Happily Ever After

Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running

Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.

Battered By The Elements

by admin - 15:00 on 15 January 2015

Weather continues to play havoc with The Rural Retreat, much to the consternation of three bored cats.

The Mighty Wind was followed by rain, then snow. We'd respite yesterday (although the roads were no fun) but overnight there was more rain, wind and snow, then melting snow. Unsurprisingly, the garden is flooded and sandbags protect the front door from the river that swirls past it. Bad drainage and run-off from the neighbouring field are to blame.

Matchgirl and I did what we could to alleviate the situation, but as neither of us had a JCB handy that wasn't much.

More bad weather is forecast, including snow, so getting to Foxes where City Limits play on Friday and Saturday might be interesting. Getting home again could be even more so, but we're determined – last Sunday featured a rehearsal; some new songs will be introduced.

Movement around the Black Isle is currently tricky. Newhall Bridge was damaged by falling trees and is closed, which means a ten-minute drive to Cromarty and Rosemarkie now involves a trip of three or four times the length. So Matchgirl was not best pleased to find the road outside Culbokie was also closed when she returned from the office last night, leaving her with no choice but to negotiate several slippery back roads, in the dark, to reach the Retreat. She did so without damage, being an ace motorist.

As for cats, The Pride spends even more time sleeping, the view through the cat-flap being of little interest to moggies who prefer dry paws. Pandora and Willow make an occasional excursion but Maia refuses to go out (although she deigned to be carried to the bottom of the garden so she could take care of business, after which she was happy to explore for a short while).

I could have been out with the Pentax, taking dramatic snaps, but I've a lot in common with The Pride (although Matchgirl's not yet had to carry me outside).

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