Category: Journal
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D&D, cargo bike, summer, and gardens
The kids played Dungeons & Dragons at Geek Retreat in Aberdeen yesterday. This was their second time playing and they love it. They went with friends this time which would have made it even better. On Saturday afternoons you can book in for a beginner’s session and learn how to play. Their first game was […]
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A computer game and a highland dance update
Daniel wrote a game in Javascript. It’s a re-creation of the snake game. You’re the snake and you move around the screen consuming fruit. Each time you eat a piece of fruit you get longer. If you touch the edge or yourself you die. Movement is via the keys W, A, S, D on your […]
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The Aboyne Games and foraging for dinner
Yesterday we went to the Aboyne Highland Games and Elizabeth competed in the highland dance. It’s the first time we’ve been to the Aboyne games and the first time it has run since before the pandemic. Elizabeth came last or second last in her dances. The other girls were quite a lot better and I’m […]
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Happiness is …
… seeing our first guest in the pond hotel. Can you spot him? We hope you liked it, Mr Toad!
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Celebration at the Flying Stag and more swimming
We went out for a celebratory dinner at The Flying Stag in Braemar last night because this week my application for British citizenship was approved! I just have to go to the ceremony, give my oath of allegiance to the Queen and then I get a certificate of citizenship. I feel honoured and overjoyed to […]
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Linn of Quoich
We had a delightful walk at the Linn of Quoich today. We walked upstream along the Quoich River further than we’ve gone before and I found myself having to stop over and over again for photos because it was just so pretty. It was very quiet too. Practically no-one else there. Daniel pooed on the […]
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Swimming in the Clunie
We swam in Clunie Water in Braemar yesterday in the same spot we swam over the summer last year. It was a lot colder this year. Absolutely freezing in fact so we used our wetsuits. It was still lovely and clear and we could see fish in it which is always reassuring. The colder temperatures […]
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Hedgehogs eating the snails and berries from my allotment
Are you sick of hedgehog updates yet? We’ve been seeing the hedgehogs a lot. Last night we saw one of them clambering up the compost heap. Then this morning I saw one eating and drinking from the food bowl I put out. That green house is the Hogilo which you can buy from the British […]
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Hedgehog cam
Every morning now I wake up, check the wildlife camera with great excitement and see hedgehogs. The first one is usually seen around 10pm. Then there’s often activity around midnight, 3am, and the last at around 6am. I have no idea how many there are as I only ever see one at a time so […]
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Henry, Humphrey and Hubert
We released three more hedgehogs into our backyard yesterday. We had four homes, all vacant, and Horace and Hortensia have integrated into the wider neighbourhood so we adopted Henry, Humphrey, and Hubert. These boys are a bit smaller and younger so they didn’t roam as much and hung round our backyard more than the original […]
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Cool in Aberdeen
The UK is expecting a scorcher today with a possible high of 42C. This will be unprecedented if it gets this hot. Many people have asked how we’re coping in Aberdeen but Aberdeen rarely gets hot and we’ve been hovering around 20C or just below the past few days. Today the forecast is for 25C […]
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A garden pond
After spotting a toad swimming in the tiny water bowl I’d put in the backyard for wildlife I decided to give him something bigger and better to swim in: a pond. On Saturday Ben and I spent the afternoon pulling up grass and digging a hole. It was hard work. Victoria gave us a hand. […]
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Castle Fraser
We had a lovely picnic at Castle Fraser today for a friend’s birthday. The walled garden at the castle is one of the best I’ve seen so we had a lovely wander around the estate and gardens before eating lunch then playing badminton under towering shady trees.
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Gardens as habitat for wildlife
There’s still no sign of the elusive hedgehogs. I have no idea whether they’re still in our garden or not. Hedgehogs can travel up to 2 miles in one night so probably they’re not but I hope they visit us from time-to-time. I continue to put food out for them along with the wildlife camera […]
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Glen Tanar and swimming at Cambus o’May
Last night before I had a chance to put the wildlife camera out the hedgehogs had already left their houses to forage for food. We saw Horace in the undergrowth hopefully consuming some of the many slugs and snails that live in our garden. It really is a paradise for hedgehogs as we have very […]
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Meet Horace and Hortensia
We adopted two hedgehogs today from The North East Wildlife & Animal Rescue Centre. They put out a call recently on social media looking for homes for hedgehogs. They had 140 of them. To qualify for a hedgehog you have to provide them with a house in the backyard, food and water, live away from […]
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Recognising patterns
The company I work for makes software that is used by people all over the world and has been translated into 30 different languages. Sometimes our users request translation changes because although we use native speakers to create them they may not have the full context as the translators are not users of our product. […]
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White pigeon
A white pigeon has started visiting the bird feeders in our backyard. I’ve never seen one before. I wonder if it’s an escaped pet? Or maybe one of many released white pigeons at someone’s wedding? These are not the best photos because I took them through glass and it seems I need to clean the […]
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Herring gull chick
The herring gull nesting in the chimney pots on our roof is now a parent as yesterday I spotted a chick. It’s hard to see in this photo so I’ve annotated around it with a red box. I don’t always see it as it’s behind the metal chimney but sometimes it peers out the side […]
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The Umbrella Project
Elizabeth got to dance in town today and yesterday for the launch of the Umbrella Project in Aberdeen which is a nationwide campaign to celebrate neurodiversity or different ways of thinking. One in five of us have a condition like ADHD, Autism, Tourette’s Syndrome, Dyspraxia, and Dyscalculia and the umbrella project seeks to raise awareness […]
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