Swollen

The wind was coming from the north this morning and therefore rather chilly but, importantly, the sun was shining again. So I decided to take a walk down by the more sheltered river to see how it was looking because its level is very much influenced in the winter months by the overflow from the Loch turret reservoir. Having seen the overflow a couple of days ago I knew the water level would be high.

Both dogs love this walk and get very excited when they realise I am on the approach to it. It was seasonally chilly but the sun cast excellent shadows along the path and I was overwhelmed by blip opportunities. The river was, as expected, tumbling along at a pace and very swollen. In many places the water had encroached on the path so that I had to scramble up into the undergrowth which, to be honest, just added to the fun of the walk especially as the dogs thought it very amusing and were nosing around me as I held on to bits of bushes to keep my balance! I eventually decided on this blip as it gives a good view of the first big sweep of the river after you start the walk and when the trees are in full leaf this view is very restricted.

Following the high winds of the previous few days there were plenty of sticks to be found and so both Cara and Bruce enjoyed splashing into the river in retrieval mode. They didn't seem to mind that it was freezing and I was pleased that their coats were getting a good wash as the river water leaves them feeling very soft. The water here is not just good for whisky!

The dogs are both looking fluffy and sleepy and I am off to wish Happy New Year to my chums who looked after Cara for me while I was in Vegas.