The Forest Log

After five years with Forest Holidays it was time to move on. It was very sad to leave behind a major step in our outdoor life journey, including of course the friends we had made there.  I will really miss our tiny friends at the bedroom window too (the fledglings, not Calum peeking in :-) Pecks and the three woodpecker fledglings, four blue tit fledglings that played on the see-saw witches broomstick and squirrely red too of course!  We hope to be back in the area soon after a break to see you all soon.

Thank you to everyone there for having faith in our enthusiasm and giving us a shot at being rangers in the first place - a hard two year learning curve what with combining the job as site assistants too, but worth it.  Thanks also for being open to ideas and giving us the opportunity to live in the forest with all that nature has to offer.

Here is a link to the Forest Holidays Ranger Activities at Strathyre.  You never know, we may be able to cover the odd ranger holiday there for old times sake.  There is a picture of me in the old rangers den and the walks seem to be similar still to the ones we set up and named :-) The Forest Holidays Rangers blog which I added a few posts to is still live, but not sure if they will continue to use it as things move on?

Look beyond the shite!

Hi friends! Yet again a massive gap in our blog, it's been a testing couple of years but I will be adding some more entries soon.  I am working on a new website so I will keep you posted about that but will keep this as a 'friends and family' blog :-)
I thought this lump in the Lakes recently represented how life can be in that a high always follow a low point and the horizon is always bright.  It can actually be beautiful in its own right if you look at it from certain angles and because of what you can learn from it.

We're Back!

Hi, we finally have an OK-ish Internet connection yehaa! What a year it has been at the cabin site -just catching a few days off before the Christmas rush so will catch up with the blog eventually! The newly refurbished cabins are great and the reception even better now that we have a shop, coffee, pizza and booze! Somehow we managed to win an award from Hoseasons for best cabin site in the UK for customer service, despite the building works, awful pot holes in the road and team numbers down - worth all the extra hours then.

I'm off to catch up on some sleep then, but here's a little pic' of a recent get together with our friends from Cobleland campsite at their end of season do....

Busy Bee's

Hi there, sorry for no recent posts lately. We have been really busy at the cabin site working on refurbishments and getting through the 'silly season'. I will post more after the summer season soon! Best wishes*

Imbolc or Groundhog Day

It's Groundhog day.... again! Well, we are supposed to be getting an earlier Spring this year up in the Trossachs as the sun was not shining, so neither a groundhog, badger, hedgehog, snake or a hag could have seen their shadow. Punxsatawney Phil, didn't see one either apparently!

These poems worked out right for Scotland last year;

"If February give much snow

A fine summer it doth foreshow"

"If Ash (leaves) comes before Oak, we're in for a soak

If Oak comes before Ash, we're in for a splash!"

Here the loch is finally thawing, but could we get more snow yet? Otherwise if its a mild February stormy weather is to be expected!

The Forestry Commission picnic table at Lemahamish obviously decided to go for a swim during the floods after the great thaw!

Full Moon

How amazing was the full moon this month! January's full moon is the Wolf, Cold or Winter Moon and apparantly, if you want to know how long it will be before you get married, then look at the first full moon of the New Year through a hankerchief. The number of moons showing through it it represents the number of months of single life! Darn it, I read this too late, I'll have to wait until next year now!

Yew are Lovely

Yes yew, look at how gorgeous you are dripping with all those poisonous needles and flaky bark at Porchester Castle... and you seem to live forever. The locals love you, the pagans loved you, the insects and birds love you and so do I!