Snowandrocks

Interesting idea about the droughts and tree roots - I was blaming the opposite issue as the land around us is soaking wet for much of the year. Also, it's probably not a very fashionable viewpoint but I've been very impressed by SSEN - the damage to the lines through the forest that only lead to our house was catastrophic, with further trees and lines down on Sunday night. A big team of guys turned up early this morning and sorted the lot. I was expecting to be off until Thursday or Friday at the earliest. I also don't like the idea of clear felling anything within striking of the lines either - it would mean the loss of endless beautiful trees around here to avoid what is really only an occasional risk. Much more sensible would be for those reliant on overhead lines for power to take some personal responsibility - everyone living rurally should have an alternative source of heat and a way of cooking simple meals. To be entirely reliant on electricity is borderline irresponsible.

Wind picking up quite a bit now, sounds wild but not nearly in the same league yet as Saturday morning. I borrowed a friend's drone today and got some footage - no power/WiFi means I can't upload the HD video but this still shows the size of the tree that came down.

Yeah, sad to lose it as well as the obvious damage to the house. I can rebuild the porch but you can't replace a lovely old tree. Not sure I could clear the sofa in one jump again but it's amazing what the sight of a 40m tree falling towards you does! The attention from the press was ridiculous - sky news, BBC, STV and various newspapers. I was half expecting a press helicopter to appear overhead. At one point the power came on briefly, I was amazed given the mess of the lines leading to the house. I went out for a look only to see crazy arcing and flames where all the trees were touching the lines - a minute or two later there was a bang and it all went dead again. Expect a good few days before all that gets sorted. Wind howling again outside now.

Haha, yeah, my girlfriend posted something online that was somehow picked up by the BBC! The tree is an absolute monster - I paced it out at 40m tall with the trunk well over 2m in diameter. The porch which I spent all of lockdown building is wrecked and the gable end of the house looks damaged. The power lines through the forest leading to the house are also flattened by endless trees so no power any time soon but we have plenty of food, wine, snacks and a woodburner so no complaints here!

Boring this definitely isn't. The huge 150+yo Douglas fir in our garden has just come down - completely wrecked the porch I spent last summer building. Already had too much firewood from Arwen!

Blocked in again - tree down along our track next to the ones that came down during Arwen. Spindly looking thing so probably not much strength without it's neighbours. One downside of living in a forest I guess haha.

As others have said another lovely and surprisingly warm day in Aberdeenshire. I had to nip over to Aviemore to collect something and managed to eat my lunch a short wander from the top of the Lecht pass in short sleeves. The pickup was showing 10 degrees - very pleasant tucked in out of the breeze.

Lovely day today, not sure of the temperature but I managed a post lunch snooze in the sun. Felt more like April or early May though so hopefully something more seasonal is on the way!

I think golf courses were closed during the first lockdown but open on subsequent ones - can't remember exactly but a golfing friend was definitely gloating about getting to play golf when I was complaining about Glenshee being forced to close. Anyway, the damage is done so hopefully a decent spell of weather arrives at some point to give them a boost.

If they do it's entirely down to the ridiculous decision to keep them closed even to locals during the prolonged period of great conditions last year. It was particularly frustrating when golf courses were open right through. I made the most of it on touring skis on local hills and forests but that doesn't keep anyone's business open. As I said above, hopefully we get a decent spell in Feb/March/April to keep them going.

It's worth remembering that the best Scottish ski conditions are typically in February and March so plenty of time yet hopefully. This spell of weather is getting a bit dull but it's great for getting outside work done - I'm way ahead of normal on my chore list. Even next winter's firewood is chopped and stacked although I've still got endless trees to sort from Arwen but getting short on space undercover to stack it.

Calm, low cloud and quite chilly but dry for now. Heading out for a few hours chopping sticks to help with some of the over consumption of the last few days!

Cleared up beautifully since late morning - now completely clear skies and not a breath of wind. Not sure on the temperature but the grass seems to be frosting up already. Could be a cold one tonight if it stays like this.

Came home from Aberdeen an hour ago, the main roads had obviously been well treated as they were fine but the side roads are pretty slippy. Minus 1.5 and drizzle with the pickup also completely covered in quite a thick coating of ice.

The sunshine stayed tantalisingly close all day over to the South West - took a quick photo from the pickup when I drove round the hill to collect my bike from Monymusk. Again the photo doesn't begin to do the view justice!

Equally beautiful day on the other side of the hill Quinach. I wish I was a better photographer with a better camera but this Scots Pine was almost glowing as the sun crept back below the horizon.

While I sympathise with those still without power, they really are pulling out all the stops to get things sorted. The damage was phenomenonal and untangling hundreds of miles of fallen power cables and reconnecting is a massive task that shouldn't be underestimated. Some of the guys I met locally had come over from Ireland to help out so I'm not really sure how much more they can do.

Large parts of Aberdeenshire still without power and by the looks of the damage near here no prospect of it coming back on anytime soon. Luckily our power was only off briefly but is does always surprise me how unprepared many people are. Power cuts in rural areas aren't exactly unprecedented yet some people don't even have some candles or an alternative way of heating hot food and drinks. Being entirely reliant on one source that's carried by overhead lines is just asking for trouble.

Just had to head out to pick up my gf from work. Journey home was quite hairy, trees down everywhere and had to come across the parks for the last section from the main road. Lovely old cedar down blocking our track sadly. Temperature seems to have risen a bit so the snow from earlier has been replaced by driving sleet.

Managed a walk up in the woods to give the dog a run before heading inside for the day. Deeply unpleasant on the open ground but snow piling up quickly in the more sheltered forest. Will get the XC skis out tomorrow hopefully.

Snow showers on and off all morning, light covering in the garden but Bennachie looks white when it clears enough to catch a glimpse. Pretty windy but nothing exceptional on that front yet. Heading out with the dog before the worst of it sets in.

MWIS in full ramp mode for the Cairngorms this weekend. Hoping to get out on the XC skis in Aberdeenshire on Sunday if it calms down in time.

Mwis forecast for the Cairngorms looks interesting - not often they use words like these.

IBCs are great for drying especially if you have a nice open windy spot to stack them. A neighbour has taken this a step further and uses his tractor to move one right to his back door to avoid any effort whatsoever!

5 or 6 rumbles of thunder this afternoon along with some absolutely torrential rain - completely overwhelmed the guttering and washed a lot of mud and silt down onto the road. Seemed very localised to the Bennachie range though, from deep water to bone dry with in a mile or two.