Northernlights

Yes as HC says its now mini lochs everywhere really making fields impassable. Even putting cows out to neeps in one of our driest fields was a challange. Dull dreich and damp all day with a maximum temperature of 6c. Roll on a frosty spell!!!

Never seen such changeable forecasts every six hours next week looked wet for three days then dry to up for the last few days and now it seems we may get heavy wet snow nearly every day. Good job we manage to get a few loads of turnips up for the inside cattle last Friday afternoon. Currently dull and 5c

Just dom"t need any more rain as ground is saturated Finally got pneumonia vaccine for calves late yesterday so took cows and calves in today through fields that are just bogs. Hope it now now stays at a steady cool temperature as big fluctuations in temperature are what leads to pneumonia outbreaks. A photo of them in the fold tonight sorry its a bit grainy but they are very comfortable looking!. I think the weather from mid summer till now has been the most challanging I have seen and most farmers will want to forget this year.

Second day this week when the wind and rain has sliced right through you turning me into a real grumpy old farmer.Dry frosty weather would be much more appreciated as all this mud is not pleasant to work in. Even the cabinet secretary for agriculture in Scotland Mr Ewing is setting up a farming expert weather group after all this years wet weather has lead to animals housed in late summer, straw tripling in price, and grass not conserved because fields too wet to travel. All this has happened mostly in more western and northern areas in the summer but autumn weather has been more difficult further east and south as well. Currently 3c with no sign of a frost because of the breeze.

Bit better than that here with occasional glimpses of sun but after yesterdays snow/rain the fields are just bogs. Still got cows and older calves out as sudden temperature changes like yesterday inside can lead to pneumonia in the calves. Will probably take them in soon after the pneumonia vaccine for the calves arrives which should be Friday. Currently 6c

Should have said it was 1c at 6.00am but a cow that needed a ceasarian with the vet between midnight and 2.00am used up a bit of the night. Milked cow at 7.00am and fed calf and am about to go and feed it again. Just two left to calve so will get a bit more sleep when they finally do.

Out at 6.00am cloudy By 8.30am it was 0c and snow falling to give us our first light covering of the autumn. All melted now and dry but cloudy currently 2c.

A couple of seasonal photos.Several holly trees are absolutely loaded with berries. A couple of wintry showers to the east. And lastly a couple of photos of a hazy Ben Wyvis in late afternoon light with snow right to the lower slopes and another snow shower coming into the mountain. Down to 3c currently

Noticeable windchill this afternoon with fresh wind off the Firth at 4c.

Better start to the day with less wind and showers although cold at 2c with a ground frost coming in with sunrise. Hills round the Firth are now white down to a 1000feet making it look very wintry.Scattered snow showers to the north are bathed in pink light from the sunrise.

Yes very cold and windy this morning at 6.00am checking last of cows to calve at 2c with wintry showers all round the Firth

10.30pm coming out of Inverness heading east and in spite of a strong moon there was an auroral display of curtains but 15 minutes later it was gone.At home now its currently 1c with a ground frost and the grass sparkling in the headlights

Ben Wyvis has fresh snow cap again this morning after overnight rain here. Currently 5c and sunny.

Down a field tonight in the fading light and out of the gloom comes this evocative whoop whoop sound and the outline of a V formation of 16 whooper swans. (HC can confirm that I have got the correct type of swan). They came from an ENE direction. They usually take up residence in field about 2 miles away for the winter. Are they to be followed by winter? Milder at 11c and very windy

Turning off water troughs this afternoon and saw the snow has stayed on the hills all day above 2000 feet. Currently clear and 3c

Winter has returned to the mountains with white tops round the Firth. Currently sunny and 5c, Busy start to the day with one of the last cows to calve, a fine bull calf after assisted delivery.

3c already so looking at getting frost protection issues checked in the next hour. Tractors already done and well heater checked last week so just cold water to check in attic.. Wintry showers tomorrow?

5c here this morning with ground frost in sheltered areas and Ben Wyvis has a dusting with wintry looking showers across the Firth..

Another fine breezy drying day, got some muck spread on a field which is liable to be wet so happy and a neighbour with straw to bale in a fied surounded by woods managed to get it baled too.A real pleasure to be outside today.

Very frosty sunset after a fine sunny afternoon and sure enough the temperature has fallen to 4c currently so a frosty night seems to be coming.

Another fine day ,like yesterday a bit on the mild side when rolling out straw for inside cattle.Much cooler tonight at 7c and it seems its going to stay a bit cooler from now on much better for working in. A bit dryer too now after all the harvest rain so hope it continues. Cattle and wintering sheep have done very well on lots of autumn grass growth so much so that as we bring the cows into calve they are put on a slimming diet to aid calving

First wintry looking showers of the autumn coming from the north over the Firth this afternoon. and a shower probably snow to the south over the Cairngorm summit. Currently 5c

A fine cool start to the day at 5c. Noticed on the radar that there were a few light snow showers over the Cairngorms at that time. Now very sunny with a moderate NW wind and 7c so feeling very seasonal

Fabulous autumn day breezy sunny and 12c maximum followed by a fantastic sunset . A nearby field of straw thats been lying for a month after being combined was baled up today so a lot of other straw in the north must have been rescued too.A long drawn out harvest!! Currently breezy and 8c

Had a fine rainbow MVI_0091.MP4 yesterday morning which seemed to foretell the fantastic sunny breezy day we had today which dried up the domestic grasses enough this afternoon to give them their final cut of the season. Made it up to 12c this afternoon, currently 10c.