Mossy jewels

A very grey and very damp day - what is known as dreich up here.

I had a couple of messages to do in town and then decided to go up to Loch Turret in the hope that I might be able to rise above the mist. No chance! In fact it seemed to become denser as I drove higher to reach the car park. The dogs were ready for their exercise and bounded away, coming to a very sharp halt when greeted by the headless remains of a rather stout snowman. Reassured, they continued their romp.

Some icy snow still clung to the path and when I reached the dam wall and looked over I noticed that the loch was still frozen in parts but nowhere near as much as I had seen earlier in the month. In fact the ice near the wall had broken up into large slabs probably because the water level underneath has dropped a little, leaving the ice sheet unsupported. The low lying mist looked very eerie as it hung down over the surrounding hills but my eye was drawn to the soft, thick moss on the top of the dam wall. As you can see from the blip it was covered by little stems which each supported raindrops, suspended like jewels. Simply beautiful.

To get a much better view of the raindrops and their luminosity please view large.

My hands were frozen by the time I returned to the car but at least the dogs were walked and I can concentrate on preparing the house for my daughter and family arriving on Sunday for their mid-term holiday.