Wet and Frozen Ice

Yesterday the snow was beautiful, a pleasure to walk through and the agent of an almost magical transformation of the landscape. However, during the night the temperature rose above zero, the flurried snowshowers turned to rain....

....and the snow, compacted under tyres and boots, turned into a slippery hell, with a layer of water on top and a slick, frozen surface beneath.

I met not a single pedestrian along Golspie's 'promenade' - which is shared with cars - and the few I did meet along the lethal path at the burn end of the village all stopped to warn me of the danger and to share notes on appropriate footwear.

The only wildlife interest was this male stonechat. Usually these birds are perched on tall grass stalks along the back of the beach but this one was hopping around on much less promising concrete below the sea wall. He looked fed up: but then, had he been asked, he might have said the same of me.