Rachel and Carlton

A big black Labrador puppy sits under a chair with a blue rope toy on the floor.

Bobbie the black and white labradoodle jumps in front of the lens.

Trying to take a photo of Bear with his blue rope toy to send to his aunty. Bobbie thought otherwise…

A black and white photo of two dogs, their heads close together in sleep. One black, on black and white.

Bobbie and Bear have had a very busy day. Quickly becoming the very best of friends.

Bobbie and The Bear. It’s gonna be fun! 😍

"Fodderletter Lum This free-standing stone chimney is one of two solitary 'lums' which can be found on the roadside between Tomintoul and Grantown-on-Spey. They were originally used by the roadmen who were formally responsible for the upkeep of this stretch of road in the 1920's and 30's. For shelter, the men used a portable wooden hut which was set up against the chimneys allowing them to have a fire no doubt a welcome retreat during the inclement weather! The lum was restored in 1996 as part of a conservation project run by The Crown Estate and the Scottish Conservation Projects Trust. It continues to be looked after and maintained by Crown Estate Scotland."

Fodderletter Lum near Tomintoul in the Cairngorms National Park.

Not the remnants of a croft as I first thought, but a freestanding chimney that roadmen would have pulled their mobile wooden hut against before lighting a fire to keep warm.

#motosky #BMWR100GS

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Breakfast mise.

#RIPBourdain

A snapshot of this morning's birds via Merlin Birds.

A jar of pickled spruce tips.

Pickled spruce tips.

I suspect this might be the sort of recipe middle-class halfwits like me do for the 'gram rather than to actually eat.

The easy part was opening the gate so the hens could roam free. We suspect training Bobbie not to play with them might be more challenging!

Possibly the most charming and funny seven minutes of your week. #cycling

Apparently he'd scour the surrounding hills for suitable stones and ferry them back on a wheelbarrow.

Some were so big he could only move them a hundred yards or so, returning the next day to bring them a little bit closer.

A genuine labour of love.

Spent a very satisfying couple of hours uncovering the steps the professor laid.

Great slabs of stone, hidden for a decade or two under the lawn.

#theprofessorsgarden #Cairngorms

Beautiful Bobbie too 😍

A year ago today we came to see the house we now call home. When we got out of the car the first thing we heard was a cuckoo. A good day.

Picture is of the road between the Lecht and Tomintoul in the Cairngorms National Park. Text reads: "Drifted south. In Braemar. Heading back north now xxx" Signal message to my wife.

"Drifted south. Heading back north now. xxx"

#motorcycle #BMWR100GS #Cairngorms

Rachel playing her baby grand piano in front of open doors with the hills and blue sky in the background.

We could do with buying a new bed and mattress.

Curtains too, and an armchair.

So of course we bought a baby grand piano. 😁

Congratulations!

Lots of fir, spruce and/or pine activity at the moment.

📷Artwork by Clare Waddle

Free this weekend? Pledge | Process | Planet, the debut exhibition from the new Cairngorms Creative Cooperative, features art that pushes boundaries and connects landscapes and community ⛰️ OPENSPACE Gallery, Grantown-on-Spey, 9am – 5pm #Cairngorms2030

A blue merle Labradoodle walking along a drystone wall in a wood with blue skies behind her

A blue merle Labradoodle walking along a drystone wall in a wood with blue skies behind her

Bobbie doing one of her favourite things, walking along the drystone wall.

A lazy Labradoodle refusing to get off the bed so we can air it.

"Nah, I'm good thanks. Just make the bed around me."

Two teaspoons of silver birch syrup

600ml of raw silver birch sap. Tastes just like water at this point.

600ml of silver birch sap makes 2 teaspoons of syrup.

Tastes a bit like honey, but with a citrus edge.

Nice, but a lot of work - and it explains why maple syrup is so expensive!

A busy day on the hill Yesterday was one of the best sorts of reindeer herding days, almost entirely spent on the hill. Me and Fiona were due to help Tilly in the middle of the day, so we set off early to find the reindeer ...

Friday is BLOG DAY! 🥳This week Lotti writes about a busy day that she had back in early March, spending all day out in the hills herding reindeer!

www.cairngormreindeer.co.uk/2025/04/18/a...

CaniBike in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland with a young Labradoodle and a Surly Ice Cream Truck. Here we've stopped at a ford so she can drink.

While sled dogs can poop as they run, Bobbie can eat sheep poop as she runs, so the ford makes for a handy pitstop to wash it all down.

CaniCross/CaniBike with Bobbie the Labradoodle on a rough track in the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland. Bike is a Surly Ice Cream Truck. Beards are models' own.

Another string to our bow. I wish I was as clever and picked things up as fast as Bobbie 😁 #nofilter

This is simply wonderful. A tip of the hat to @racheldom.bsky.social for spotting it.

Ridiculously warm again. So warm we've spotted two common lizards in the past couple of days, which is remarkable given the number of bloody pheasants around the place.

Daffodil and Japanese quince in low afternoon sun growing against a white wall

Late afternoon sun.

Bobbie is exhausted after helping open Rachel's birthday presents.

Dappled sunlight in a wood with a drystone wall in the foreground and frost on the moorland beyond. Cairngorms National Park in Scotland.

Minus one this morning.

Almost proper weather again 😁

Another frosty but sunny start to the day.