Our patch!

Well I had thought I would be blipping some of the wonderful flowers sent to me by my two children and their spouses but the flowers will be there tomorrow. I hope all mothers were on the receiving end of thoughtful gifts or deeds today and i wish everyone a very Happy Mother's Day - particularly a very special mum in waiting!

Thinking that I was going to blip the flowers I very nearly left my camera at home when I went for my walk and then thought No, a true blipper always carries their camera - so I luckily took it with me! It was freezing when i arrived and the icy wind quickly cut right through my storm jacket and double lined gloves as if they weren't there! I braved the elements and took a couple of snowstorm shots when the blizzard hit me but chose this one instead after it had passed as the light covering of snow has given me the opportunity to show you the geography of where i walk when I speak of being "on the moor".

You can see the effect of the wind on both Cara and Bruce who were being bribed to sit still by the promise of a biscuit, but I wanted them in the shot to give a sense of perspective. The dogs and i are standing at the top of the hill where the grabber machine was working the other day in clearing the hill of felled debris and you can see on the right side of the immediate foreground two tracks where it had been working. Slightly to the left you can see a white path stretching northwards from a small gate (you could only see the gate in large) which is very strongly sprung to maintain the security of the high deer fence which surrounds the moorland. Where the white path bends left stands my dancing tree and you can also see quite clearly the areas where young Scots pine have been planted and are beginning to form copses in the distance. What you can't see today due to disappearing snow storm are the magnificent hills, including Ben Vorlich and Glen Turret, which often feature in my blips. Perhaps you can now see why I love it here so much - completely wide open spaces for me to roam freely with my chums whilst savouring the magnificent scenery. You can also see why it is baltic when the icy wind blows from the Arctic!

A little further on I came across the machine which I had blipped on Thursday as, being a Sunday, it was sitting idle at the top of the hill. I was amused to see the words "No guts - no glory" emblazoned on its yellow cab but what struck me most were the enormous chained wheels which had obviously been critical in keeping it secure whilst working on the hill. As I walked further, the light became magical as the sun moved in behind the snowstorm and warmed the air. I approached the moor through a gate higher up the hill and took this and this one with the blue sky pushing back the snowcloud to try and capture the atmosphere. On the second photo you can just see Bruce as he investigates the base of a tree for interesting smells.

I was warm as toast when I arrived home with two very happy and tired dogs.