Northernlights

Reminiscing looking at some old photos this one of the Cairngorm ski road. Wonder if we will see this amount again.

Yes Shuggee a real traditional November day.Damp, dreich and dark.Got tree into house and put some lights up although not switched on.A few more photos of twins drinking off their mums.

After a more pleasant breezy drying day yesterday it was back to November gloom and drizzle today. Cat and dog models are predicting severe winter weather on the way as they compete to get closest to the rayburn. Coming to the end of calving with just a couple to go but the twins still keep on coming .Here are the latest two pairs with their mothers. The calf in the lower right of the first picture is the twin of the last picture

Update 200 tonnes of muck spread today as spreader has a weigh cell on it . Apprximately 40 tonnnes left to do . About a third less than usual as this heap is from 2018 when drought reduced straw yield and usage. A dry autumn that year allowing us to keep cattle out longer

Real midwinter day starting at -4 c,very low light through thin high cloud and calm. Contractor in muckspreading with an 18 tonne spreader,a job that used to take weeks now down to a few days. When frost lifts will get it ploughed down. Currently 0c so our first ice day of the winter.

AS above a fine sunny frosty day. Managed to start ploughing today and ground is surprisingly dry underneath. Its been a challenging old year weatherwise since mid May with nearly every farm operation having to be done in very short weather windows.Started off today at -1c and its now -2.5c

Dull dreich and drizzly .Currently 2.5c. Whole of farm steading is wet inside walls as well. .Its been the whole of November so far that has so been so humid. Really looking for some wind or hard frost now.

Second the comments above regarding leaves as they are all evenly spread across the garden with the lack of wind.Noticed too in the last few days one of the heavily laden holly trees has had all the berries stripped from it..Currently bright and 4.5c

Last nights snow has gone in the sun but is hanging on in the shade with the frost which we have had for the last two days. Still a few wintry showers across the Firth. Currently 3.5c

We are white for the first time this autumn .Looked out the window to see a moonlit garden where I have just finished digging today to see significant dusting sparkling in the light of the moon. Currently -1c with more wintry showers coming in in off the Firth to the north.Were some anvil shaped shower clouds to the NE all day but they seemed to be stationary all day only coming ashore this evening. The unusual autumn weather carries on.

-2c this morning bright sunshine and a bit easier to get about without the mud.Snow down to sea level near the cliffs at Dunbeath across the Firth.

In now until the end of April except for a couple of hours every day when cows go out for a drill of neeps behind an electric fence.Calves stay in to get creep feed and fold gets bedded as well although today it was bit of a struggle for them with all the mud in the field. Came back in very quickly as soon as they finished their neeps. We have a mixture of Aberdeen Angus Simmental and Limousin crosses normally in calf to a Simmental bull but this year after 40 years we have used a Hereford bull and have had a much less stressful calving with plenty of get up and go in the calves, to date no caesarians and cows that recover from calving very quickly .Usually we are one of the driest areas in Scotland but with all these NE winds in the last few weeks we are getting a lot of rain and hill snow next to the coast.

I think the last fortnight has been one of the wettest most disruptive spells of autumn weather on the farm.Last nights rain has put all the local rivers in full spate in less than 12 hours and all the fields have lochs in every hollow. We were very lucky to have Saturday and Sunday dry above to allow us to take in cows and calves sort them out and dose them. Seeing them all lying on fresh straw inside this morning was very gratifying after all the effort at the weekend. I wonder what else the weather will throw us this autumn and winter after a very unusual start. Temperature has been going down all day and now see sleet showers on the radar over the sea to the north of Scotland.Currently 4c

Dire morning here too strong north wind and a lot of rain earlier in the night enough it seems to have knocked out the electricity for most of the night.Back on about 5.00am this morning.A bit milder at 6.5c however. Farming timtable being pushed backwards all the time now.

2c and wet snow falling just now. So glad all cattle are housed,cold air will help stop them sweating too much and getting pneumonia in the sheds. Just wintering sheep outside now but they have wool coats and with all the extra grass we had this autumn they are pretty fat as well so can stand some hard weather.

Seems like winter has started early and is here to stay hailstones and a few flakes of snow overnight froze to all surfaces this morning. Frost still lying in the shade.Took all cows and calves in yesterday . Calves got a pneumonia vaccine but all were happy to be in on golden straw last night. Much easier to feed not having to negotiate deep mud to feed them. Must be one of the coldest starts to November up here for a few years and still no hope of getting onto the saturated fields. I believe only 25% of winter wheat has been sown in England because of the very wet autumn so many of these fields will be sown in spring crops such as barley which means the price for this will probably go down as it will be overproduced. Currently 4c

Down to -1.5c now and all surface water now icing up.The drying process begins.

A maximum of 4c today with sunny intervals and showers. Some beefy showers out to the NE. Even a spell when memories of December 2010 were brought back as black menacing cloud came in off the Firth from the NE this time with rain. A picture of the frozen snow from earlier this morning. .

First flakes of winter falling and we have a dusting of hail and snow at 1.5c. Looking at radar there may be a little more to come

On looking at the radar we have a classic North Sea streamer setting up over us . Radar also shows that .way out over the North Sea showers are still of sleet but when they hit land and a little elevation they are snow.

Just had a heavy hail shower so winter has arrived here too on a moderate NE wind an almost perfect direction to funnel snow showers to us off the Firth.Supposed to be a 50% chance early a.m. tomorrow of snow for us so we will see. Got another bit of the garden dug this afternoon but soil still very wet. Been a real challange the weather this year since the middle of May both in the garden and on the farm. Currently 3.5c

A very wintry look and feel to the weather today with sleety showers coming in off the Firth from the NE in the afternoon. Hills all round the Firth building up a cover of snow down to about 1000 to 1500 feet with the whole of Ben Wyvis visible from here white down to the lower slopes. Clearing now so looks like some frost will develop. Currently 3c.

Yes never seen the ground so wet for a long time no ploughing,dung spreading or any other field work. .Worst .thing that could happen now is that it freezes up and we have to try and do everything in the spring when the ground finally dries up again. Currently 4c, dank, misty, overcast and calm. Can"t even finish the digging in the garden.A real gloomy November afternoon after a brighter morning.

Well we have a patch of blue sky and a blink of sun after 3 days of relentless November gloom with rain and mist.Yesterday inparticular felt like one of those times in the past when the temperature would suddenly drop and the rain would turn to snow.However it is still 8c.

Soon be 72 hours of rain but its 9c with breeze from the ENE.