At This Time Of Year

April: Well summer has arrived or so we are led to believe. Easter was at its earliest for a long time and it will be a very long time before it is as early again. With the change of clock to BST the nights have stretched but the temperature has not been consistently warmer as yet. Indeed there has been some spring snow and Ben Wyviss has looked majestic from Inverness on a few days so far this month. Flowers seem to burst through only to have very short flowering times before being beaten down by wind or snow. I have had the great pleasure of crossing the Lecht on several occasions this year and we are truly blessed with the most fantastic scenery on this route where no two journeys are the same. The lack of traffic is made up for by the scenery and the sightings of wild life and birds. There is nothing more hypnotic than a kite flowing with the streams of wind. Unfortunately our first ramble of the year was cancelled due to bad weather but we are hopeful we will be back on track on 18th April at Grantown and that this will be the start of an enjoyable season. I spotted a young deer in my garden this week and perhaps I will lay off planting just in case this animal gets hungary!

March: As the nights lengthen so the weather moves towards spring slowly. Days can see visits by all four seasons of weather and I am tempted to say that the month is starting with some very wet weather indeed. I have already noticed a couple of dead badgers by the road side and this is a particular difficult time as youngsters search for their own territory. Badgers of  course are most vulnerable at night. It is easily seen that this section is written at various points of the month as weather has taken a turn to being colder again and the expected spring colours are only patchy and very slow to appear in some areas. Good News of course for the skiers with falls of snow over Easter and a well earned boost for the local ski resorts. Birds have been feeding furiously in my garden usually a warning of cold weather and still more signs of badgers killed by the side of the road. Our badgers are now visiting regularly again and usually earlier in the evening. And the birds of Prey are doing well. Again on the Black Isle buzzards and Kites are regularly seen in the sky. Our first outing of the year at Culloden Woods is cancelled due to excessive mud on the paths and there is also additional problems with fallen trees. We hope this is not an omen for the rest of the season.

FEBRUARY: I really do need your help to keep this column interesting as I struggle to keep it interesting. I have noticed as the farmers step up their ploughing that again I have had my driving eyes diverted by the pheasants grazing and of course the Birds of Prey. It is not unusual to see Kites on the Black Isle but be careful if you are driving. The fields of course are now taking on an array of different colours and with the nights stretching we are aware spring is just around the corner. Of course in some areas bulbs are sprouting snowdrops are clustered and we anticipate in the next few weeks a burst of colour. It is interesting that on our audit in Culloden woods that there was an autumn feel to the day and it will be interesting to return during Easter Week on our ramble. The birds are feeding well in the garden but again no sign of the woodpecker. The badgers haven't been sighted so often but this seems to be a quiet time of year for them. However something has been digging up my grass!!! The snow in the early days of the month gave a lovely covering but as I write this the month is ending with some really wet and wild weather being a blessing that it is not snow!!

January: The New Year arrived with some relatively mild weather but as I write this snows have arrived much to the delight of Skiers and the resorts of Lecht, Cairngorm and Lochaber. Some of the early sprouting bulbs will have got a bit of a fright and the birds will need some assistance in feeding if you do indeed feed your birds. I reported last month that I hadn't sighted a woodpecker for some time but alas we spotted him around the 5th January and on subsequent days. The crisp weather makes for some lovely sunsets and colours around our area. I can particularly recommend the road between Tore Roundabout and Muir of Ord and the afternoon views over the Beauly Firth. Mind you one of my problems when lone driving is to keep my eyes on the road instead of scanning the skies for birds. I find it such a gift to turn a corner and find a bird of prey perch on a sole branch or post but of course my camera is never close enough by to snap the picture. Despite the cold I hope all of our members are managing to get the benefits of our countryside at this time of year and I would be delighted to print any of your nature stories in the forthcoming months.

December:

As our member's are well spread throughout the Highland area I thought it would be interesting to report some of the changes that take place throughout the year. Winter and December in particular with its short hours of daylight are not the most enjoyable time for Disabled Rambling and perhaps it is more comfortable to cosy up to a warm fire and read of the things to come in the spring. Over the past few years early December snow falls at low level has been rare although there is snow in the hills with Ben Wyviss, and the hills of Glen Affric having a good covering.

I will of course be calling on various members to help me as I am a novice of nature and therefore will require assistance to provide accurate detail. Martin with his years of experience in Forestry has agreed to provide some information about trees but I do require some experts in plants and birds. I do regularly feed birds in my garden and at times have quite an array of species. My first sight of a woodpecker was quite something for me although I haven't seen them about for some while. Another highlight was when we had five Robins feeding together.

I am fortunate to have badgers visiting my garden on a regular basis but the controversy regarding their carrying of disease still lingers on. They have given us hours of entertainment as they feed with sometimes as many as three visiting at the same time. Over the past 4 years we guess that different generations have now been coming around either that or some have been over eating whilst others have been on strict diets.

This year we have a few products in our cupboards as a result of harvesting the surrounding countryside. Damson Jam produces a crimson red colour during boiling and it is interesting that in our six years of residence we hadn't known that we had berries of any kind on our trees and perhaps it was the merciless pruning of spring time which encouraged the production of over 15 Kilos of berries. Apples and blackcurrant jam has all but gone but the Sloe Vodka is brewing well in it's bottles after a a good crop of Sloe berries were harvested. I am reliably informed that sloe berries freeze well and with that in mind I have a few stored away for future concoctions. Our green house did not produce the abundance of the previous year and the tomatoes were used for green tomato chutney. Again I am reliably informed that this produce gains quality the longer it is left.

Martin reports a high yield of his apples in Drumnadrochit.