Lovin' it.

The first full working week is over, thank goodness. It's always a thought knuckling back down to the dull repetition of work but in order to enjoy your free time, you got to make some bucks somehow!

The great thing about the end of the week is of course the weekend and this weekend was made all the better as the weather was fabulous. Cold, but fabulous.

Of course when the weather is good it makes the thought of going out and exercising so much easier and enjoyable. When the winter mornings are still dark and the urge to hibernate under the duvet is strong,  it is amazing to see a beautiful  blue sky take hold of the day. Even if there is no blue sky if it's dry and not blowing a gale, you've got to jump at the chance to get out and enjoy the few hours before darkness comes in again.

Saturday morning was one of those cold and very crisp mornings and having not run since the beginning of the week it was a great opportunity to head off the pavements and into the hills, or at least closer to them. The small amount of pavement and roads that i did go on were incredibly slippy with black ice, but thankfully I did not become a cropper. No speed records were made, but a successful 8ish miles were completed.

Sunday was mountain biking day. Yippee! Although the blue skies had been swapped for clouds it was dry, but still very cold and frosty.

The decision to head to Glentress and tackle the black route was made. I was especially looking forward to this trip as I recently treated myself to a drop seat (Rock Shock Reverb). This is a fancy seat post that you can lower and raise with the push of a button. This may seem a slightly pointless gadget to some people, but to me it is absolutely amazing. I like a high seat for climbing the hills but like it quite low for the downhills and on a varied trail this can be quite tedious and time consuming to do manually, but with this gadget you can do it on the move. It made me so happy it was beyond ridiculous.

Getting to the top of the black route is quite a leg and lung buster and is broken up with some technical downhills, but all the puffing and panting is worth it, not only for the views but for the great downhill at the end. To come down, we took the direct route that followed mostly red and then blue trail markers, and apart from having a few frozen gear problems it was a great run.

To top off a rather splendid January weekend, we stopped in at the Whistle Stop Cafe in Innerleithen. They have a gluten free menu that delights an especially hungry and slightly chilly me. A bowl of chips, a piece of carrot cake and a latte, blissful.

Now that, in my book, is a great weekend.

Morning run.

Morning bike ride.

Peace x

All photos by Caroline Harvey.

Wonder Winterland.

Not much to say about last week other than it was a bit snowy and wintery.

Wet and windy Tay Bridge.

Road to Crieff.

Road to Inverness.

A9 again.

Peace x

All photographs by Caroline Harvey.

Dollywood hills

Although I am no longer taking a photo a day, I am still trying to keep the camera clicking. Last week I had a couple of good days out and about.

On Sunday I had a fantastic day walking Mayar and Driesh in Glen Doll. The weather was fantastic, cold but not a breath of wind and only one low cloud moment at the top of Mayar. A truly wonderful day out.

Dolly comes to town.

Corrie Fee

Oh the views.

On top of the world.

Peace x

All photographs by Caroline Harvey

Scottish Summertime

There are 2 types of Summer in Scotland.

 Type A, often referred to as a "Good Summer" is where the sun breaks through the clouds and is sometimes accompanied by a blue sky. We experienced this for a few days back in March if I remember correctly. Type A can also happen for one day possibly mid July where temperatures sore and break records, but usually not for more than 24 hours and definitely not on a weekend.

The tanning procedure of a Scottish person in a Type A Summer is as below. Although in real life the tan/burn generally is not full body (thankfully) and is generally only seen on the coupons, baldy heids and shoulders of men. On women, it is the chest area, shoulders and the front of legs.

Scottish Type A Summer.

Type B, often referred to as "Where is the f***ing Summer?" or "Winter" is when the sun never appears due to the thick gray mass of rain clouds that obscure it. On the odd occasion that it does break the chains that hold it firmly in place behind the clouds, it is clearly too tired to try and produce any heat.

The tanning procedure of a Scottish person in a Type B Summer is as below. Although there is usually more of a blue hue to the skin in this type of Summer as it has been preceded by at least 6 months of Winter (very similar to a Type B Summer, just darker).

Scottish Type B Summer.

Peace x

All photographs by Caroline Harvey.

Logs and wood chip.

The Botanic gardens can often look a little drab during the winter months as there is nothing much in bloom, but after the storms on Tuesday it looks decidedly war torn. So many trees have been toppled in the high winds that much of garden has been roped off to restrict access. Hopefully they can use all the logs and wood chip for something useful. Mulch maybe?

The glass house thankfully still intact.

The same can not be said for many of the trees.

Peace x

All photographs by Caroline Harvey.