Exam Fever

Battening down the hatches here with exam time descending again. Rosie went off white faced and anxious to her first Standard Grade...English this morning...the things we have to go through. Does anyone realise just how tough this is for the parents? If I have to listen to Garret telling her just one more time to "read the question" I may explode...useful advice though it is. I have filled the anxious moments until I collect her with ironing,preparing tea, baking biscuits for guests arriving this afternoon and my favourite, pottering in the poly tunnel. The seeds are just starting to poke through, sadly showing my haphazard approach to sowing. We have plans, big plans to have a large vegetable plot in half the back field which unfortunately still has pigs running a round in it so well manured but not conducive to seedling and indeed plants of any kind. We could say that this is a very long term plan indeed especially as Mummy pig is looking rather portly, we are hoping that the boars did not leave us several presents before they "went away".

Glencoe but not as I know it.

Skiing in April but not for me. Delivered Freya, Toby and friend Angus to the chair lift and conditions described as for good intermediate and advanced skiers and took off on foot. Glencoe is about an hour from Claonairigh and very worth a visit if only to drive through the lowering mountains and brooding Rannoch Moor. The latter is about 50 square miles of peat moorland scooped and shaped by one of the last ice fields to retreat. You can almost hear the Claymores clashing and the clans howling. Plus there is a good coffee shop at the Mountain resort... Excellent soup.....

Mountain biking......ish

Find more Mtn Biking in Inveraray



As running is mainly denied me at the moment I hijacked Freya's bike (so much better than mine) and went off on a standard circuit from the house but.....got side tracked , probably the first time I have used the phrase completely correctly.... by interesting little tracks off the main one that I have not yet explored, a promising one proved to be unfit for bike access and so I pushed...well, it all counts as exercise although my average minutes per mile look as though I carried the bike all the way round. Traversing several icy streams seemed exciting at the time,the runners brain knows that feet pounding the tracks will soon warm up whatever they are dunked in but just rotating on the pedals does not do the same job so I bought the two blocks of ice home and dunked them in a warm bath. Other exciting things to happen today...coal delivery, we were down to four lumps so this was pretty eventful and...well I can't think of any but always live in hope,it is only 3.30pm.

Post Easter Bun Run

A lovely sunny but chilly Argyll day was perfect for our running group's annual Easter run. I planned three routes to suit all tastes, a fairly flat ( well, it is Argyll so nowhere is completely flat!) three miles or four along the Lochside or a more challenging ie officially hilly 5.5 through the woods with fantastic views to be appreciated through sweat fuzzed eyes. With twenty runners we had a great time and in contrast to the popular view that all youngsters are voluntarily shackled to a playstation from birth onwards we had a pleasing turnout from the younger generation. Soup and cake followed in time honoured fashion because calories consumed after exercise don't count... Just like those taken from someone else's plate. School was back today so home alone, apart from Garret, oh and Toby too as apparently sixth years have a more flexible attitude towards attendance, so in fact not home alone at all.

Family hug in the sun

The piggy family found a wee spot in the sun to catch those rays albeit briefly. A contented group indeed. The little piglets are on the top and so rotund as to resemble small hairy orange balloons on legs. The response on Facebook to this picture ranges from 'ahhhhh' to ' yummmmmmy'bb

Blue sky day

Another stunning walk today in nearby Furnace along the Leicann walk, half the Leicann to be precise as my taxi driving skills were needed post school and we were short on time. The day was glorious enhanced rather than marred by one short snow shower mid morning.
As Bob, the animal feed man remarked today "one nice day and the Argyll resident instantly forgets the preceding forty rainy ones"... And a very nice day it was too.

Spring cometh..

Or seems to be just around the corner anyway. Slower to approach Argyll than in England it is more precious when it does spread its fingers into the hills and glens. This week we said goodbye to the faithful but thirsty Peugeot and hello to the dinky, more economical Nissan Note. I am Easily pleased as displayed by my setting of the " limit" button to try to get even more mpg. So far I am up to 56 which after 39mpg is very gratifying. Holly walking is continuing space until she is literally up to spend and running. I am an off the track walker and like to make my own trails. This tree took my fancy just before I fell in a large hidden pool......