Boxing Day

The spell of cold weather continues. This photo shows Cruachan, one of the croft houses in Ormsaigbeg, with frost thick in the fields.

Night-time temperatures have been below zero for over a week, with an air temperature minimum of -3C. This may not sound much to people living in places like Canada, the USA and northern Europe, but such prolonged cold is very unusual here. Inland parts of Lochaber, the Highland District in which Kilchoan is situated, have been much colder, with Tulloch, on the Fort William - Glasgow railway line, registering -16C one night. The frosts here have formed centimetre-long crystals on long grass which is constantly in shadow, and sections of the road have remained white for days.

The cold has brought its problems. A number of pipes have burst, with the result that a man from the Water Board was in Kilchoan on Christmas Day turning water off to some of the unoccupied houses and caravans where there had been bursts. So much water had been lost that the reservoir up on the hill below Glashbheinn was nearly empty. It has been very treacherous underfoot: one casualty has been our much-respected and valued District Nurse, Jessie Colquhoun, who slipped over and broke her wrist.

But, as with everything in life, there are advantages amongst the disadvantages. We've had some lovely sunrises - not least the one on Christmas morning, pictured yesterday - and, when the low winter sun has shone across snow and ice, the landscape has been beautiful

This cold weather has brought eagles over us. We had a fine sighting on Christmas morning, but these photos were taken today of a bird wheeling over Ormsaigbeg, probably a golden eagle. The best sightings of eagles often seem to happen in January. Perhaps they are foraging further afield during the depths of winter.

JH