The Scottish Highlands
New Year 2003/04

  December 2003 saw us heading North once again, to look after the menagerie at Strathmashie. A long journey in snow, ice and strong winds saw us arrive at Laggan after a snowy drive over Drumochter Pass and then from Dalwhinnie to Laggan. For most of the week, we had quite heavy snow, strong winds and bitter cold, perfect Scottish winter weather.

  Walking the dogs is a daily occurence, sometimes it makes a great excuse to actually get out of the house when it seems too cold to want to move away from the security of a fire. Merlin (the Pyrennean) and Hetty (the St Bernard / Pyrennean cross) seemed to like the snow, they spend lots of time outside because the warmth indoors is too much for them. We were slightly less tolerant...

  We stayed in the keepers cottage as there were other guests in the house and the choice of living room fire or kitchen Aga made for very pleasant evenings, although it was so cold outside that even the fire and stove struggled occasionally.

  Walks in the snow are a great part of the winter experience at Strathmashie and this year we got plenty of snow, sometimes so much that the walking was pretty difficult. When the clouds cleared, blues skies and heavy snowfalls made for some great views as in these pictures on the walk from Moy Lodge to Lochan Na H-Earba.

  Bitterly cold weather and photography don't mix really well, both of Dave's film cameras packed up completely in the cold although Karen's Digital carried on working well enough to get some sunset pics over Strathmashie house and thhe surrounding trees.

Easter 2003	New Year 2004/05

Pictures and text are copyright © Dave & Karen Petty- All Rights Reserved, please don't copy anything without our permission. Thanks, D & K.