HASTA LA VISTA LOCH NESS. (02/02/15)

     Loch Ness.

It was going to be a quick dog walk this morning as I have moved to Glenmore. I stopped at the Harbro farm shop for dog food and bird food. Their fat balls were a bit expensive but their top quality feeder mix looks grand at just over a £1.00p/kg. I can’t see any millet seeds or other padding; it appears full of sunflower seed and dried fruit, nuts etc. I’ll see what the birds think when I’ve thawed a patch of ground to get the feeder erected. I buy both dog food and bird food in 15kg sacks as it saves the 20% tax. It’s well worth doing as both birds and dogs are eating like horses now it’s chilly. I got waylaid as the Hair Ice had appeared again.

      I find it fascinating. I’ve been reading about it and although it is extruded ice it may be triggered by a fungus. It’s not often I find something rare and stunning that folk aren’t sure about. I tried a wet Beech twig in Donald's freezer and it didn’t do it. It’s magic.

I called at the big Tesco and decided to risk a tank of their diesel. The van stopped in the road works on the A9, I drove between a couple of cones and drifted to a halt. It was the fuel cut off solenoid, it took a minute to fix, it only needed a tap with a heavy spanner but Fiat electrics are always entertaining. I’ve ordered a new solenoid just to be prepared.

The full gloss bird pictures look wonderful. When Vicky was round the other day she asked for an original RAW file of a Goldfinch. Her sister has colour balanced that and printed it at a couple of feet square and bonded the print to some sort of substrate. The colours aren’t as bright as mine but then I am semi colour blind. She sharpened it and it does look great. I bet the paper cost a tenner alone. Alex is a star bar, I couldn’t fault her editing, maybe a bit sharp but no halos. I’ve put her in touch with Peak Imagining. Top notch printers and mounters they are. I’m going back to Loch Ness for more birds and to get the Badger hide rebuilt. I’ll get a coffee machine popped in whilst I’m flavour of the month.

    The view from the van. It’s going to be chillio tonight. It’s going to dump another few inches of snow and Loch Morlich is frozen. I’m here for seven days and will probably make it a fortnight. I enjoyed it last winter but this winter is better; it’s cold and snowy.

Now I have to be a bit serious. I have really hard Blendering to do, I have to catch the perfect Crested TIt. a Pine Marten and a cracker of a Red Squirrel. There are Dippers here but I have lots of middling shots of Dippers.

I’ll have fun trying. Have a good week.

PS. I have a voucher from Tesco for £8.63p off my next shop. It lasts from tomorrow till my birthday. They say my shop would have been cheaper elsewhere. I only spent £56.00p and £22.00p of that was on a large bottle of campanology. A tip for whisky drinkers. Malts are better and Supermarket brands are seriously good value at around half the branded price. Just decant them into a posh bottle if it matters. Supermarkets don’t do the Island Malts so don’t try it with Talisker. Just buy Talisker and offer it to friends. No Ice, no nothing but a tiny drop of water.