World editor. She had gone missing , believed kidnapped and all clues pointed to the fact that she had been murdered and buried somewhere on this farm, which had several ponds in the grounds. We were tasked with draining the ponds . Okay so that is history, but I have just read that the person who spent 20 years in jail moved back to the West Indies and wanted to put things right before he died, has informed the authorities of the exact place she is buried on that farm and her daughter (now 81) has asked the present owner of the farm for permission for her to have a private search carried out in that area and the land owner has refused, so she is going through the courts to get permission. Though Met Police are now looking into the case. So some modern day “firefighters” may have to carry out the task we did 52 years ago.
How fast did January go? Seeing the first glimpses of Spring with the Snowdrops at last showing their sturdiness with inches of snow on them then gale force winds and you look at them standing proud through whatever the weather want’s to throw at them. Also it is noticeable that the mornings are getting lighter (well apart from when the dark clouds roll in) I only notice because as I get up I go to the kitchen, put the kettle on and then feed the Blackbirds their sultanas, a few weeks ago there would be no sign of birds queueing for them, but this week two or three are sitting waiting to pounce. Not the early bird catches the worm here, it is the early bird eats all the sultanas.
8th.
Went across to Killin hoping to see Ben Lawers covered in snow and grab a few shots for the blog, firstly at Kenmore it was raining and couldn’t even see Lawers, then along Loch Tayside there was hardly any snow on the tops.
This shot is from the graveyard in Killin and as you can see the distant hills have hardly any snow on them.
Stopped off in Aberfeldy on the way home. The first shot is of General Wades bridge over the River Tay, some of you oldies may remember that this bridge featured on a series of postage stamps way back all on bridges. Wades roads and bridges are all over Scotland he was in charge during the Jacobite rebellion in 1720/30 and his handywork can still be seen throughout the Highlands including a bridge in Blair Atholl when he built the Dunkeld to Inverness road.
The second shot is of the Black Watch Memorial to celebrate the formation of the regiment in 1740, it was erected in 1887 and cost the huge sum of £500 (donated by the public) to build and was split in two in 1910 by lightening, repaired it now has that ugly lightening strip down the front to prevent that from happening again. (why didn’t they they put the strip down the back of the statue?)
Another interesting fact the soldier on the top was in fact one of three shot in London for desertion in 1743. An unusual person to put on the top, but he was a hero who had left London to return to Scotland after hearing a rumour that the British Army were sending them to America to get the troublesome Scots out of the way. In fact that was a false rumour they were in fact going to Flaunders.
11th.
Overnight we went down to minus eight Centigrade and when I fed the birds at half nine it was still cold at minus five. In these conditions and with a strong North Westerly wind you really do not want to be out in it to much. So being the softie I am I set the camera up on the tripod in the kitchen and decided to see how many different birds I could get a photo of in ten minutes, below is the said shots though I did miss a few that came to the feeders because either I was to slow focusing in or they were to quick for me. These included the Nuthatch, Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a Dunnock.
Male and Female Blackbirds.
Coal and Blue Tits.
Male House Sparrow.
For once a shy Robin (they normally pose for me)
Female Chaffinch.
Siskin.
Greenfinch. Though I did see and photograph male Chaffinch and Great Tit the shots were just to out of focus to put up.
12th.
As stated above the temperature dropped very low in the early hours of yesterday and the wonderful Snowdrops in the garden seem to get really affected, but to show just what a hardy plant they are I have attached two shots , one of a bunch yesterday morning and then another shot of them this morning ( I left the piece of straw in deliberately to show it was the same bunch) , as they have perked right up in the warmer temperature.
Yesterday morning.Today.
Cannot beat that for determination to show us their best, love them.
Went for a walk around the perimeter of Blair Castle (not yet open) mainly to see their Snowdrops around the old Kirk (church) was the usual collection, Makes the old graves look so much better with them surrounded by the whiteness.
Now a view of the Castle with nobody visiting and through the trees.
Lastly a sign of Spring, I think this is a Green Hellebore which grows well in the woodlands adjacent to the path leading away from the Castle, another positive sign of Spring.
Where did this month go? I think the mostly mild weather has helped us get through January fairly quickly, not sitting looking at the snow piling up has been a real bonus, no doubt we shall get an absolute blizzard in February now I have said that. I never thought last year to help me with my challenge I could have taken some shots in black and white, though a recent article I read encouraged me to give it a try, so you will see my attempts below, let me know what you think?
Thought the first one (which I took on a dull day) leant itself to a mono shot and as Silver Birch is more or less B &W that was okay. The third if I took it in colour I do not think would have looked much different and the fourth showed the lichen up well, but that is my opinion, not yours.
I then took two sets to make a comparison and not sure with both sets which comes out the better, I did not alter in post- processing just took two separate shots at roughly the same angle.
Again I will leave it up to you decide, I know which I prefere.
First shot from the approach to the first of two bridges and the second from to the laft of the bridge, at the same level as the bridge. So lucky I had the area to myself for about thirty minutes before other people arrived.
That is us settled in back home in Perthshire after the hustle and bustle of New York, though I must admit though some tourist area are busy out there, a lot were very quiet compared to in the past visits. But of course we are in our little hamlet a peaceful paradise.
Not much to show you since we have been back, mainly down to three things the cold weather, jet lag and the fact that we have both got a real horrid cold. Thought like most people that it may have been covid but several tests later, luckily no sign of it. Unfortunatly that has meant lethargic attitude and staying near to the log burner. I have managed a few shots with the camera , so I will share them with you.
This was the weather on our return ( missed the deep snow in New York by two days I am glad to say) , not a great deal of snow, enough to have to clear the driveway off but manageable .
Yesterday the sun came out and though cold overnight, it was very pleasant to go out for a stroll in the low lying sun. In the field up the hill from us are five Aberdeen Angus bulls all of which we have seen grow from calves up to this lovely beast. It is such a pity that these five just munch away at the grass and cannot appreciate how fortunate they are to live in a field with such a cracking view.
Before photography virtually took over my life I would have walked past these dead seed heads and not taken any notice of the beauty that was within them, especially with bright sun shining down on them. Photography has allowed me to enjoy natures beauty that even in the depth of winter is all around us.
Another fine example of that beauty, just a single leaf left attached to this branch with the bud of this coming years growth just above it, with a shine as though it had been varnished.
Sorry not much to show you at the start of the year but I promise I will try harder as the year goes on.
So we are away until the end of this whole year challenge an unusual place for us to be for such a long time but when asked who can resist it, not us. when you live in the countryside and love the peace and quiet this is a totally different lifestyle. I couldn’t live here, but coming to this wonderful city for a visit is the best. Best food, best vibes from the cosmopolitan people and the best food EVER.
I hope through the rest of this years shots I can in some way portray this to you all.
13th.
As we have an early start to our journey tomorrow we are staying the night in the Hilton airport hotel, which is our normal thing. Plus the fact that with international travel we require a lateral flow test for Covid a day before travelling and we can get this done and notified of the result at the airport. We passed with a negative test so that was a relief and as we could not get into the hotel until 3pm we went on the bus to the city and had lunch.
14th.
Up at 5am is not the best of starts to the day but after some confusion at check in we boarded the plane down to Heathrow where we managed a short break in the duty free before boarding the British Airways flight to New York. We had found a Black Friday deal to upgrade a class on board so had a comfortable fairly enjoyable flight over, As my camera gear was well packed in my hand luggage I really did not get the opportunity to take many shots on the journey from the airport into our son’s apartment in Manhattan but did manage one of this unusual cloud formation, it spiralled up into the air a fair height.
15th.
Our method of getting over jetlag on these first few days is gentle walks out, back for a rest and maybe a wee nap then out again. Our first trip was to Union Square , which normally has a small local growers market outdoors, but in this season has a typical Christmas Market. The wreaths seem very popular and adorn many a residency For me I would go for the chillies one on the righthand side of the second photo as , one they are the cheapest and two, you can store and use them after Christmas.
16th.
Just to show how mild it is at present in New York and the fact that this is the very middle of December, so many of the trees still have their leaves on, okay they are Autumnal colours but not many of them are off the trees. An amazing sight to see and we are wondering what Central Park will look like. We came prepared for snow and today it is fourteen degrees C, bet it doesn’t last.
17th.
I just love it when cities allow artists to take over buildings and place good art onto them, the three above are prime examples, in the first one you can see the windows blended into the artwork, all skillfully executed, the last one was a temporary one on some building work hoarding, but so colourful.
An added bonus (so liberating to be able to add so many new subjects to complete my 2021 resolution) some Downtown Christmas lights.
18th.
A damp day today, not really rain just a mizzle. Went for brunch and this was my son’s choice with a bacon side dish, followed by a splendid hour or so looking at the lights of Fifth Avenue including this in the entrance of Bloomingdales. Absolutely heaving with families and the light show on the outside of Sak’s was incredible, plus the tree at The Rockafeller Centre.
19th.
A typical view of piers that are all the way along the River Hudson, this one is exceptional though as it is brand new and a demonstration of what the local environment should be. In the section in front of the shot is a sunken area down almost to the river level containing various chipped out of the stone to allow plants to grow in and creatures to live in. then in the background of that area are marshland rushes and plants and going nearer to the roadway are wooded areas, shrubberies and grassland picking up on plants that would normally be found away from the water’s edge. An ecological experiment that will allow people to see how the natural world should be before man came along and built this huge city.
20th
Went Uptown today to Hudson’s Yard where this wonderful building in the first shot is. If you look to the top you will see a triangle sticking out this is a observation deck that we went onto. If you look again at the first shot you can see in the middle of that triangle is a clear section, that is in fact strengthened glass which when you are up there you can stand on and there is nothing between you and the roadway one hundred floors or one thousand one hundred feet below. and yes those are my feet as I had to stand on it for this shot.
21st.
Walked a couple of miles today to get to this park on the Hudson River, we have decided to call it the ‘Telly Tubbies Park’ as it looks so like the T.V. programme land. It is really well laid out and as it is winter it only has grasses, but swaying in the breeze they look great. Winding paths or steps for the fit ones allow you to reach all levels and it also has a small amphitheatre which on a summers evening would be great to watch a performance.
22nd.
It is about time we talked about American food, went for lunch to a restaurant down on the Lower Eastside called Fulton’s today and had a terrific fish meal. My wife and son started off with the giant prawns, while I had the ‘Petite Sashimi Plateau’ in the top shot, this comprised of the giant prawns the others had, three oysters, and three different sashimi fish, salmon tuna and yellowtail. The next three shots are the mains, The wife’s calamari with fries, my sons fish tacos & my swordtail sandwich, all of which were out of this world delicious.
23rd.
Still on the subject of food, I for one cannot come to New York without having at least one doughnut and today was that day. From top left clockwise, Chocolate topped with custard inside, chocolate dipped plain crispy doughnut (mine) and lastly a chocolate topped doughnut with cream. All very naughty but nice.
Christmas Eve.
It seems that wherever you are in the world there are Sparrows and New York is no exception. All around the streets there are loads of them all fluffed up due to snow overnight (which has gone) and low temperatures, but still lovely wee birds.
Christmas Day.
It would not be Christmas without the obligatory shot of whoever is present in our house or wherever we are, raising a glass while the dinner gets cold. So even if we are across the pond, we have perform this ritual. Another tradition people have to allow me to indulge i, is that I always want to cook the meal, I have occasionally sat on my hands and not cooked but normally (if it is my sons especially) they give into my whim. This year was no exception. A couple of things had me worried, 1/ we decided on a large chicken rather than a turkey and I am not used to cooking five and a half pound chickens. 2/ it was a gas oven controls calculated in F degrees rather than the normal C. But all turned out well and I was only twelve minutes late on the allocated time to eat (precision is everything). Wife and son looking relatively happy, most probably because of the fizz in their glasses.
Boxing Day.
Though Boxing Day is not within the American calendar, it is a Sunday and when we went for a small walk around a couple of blocks and into Washington Square Gardens, plenty of people were about. With games of chess around the perimeter and a guy with an upright piano playing jazz in the centre it was fairly vibrant for eleven o’clock in the morning after yesterday’s celebrations. We are so lucky with the weather a real sunny day and no wind it was really pleasant to be out. We intend going to Central Park after some lunch I think that may be a bit busier, but it is big enough to absorb all and there maybe more shots put on here later.
27th.
Had such a good time over Christmas that I do not want to leave the theme, so out for a walk today took these two shots. The first one was in a private front courtyard of a house and I thought how are those not being stolen, as a huge great dog came barking at the patio window and the owner looked out. Once he saw I was just taking a picture he went back into the room with a wave and smile.
The second shot was one of about forty illuminated outside a row of shops and is about double the size of a football and looked very attractive even in daylight, must look wonderful at night.
28th.
Walking down through Dumbo Park on the other side of the Brooklyn Bridge and came across this lovely little Dove, in fact there was five of them together on the rocks by the water, I automatically thought they would be Rock Doves, rocks plus Doves equals ……But on our return and before I wrote this I looked them up, they are in fact Mourning Doves. Next had to look up why they are so named, apparently it is due to their sad and haunting call, which I never managed to hear.
29th.
Went to the New York Museum Of Modern Art (MOMA) and though a lot of the art leaves me some what perplexed certain pieces I really like. The first shot of a tool rack I really thought was clever and colourful some of the background is shadow while others are just sprayed outlines of the tools. Maybe an art project for some of you with various objects?
The second shot reminds me of the kind of art I loved in the sixties and dabbled in myself just layers of single lines of random paint set off by the occasional red dots. If you get the chance it is well worth the visit and the cafe food is wonderful as an added bonus.
30th.
Went by myself to Chinatown today, I just love going there the rest of the family hate it. This first image shows you an elderly couple just setting up a small stall of produce they have obviously grown themselves and are busy cleaning up their spring onions to sell, all so fresh and organic looking.
All sorts of dried fish from shrimps to oysters are for sale along with the fresh fish to the right of the second shot. Not sure a trader would get away with having boxes of food this close to the ground if in the U.K. but the stalls were really busy, with plenty more food indoors if you were interested.
Last image, though I took loads, is of a shop selling poultry, especially Peking Duck and other pre seasoned poultry all dipped in the front window of the shop. I presume the larger birds are turkey’s not sure?????
31st.
Time to celebrate, definitely not this horrid year of the virus but the fact that I have completed my 2021 New Year resolution by taking 365 different photos, one each day for the whole year, something I never thought I could do. It was a close shave some evenings, just going to bed after a busy day and suddenly realise that I had not got a shot for the day. Hence on some occasions you will see a house plant taken with the flash on and taken around eleven at night, but I did it.
I do hope you have enjoyed the shots I really have enjoyed the challenge, but will not be carrying it on at such a rate in 2022, though of course I will continue the blog just periodically when something enjoyable comes up. I still have another 4 days left in New York so something might catch my eye.
So all that is left to say is ‘have a wonderful 2022, may you all stay healthy and thanks for following me throughout the year’. Now let’s open that bubbly in celebration.
I love secrets and I have got one that I will reveal to you towards the end of this half months blog, I will just say it is taking a lot of preparation and in this time of COVID let us hope we are fit enough and able to fulfil it.
At present the month has started off with yet another power cut and warm (12C) days followed the weather man says by a cold snap again, so strange and very unseasonable, let us hope the weather reverts to a pattern that we would expect this time of the year.
1st December.
A lot of people you know are aware that within Perthshire we have some great authors that live here, up to a couple of years ago J.K.Rowlings lived in Aberfeldy for example. As you are aware I love my angling and also within Perthshire is a well known angler, writer and newspaper columnist called David Profumo and thou I have read articles by him I have never read any of his books. Within the Radio Times was an article about the book programme called Beneath The Covers and next week Pru Leith is on it. Now I did not even know that she was a fisher, but in the article she states that her favourite book is the one above by Mr Profumo. So I looked it up and it has received some terrific reviews so for an early Christmas present my wife has given it to me and I am so looking forward to reading it.
2nd.
At the beginning of the year I put a few footprints in the snow on the blog, but this is a new one for you. Looks like someone is telling you with arrows what direction to go in, in fact this bird is going in the opposite direction to the arrows. It is in fact one of two French (or Red Legged) Partridge that visited the garden today, where I normally have my bird seed in containers these ground feeding birds have a special area with seed scattered on the ground to keep them going. It is always a pleasure to see them and if they stay close to our house they are assured of not getting shot.
3rd.
Two totally different shots today, the first is the rickety old bridge down on the Fender that has not been used for years and is definitely falling apart, but looks even more dangerous to cross with the snow on it. Glad to say the river has dropped from it’s spate condition due to the sudden snow melt we had, a few nights ago we could hear it roaring though our double glazing and we are a hundred yards uphill of it.
The second shot was a quick grabbed shot, I could here a military jet doing manoeuvres way up in the sky but could not see it, then I saw the vapour trail from it going round in a semi circle, so I guess it was the Lewis Hamilton of the skies doing doughnuts.
4th.
Sure sign we are into December is the wife displaying the nativity scene that she has knitted. After Christmas she knits roughly fifteen sets and gives them all away, mostly to charities but also to friends, this is the original set over ten years old now but still going strong. When she takes them into places like the Salvation Army shelter she hears some wonderful stories of whom they have given them to, or how much money they have raised in a raffle really great achievement for her production line.
5th.
Staying with the homemade theme of Christmas this is a cloth wreath that my darling late sister made for us. She loved making anything out of recycled material and most of her family have something she made for them. Most have a rag mat for their bedrooms, all done in whatever design they wanted football club emblems, or fairies she would get the pattern drawn on the backing cloth and sit in the evenings and make them, bringing joy to us all. This will be a permanent reminder for us and goes in pride of place every year.
6th.
As we opened the curtains this morning to yet more snow and cold weather I saw the lights of this JCB driver digging trenches ready to replant another woodland (dead centre of the shot)and thought “maybe he is in a heated cab, but what about those poor engineers that are still having to climb electricity poles to re connect the people that have been off of the power grid for seven days now” can you imagine how hard that must be exposed to such elements, hard for those with no electricity but not a great environment for the workers.
Pleased to announce the shot below, at last I have achieved something I have wanted to do for a few years now, a half decent shot of a Field fare eating the berries in the garden. We have had plenty about for a month or so but they always hide in or at the back of the bush. Though the wife was not pleased that her window was kept open in the middle of a heavy downpour of sleet, I captured this shot One “Happy Chappie”.
7th.
Well the morning started off fine, no problem working outside, a bit chilly but that is what you expect now Winter is here. But just as forecast early afternoon in comes Storm Barra and the wind picked up, the sleet has come down for the last two hours. If it had been a touch colder it would have been a heavy snowstorm all it is now is a slushy wet mess, not that I have gone out in it to much. All this amounts to the fact that as you can see we have not got much of a view this afternoon.
8th.
Went for a walk down the River Tilt today with intentions of taking shots of the river in spat following yesterdays rain, sleet and snow from Storm Barra, unfortunately I came across this instead. A beautiful old Scot’s Pine fallen into the river, admittedly it was and has been for some time on a precarious spot on the banking which was being eroded by the river and that plus the high winds from the previous storm must have decided it’s fate. Perthshire is famous for it’s trees and is called “The Big Tree Country” but to lose a giant like this is such a shame. With rapid water of the Tilt it will be surprising how quickly the foliage and bark from the tree will disappear if of course it is left in the water, the powers that be might consider it to much of a hazard to leave it in the water as it goes well over half the width of the river.
9th
That time of the year to put the lights up and though this year I have left my artificial Christmas tree in it’s box I have put a couple of sets up around our natural trees, not necessarily for us but for the youngsters that are staying down the drive to make it a bit more festive for them. You can just see the blue set of lights that I have put on the gate and I would have loved to have shown you those but the security light is on (see the brightness in the bottom right) and stays on for five minutes after I had passed it and it is pouring with rain as I took the shot. maybe show you that side of the lights on another day?
10th.
Thought I would carry on yesterdays theme and concentrate on just one bauble. That is in fact me reflecting back out of the bauble along with the fairy lights and the branches they are all on. Just a little experiment, with one small problem, though we have had a bright sunny day it has been cold all day with a maximum of two C and when I went out to get this shot at just past 1600hrs it was below zero and the condensation on the baubles has in fact frozen, hence the little crystals forming luckily only really blurring me out, lucky you lot.
11th.
First hint towards the surprise tomorrow , usually I put the food for the birds in the wooden hollowed out log below the feeder. But the birds will not get enough food if I do that. All revealed tomorrow.
12th.
That is it, “my bags are packed I’m ready to go” as the song says. We are off to New York on Tuesday, having to go to Edinburgh tomorrow to get our lateral flow test, flying off Tuesday morning to Heathrow and beyond.
The feeder in yesterdays shot will be full today which should keep the birds going until we return, or, not need topping up by a wonderful friend to much. Strange how when we nurture our birds all year round we feel sad that the daily routine of feeding them will change, but hopefully such an industrial sized feeder should replace me.
We are away for some time but instead of Cairngorms daily life I shall be posting the rest of the year shots on New York daily life, most probably concentrating on Christmas lights and decorations.
I will publish this today as I will not have the facilities to write my blog until over jet lag, but I will keep up my daily shots to complete the year.
That is all that is left until the end of the year, forty six days, so you only have to put up with those few days of my photos and the year will be done. I hope I can keep this going as it is increasingly more difficult to find a new subject to bring to you daily. determined to keep this on to the end as I can honestly say it will be the first New Year Resolution I have ever kept until the end.
16th.
If you cross the river bridge after our drive and turn right to go down to the village, this is the view that greets you. A steep single track road with some now nearly devoured of leaves trees, but two weeks ago was a colourful sight for the eyes. A sure sign that we are nearly into Winter once again our sixteenth year of surviving it. Hopefully the council have all their snowploughs prepared and will provide us with the usual high standard of road clearance , up every week day morning before 10.30 and the road cleared and salted so that the Glen can get out and beyond. Just leaving us locals to clear a path at weekends, we are provided with plenty of road salt to spread around and normally it is not to much of a problem and we somehow manage.
17th.
Even at this time of the year if you want to find colour in dead weeds you can. This plant is a prime example, when I walked down the road yesterday the light was beginning to go and the white of this plant seed heads shone out. I have no idea what it is, but took it back home with me and today put it in my light box and photographed it.
18th.
Half way down the field in front of us we have a standing of about six Oak trees that are a wonderful advantage for all our wildlife. They are always the last to come into leaf in the Spring, which often determines the nesting time for many birds especially the Tit families as they rely on caterpillars from these trees to feed their young. They (as you can see from these two shots) are the last to lose their leaves and it has been great fun during the last month watching all different larger birds taking the acorns from them. I believe I am correct in saying that an Oak needs to be sixty years old before producing acorns so most of the trees in this collection are that old. For the first time ever we have witnessed the Crows collecting the acorns and burying them in the fields around, it has been an all day line of them flying backwards and forwards with them in their beaks. Yes I did try to photograph them with no great success. So not only are these trees some great specimens they are supporting so much life I hope they remain for a long time yet.
As an added bonus, unknown to us, where the River Fender flows behind these Oaks I went exploring as I had not ventured amongst the trees before and found the hidden gem below. A 20 foot waterfall with a great pool below it. I know our neighbour has discovered one further up the glen, but I think this will surprise him when I show this one to him at the weekend.
19th.
Today is a dull, mild but cloudy day and just after sunrise managed to capture this. during a break in between the clouds was a brief glimpse of the sun, shining just on the area that the timber had been removed. As if saying “this is now barren land not capturing any carbon dioxide and I need to be replanted”. A climate change message for all.
20th.
Autumn is nearly done with us especially as this mild spell is due to come to an end tonight and snow is expected on the hills. Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees or have been blown off with the strong winds. But I just love the one stubborn one that decides I am going to hang on until the bitter end. This is one such leaf, all the others on the tree have disappeared but this one, right at the end of a branch, just decides “I am staying”. Be interesting to see just how long it remains.
21st.
I have been trying for years to get a decent shot of Redwings and Fieldfares feeding in my garden, this is the closest I have managed so far. This is one of about fifty Redwings that descended on our Hawthorn tree and destroyed the berries in days, before moving onto the next area to deplete those trees. Thrush size and a winter visitor that is very welcome in my garden.
22nd.
Most of you would have seen the spectacular images of the ceramic poppies that were about for Armistice Day well our hedge of Cotoneaster reminds me of them. The beautiful red berries on the hedge flowing down are a lovely sight as you come up to the front door. If we have a harsh Winter these will soon be food for the Blackbirds who seem to love them and eat them in their tens all at once, which is great to see. Not only the fact that it is food we have provided, but also saves on our use of sultanas.
23rd.
As you are aware I enter a monthly challenge on a photographic forum for Canon cameras that I belong to. This months theme is “Stripes and Patterns” and this is my entry that will be judged on the last day of the month. The shot is of the railings on the Garry River road bridge on what was todays sunny morning, will let you know how I got on in next months blog. I know the suspense is killing you.
Sorry the shot below was the one I submitted in the end (old age strikes again).
Which do you prefer?
24th.
Our log burner is giving us plenty of heat tonight ready for the cold snap forecast for over night. Minus temperatures with a strong wind and the likelihood of snow at lower levels. Going to Killin tomorrow let us hope the roads are clear but some good snow on Ben Lawers to show you.
25th.
This was Ben Lawers from Killin today, not as much snow as I had hoped for, in fact I think our Munro’s have more on them than this. But at least the roads were clear and we had a good run both ways. This is in fact the view from my wife’s cousins house and is shared by a lot of residents in the village, nearly as good as our view. Tomorrow is forecast to be cold, strong winds and plenty of snow and looking back at some shots on this day eleven years ago we had two inches of snow, so it is not uncommon this early into winter.
26th.
Well the storm has arrived, very strong winds, zero C temperature which can only mean some snow and snowing it is. Admittingly only in short burst and disappearing before the next one, but as you can see from the above shot, it is a blizzard when it does snow. This is the bedroom window on the prevailing side of the wind and the outside of the sill soon built up, very pretty but could do without it as we have a (hopefully) B.T. engineer coming this afternoon to sort our broadband out (again hopefully).
27th.
This is a shot taken on the 27th but was unable to put it on the blog on the day as we have just spent twenty six hours without electricity and as we have night storage electric heating (apart from the log burner) we have been somewhat cold. The temperature outside never went above minus two C so you can imagine what the house was like, took me right back to my childhood pre central heating.
Any way this is our poor Hydrangea which once it drops below zero just turns black, it always comes back the following year with plenty of greenery but not to many flowers. Looks attractive with the snow modelling the shape of the leaves.
Below is a bonus , as I have covered Red Deer many times before. This is a herd of stags about a mile away on the hillside, when I enlarged the shot I counted forty nine stags.
28th.
Plenty of snow overnight and as the house was still cold we slept in the living room with the log burner to keep us warm. Cleared the road first thing as at weekends we do not get the snowplough up, then got the camera out. What a enjoyable sight of a colourful Heather shining brightly in the snow and all the while I was photographing the garden my lovely tame Wren followed me around saying “if your not going to feed me , at least get a shot of my good side”.
29th.
It is that time of the year when I take all the Rainbow Trout I have caught during the season out of the freezer and cold smoke them for friends and neighbours. The picture above shows the curing procedure that is underway. First I place them in a brine solution of a kilo of salt to eight pints of water and let them defrost and absorb the liquor for three hours, this is known as the wet salting. The shot above shows the next stage. I wash the brine off of the fish, dry them and then cover them on both sides and inside with salt, this draws all the moisture out of the trout and they stay like that for a further three hours. Then I will wash them off and dry them again, before hanging them in the smoker for at least eighteen hours . I use various woods to smoke the fish , which comes in a fine sawdust that allows them to smoulder rather than burn quickly. For this years mix I am trying Oak whisky barrel dust, mixed with Hickory, which I hope sounds like a good mix, in the past I have used Beech, Apple and a plain Oak, all have been good, so will have to wait until tomorrow to find what this batch taste like. Tomorrow I will follow this up with shots of the fish in the smoker and the finished fillet. P.S. The small fish on the right is in fact a wild Brown Trout that I want to see what it comes out like.
30th.
So the follow up sequence to yesterdays blog, this is some of the thirteen fish having done their time in the smoker overnight, then begins the preparation for getting ready to eat.
I remove the heads and tails and fillet from the main bone structure, then each side needs to have the fine bones along the body removed. This is a long boring procedure where as you can see above the bones are removed one at a time using tweezers, some come out real easy while others take an age to find and remove. It in fact took me two hours to fully fillet the twenty six sides.
The final bit is wrapping each side individually and dispersing them to friends in the village as early Christmas presents. Some of which you can see above.
