Last weekend we drove up to Aberdeen to see Kate, who used to work for us in the 1970s. Kate was one of the most talented fashion designers we ever had, as well as being an very nice person. Although she comes from London, she now lives in Aberdeen where she runs an important architecture & design company. We arrived late on Friday and stayed in the Malmaison Hotel. We had intended travelling on up North to the fishing villages on the Moray Firth but we spent so long talking to Kate on Saturday that we just stayed another night in Aberdeen. On the Sunday, we drove home past the Queen's Highland castle at Balmoral and then on down through Glenshee where there was still a little snow. Not enough to ski on though: the ski station was closed.
The skies were very clear at night. Look closely and you can see the whole circle of the moon. During the day it was a bit wet and cloudy in town.
On the way to Braemar, we took a break at the Burn O'Vat nature reserve near Aboyne.
There is a famous geological feature carved during the ice age in a giant split in the granite, forming a huge 'vat'. The only way in is by stepping stones in the river through a narrow gap in the rock fall that hides it. The whole place was ringing with birdsong and the birds were very hungry and were pushing and fighting to get at the peanuts in the feeder.
When we got back home, I put out our bird feeder in the back garden and filled it with mixed birdseed. Town birds are fussy and spoiled - they take their time and throw out all the stuff they don't like to get at their favourite sunflower seeds.
