...or then, maybe not.....

We had a few more days of thaw when we began to be optimistic that spring was just around the corner. The snow drops were coming into flower and seedlings looking healthy in the greenhouse. We had friends coming to stay on Saturday 13th and although they were keen to ski, we were pleased that the snow was predominantly on Cairngorm, not in our back garden. We had brought the cars down to the house for the first time since December.....and then it snowed again!! Another six inches, which means that although Richard can whizz merrily up and down the drive in his 4 x 4, the rest of us have to walk up and down each time we need to go out and the cars are also frequently frozen in as the overnight temperatures drop to around -15. Even the locals seem to have been taken by surprise by the length of time that this has gone on, apparently it has been the worst winter since 1959.


Nevertheless we were able to have a great week with our friends (Hellings) and they enjoyed getting to grips with Cairngorm - even if they did have to wait for it to be dug out in the morning before they could get up to ski. They all left considerably more proficient but also had time to sample the local cakes with us and take us out for a lovely meal.

Still recovering from my ski-ing (or lack of) exploits I had a go at sledging with them on a nearby hill.

but am determined to have another go at ski-ing when time permits.

The low nightime temperatures have pretty much put paid to activity in the greenhouse as the heater has been unable to cope and many of the seedlings have keeled over - not surprising as the watering can of water that I left in the greenhouse in order to have tepid rather than ice water to water the seedlings with, was itself, frozen solid. I decided that, even with the makeshift roof, the conservatory was going to be warmer and that I would transfer seedlings to there once pricked out. Unfortunately that plan has been thwarted as well by finding all the potting compost in the potting shed frozen solid this morning! At the moment it's sitting in the sun and I hope will be thawed enough to use before the temperature drops again. I will have to adjust to the different growing season here as by now, the greenhouses in Belmont would be bursting with new stock.

Similarly, the chain saw struggled to start yesterday and I suspect that the fuel had frozen in the feed. While not going to the lengths of taking it to bed with me it may be that it will need to be stored indoors.

The log pile is growing well and despite a minor setback when a badly aimed log caused the whole thing to collapse I have only the knotty trunk pieces to process and then all the dry wood will be out of the second store leaving it free to start filling with new wood -which is considerably easier to split - doesn't richochet off the log splitter like an exocet missile for a start!

This is a frustrating phase when there is much to be done but we are so restricted by the snow. The builders will start when there is no danger of further snow so that could be some weeks yet and so much of our stuff remains packed, including all my sewing equipment. In future years, hopefully, even if the snow does continue for lengthy periods, I will be able to shut myself away and sew. We are planning an outdoor workshop similar to the one I had in Belmont but until the weather improves we can't lay the concrete base........

In the meantime I plan for the better weather......tomorrow I am taking the trailer to Edinburgh to pick up some second hand scaffold boards being sold for £1-2 each which will get transformed into raised beds and have organised to have a lorry load of free topsoil delivered from a local building site with which to fill them. I have designed my polytunnel and am just waiting for Richard to get the go-ahead from the conservation officer to press 'send' and it will be on its way

On Friday Richards Mum, Dad, Sister and Niece arrive which we are looking forward to and his brother and sister-in-law will be staying nearby for the weekend so we will have 'full house' again. I will fly back down on Monday for four nights work but have an interview up here at the local hospital to work on the bank. They are interviewing me on SCBU so I am optimistic that I will get some work - this is encouraging in the current financial climate where many units are facing cuts.

Much as I enjoy working down South it will be good to be able to spend more of the time away from here with the family and have a ten minute journey to work rather than a ten hour one. We missed Bethans 2nd birthday (how time flies!) but are hoping that we will be able to travel around a bit while the building work is in progress as it is looking increasingly likely that we will have to move out for some weeks.

Thawing at last!

Since my return last Monday, activities have been mainly 'firewood focused'! There is so much fallen wood that, having persuaded Richard to join me on a foraging expedition, we were able to practically fill our high sided trailer after only an hour or so of cutting. It is very satisfying to feel that we are able to at least cushion the effects of the rising Calor costs ( two price increases in a matter of weeks) with what is effectively waste wood.
I have emptied the first log store, re-stacked the usable wood and spent a couple of hours with a chop saw turning a large pile of broken fencing, pallet slats and various random bits of scrap wood into pieces usable for the fire. All that is left now are the large blanks left by the previous owners from a fallen tree in the garden which I am hoping to split later this week and then the second store will be empty ready to re-stock with green wood Hopefully then we will be able to maintain a system of cutting/ drying/ using, as the wood needs to dry for at least a year before being burnt.

On Monday Richard and I had a ski-ing lesson, a first for me and a 're-start' for Richard as he hadn't skied for forty years. Perhaps naively, I had envisioned a fairly gentle slope where we would learn the basics - crucially, how to stop once in motion.....but no... we were taken to the top of Cairngorm in poor visibility and given a 'crash' course - I think we had the opportunity to snow plough twice before we were expected to zig zag down the hill! There were 11 in the group which I have since learned is considered too large for a beginners group and despite pointing out to the instructor a number of times that I hadn't mastered the basics after lunch (soup and painkillers), he sent us up the hill on a t-bar ( which everyone 'fell' off as they were too terrified to go down the slope it took them down) and then proceeded to continue the lesson in the middle of a run (not a nursery slope) so that we then had to contend with experienced ski-ers and boarders hurtling past us at speed (not to mention the humiliation of all the pre-schoolers!!) and had to try to avoid major pile-ups as well as stay upright ourelves. I finally lost my cool with him when, while attempting to turn round and keep my balance, he pushed me, saying I wasn't moving.

Fortunately, I have got to know a couple in Tomatin a little and they have offered to come up with us to spend some time with us until I feel confident that I'm not going to slide all the way back down to Aviemore unable to stop! I have some spectacular bruises which I'm not going to put on the blog! Richard escaped pretty much unscathed having discovered that ski-ing is much like riding a bike and quickly picked it up again. His only injury was spraining his thumb whilst putting his boots on, which causes great amusement whenever he tells anyone so doesn't generate much sympathy although it is very swollen!

The veggie seeds are germinating well and the remaining greenhouse is filling up nicely. We are waiting to hear if the insurance company will allow us to put the money for the flattened greenhouse towards a polytunnel. If they agree I should be able to order it and get it up by the time the young plants are ready to plant out. In the meantime I need to start dismantling my 'pallet sculpture', as Pete, our neighbour calls it, to make some raised beds and more compost bins. Pete brought me round two carrier bags full of 'Country Smallholding' and 'Kitchen Garden' magazines so plenty to keep me occupied.

Today I co-hosted the community coffee morning. This is held each week in the village hall and is a good way to get to know people and keep up with local news. Two of the women host it each week and provide home baked goodies. Everyone sits around a long table with cloths and napkins and because the hosts top up drinks it means it is possible to have a proper conversation with the people around you without everyone disappearing at intervals to get another cup of tea or piece of cake - very civilised.