Spring - and nature knows best

Sketch  of Loch Linnhe  on Tuesday

 Recently we have had some cold weather with lots of snow on the hills This was interspersed with the normal dreary days of  cold rain that this part of the world is famous for .However last Friday although wet it seemmed warmer . Running home from work in the dark I almost stepped on a frog on two occasions. The frogs were motionless on the path as if unsure whether to go back into hibernation or head for a pool and start mating.  It got me thinking as to what triggers the frogs and  toads to emerge - is it just air temperature, or day length  or some collective decision mysteriously communicated throughout the frog world!To me after all the wintry weather it was recklessly premature , but sure enough at the weekend I noticed large clumps of frog spawn in pools in the forest.
 In this area  there is plenty of fast flowing streams , but few ponds for frogs to spawn into . Instead the eggs are often deposited in small pools and even deep puddles.This makes the spawn more vulnerable to frost , predation or drying out later on. Clearly producing early tadpoles is an advantage in terms of maximizing growth in the first year, but hazardous given the vagaries of scottish weather.

From the road to Kilchoan on a sunny March day

However maybe the frogs and toads knew something I didn't, because this week an area of high pressure has settled over the U.K. pushing the jet stream north . It has been unbelievably sunny and  warm (albeit with some overnight frost ).
On Monday I had a busy day travelling  to Strontian and then Kilchoan - the most western point of mainland Britain. It was just gorgeous  in the warm balmy weather!  Yesterday I sketched outside for I think the first time this year without getting cold fingers.

Loch Eil from  Blaich

The other two are small paintings I completed today, both are from recent photographs.

Painting Day

Today I spent some time at home painting and have been quite pleased with the two pictures I have completed so far. Firstly a small picture of Aonach Mor with mist in the valley below. Then a painting of Loch Linnhe from Ardgour. I have also worked on some drawings.

Snow this morning has given way to rain but it looks like it's stopping so I should get a dry run later on.

Aonach Mor

Loch Linnhe

Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis from The Mooring's Hotel

This weekend has been glorious weather. Yesterday I went for a run from the Ben Nevis Centre intending to go up to the Half Way Lochan then across to the Allt a Mhuilinn and up to the C.I.C hut .In the event  it was so nice that I continued up Ben Nevis . There was thick snow underfoot but it was  very warm in the sun . Three quarters of the way up the zig zags Helen phoned saying that she was heading up to the C.I.C. hut to meet me, so I went back.down. It was fun descending through the snow ; so much nicer than the bone jarring rocky path in the summer.
 As soon as I turned the corner beyond the lochan into the deep shadow cast by the North Face the temperature plummeted. At this time of year there is often a steep snow bank covering the path. Not having  brought  my ice axe I bypassed this by descending  and crossing the stream  to the east side of the glen.The stream was very cold! I met Helen and we ran back to the ski centre together.

Today I went for a low level run to Gairlochy , along the Caledonian Canal to  Banavie along the road to Torlundy then back home through the forest. We stopped at the Mooring's Hotel which is one of my favourite sketching haunts. I never tire of painting Ben Nevis from there.

Snow and Sunshine

 Here's a recent painting of the north face of  Ben Nevis and the Allt  a Mhuilinn  with Carn Mor Dearg on the left. The path leads up to the the CIC hut which is at the foot of the north face. It is easy to see the attraction to ice climbers, but sadly it is a dangerous place.
There is still no news of the two climbers who have been missing up there for ten days.

 Yesterday I drove up to Fort Augustus. It was a beautiful sunny day and the hills looked stunning with their caps of pristine snow.It was a welcome change from the weather at the weekend - dreary rain and sleet with a cold wind.
I did a quick sketch  of the mountains on the other side of Loch Lochy and then a closer view of the same hill; a Munro called Meall na Teanga. Helen and I had a great day out on these hills in the Autumn. .

 Below is a painting of some daffodils. Sadly from the supermarket not our garden- it will be some time before we get any home grown flowers.

Glen Nevis In The Rain

After my last post expressing my excitement about the lengthening days and the  prospect of the onset of Spring, today the weather reverted to type - wind and cold torrential rain.
 I drove down Glen Nevis and painted the sketch below, glad to have the shelter of a vehicle. I like the composition of the majestic Scot's Pine in the foreground and the snow covered mountains beyond.

I was really distressed to hear that two  experienced climbers have been missing on Ben Nevis since the weekeend. A thirty strong mountain rescue team was beaten back today by 90 mile an hour winds and an avalanche. The recent cold but clear weather has drawn many ice climbers to the mountain's north face but it is a dangerous sport. Sitting here in my warm living room I cannot imagine what it must be like high up on the mountain in the dark,sub zero  temperatures and blizzard conditions.I sincerely hope that the missing pair are safe and have found some shelter.

Return Of Daylight

After months of running to and from work in the dark I was thrilled to see the first glimmers of sunrise as I reached Fort William one morning last week.
 I don't mind runnng in the dark as such - Running along in the pitch black (and often lashing rain and wind), hood up, music or radio on, head torch illuminating a small patch  of ground in front of you ( hopefully  enough to allow one to dodge deep puddles, slippy cow dung or cows themselves lying  on the track) is strangely comforting. One feels cocooned by the darkness.If there is a good programme on radio 4 I can be transpoted to another world, leaving my legs to dutifully trudge through the miles. Whereas one might think that running 10 miles in the dark and cold would be physically hard there can be a sense of sensory deprivation; the rain and the wind (muffled by ear phones, hat and hood) presenting little in the way of auditory stimulation, and the intense blackness of the night rendering anything but the patch of rain studded light from the head torch invisible. Sometimes,but rarely in cloudy wet Lochaber the sky is clear - then one is dazzled by the moon and the stars, a beautiful aerial display marred only by the light pollution from Fort William. More often ones surroundings are a uniform black.
But now all that is about to change ! The days are rapidly getting longer. Yesterday on the run to work I coud clearly see the Ben Nevis through the gloom . Soon there will be proper daylight and birdsong - time to ditch the head phones and enjoy the dawn chorus!
In addition to this we have been having some lovely crisp cold weather  recently .The top picture is from a photo I took on the road to Arisaig last week . Below that is another sketch of Ben Nevis fom Banavie

Plein Air Painting

 I had a day off today so I began painting this view of Loch Linnhe from a photo. However for once it was nice outside - it wasn't raining and there was a glimpse of blue skies and warm sunshine.  I went up to the Commando Memorial and painted the stunning view across to the Grey Corries.As always it was a challenge painting the light effects because they were constantly changing.The weak sun glinting on the snow was exquisite.

 After completing that I went a little way down the Gairlochy road and painted the view to the west showing Stob a Ghrianain the far end of Druim Fada . It looked gorgeous with its fine cap of snow. It is a hill I have never climbed -another one for the to do list.

Then I had time for a run in the forest before dark (and the almost inevitable onset of rain).

Back to work tomorrow.