AS IT SAYS IN THE SONG

There's nothing quite like a seaside holiday town in the rain. The west beach at Lossiemouth looks pretty dismal, the lighthouse barely visible through the mist and rain but two hardy souls are walking their dogs on the beach. If you click on the picture you will spot them. Greg and I enjoyed coffee and home bakes in the beach cafe called The Pondarosa, yes that's right Pondarosa.

Would you fancy dipping your toes in this water?
On the west beach plenty of vacant picnic tables and benches, roll on summer.

This little Roebuck and his pal came to visit the other morning. The shot is a bit hazy because the window was steamed up. The deer come by quite often but of course as soon as you appear at a window they run away so I was pleased to get a shot of this one.

Remember the Hichcock film The Birds. Well we could have provided plenty of
players from this lot who were feeding on the field at the back of the cottage. Mostly Rooks and Jackdaws with some Pigeons and gulls too

I don't know what scared them, don't think it was me, but look at the chaos as they took to the air. Do they ever collide with each other? There are one or two near misses amongst this lot. Click on this and the next shots and see if you can spot them.

Looking like black snow as they get higher in the sky.

They circled the field and came back to feed again.

WATER WOODS AND GARDEN

The water of Loch Insh was very choppy last time we visited so we opted for a bowl of hot soup in the warmth of the cafe which must have one of the best views in the country.

The pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Why is Greg smiling? he's thinking about the cream tea waiting at the end of this walkTree trunks displaying a variety of lichens and bark.

A pathway invites us into the forest.

Braving the cold at the top of the Cairngorm Mountains. Look at the threatening clouds.

Back in my garden my footprints leading to the bird feeder show up in the frost

Another view of the garden.

It's worth clicking on this shot to see how the ice crystals have built up on the chariot and horses statue and the mans helmet.

A SHORT BREAK IN GRANTOWN ON SPEY

Last winter we spent a few days in Grantown on Spey, below are some shots of the beautiful scenery of the area and also some of the birds and animals we captured.

For more detail click on photos.

Greg on the bank of the River Spey hoping to catch sight of a salmon.

The birch alder and willow trees in this shot prove that trees are still colourful in winter.
This house looks uninhabited, I wonder where the people went and why.
More winter colour .

Greg on an ornamental bridge on the Revack Estate, if you click on the shot you will see the lovely orange colour on the tree in the foreground.

A pair of Oystercatchers

A Lapwing with rainbow colours on his wing

A very proud looking Greylag Goose

This Red Deer stag seems to be keeping his females in order

A pair of obviously tired Mallards.

Talk about "hanging on by your finger tips" this cheeky chap was hogging the peanuts much to the disgust of the poor little chaffinch to the left.