Invergarry Lodge goes autumnal!

Well, it must be well and truly autumn up here in the Highlands - the tourist trade has more or less dried up, the leaves are turning beautiful shades of yellow and red, and I have an odd sort of looming sensation which must mean our first tax return will soon be due. Rats.

It has also become seriously cold up here, and we've been piling on the woolly layers and blankets in our attempts to stave off the cold. I have also taken up knitting, and so far have produced a gorgeous pink scarf which is only about 2 feet too short, and a lovely grey woolly hat which might fit a child somewhere between the ages of 5 and 10. Apparently I should have used patterns. Now they tell me.

We've had some entertaining times this month with a brief visit from Matt's cousins Ralph and Bill from the U.S. We took them to Urquhart Castle and Inverness, and also managed to fit in a walk down Glen Nevis (see Ralph's attempt to conquer the wire bridge of doom) and a flying visit to the Ben Nevis Inn for lunch before they left, but I think they most enjoyed the whisky and cask ale sampling session in the local pub the night before. Sorry Shelley for propping up the bar so late!

In other news, Dylan the puppy has had his manhood removed in his neutering operation this week. We thought it was quite funny until the vet mentioned that we'd have to refrain from giving him any exercise for 10 days. 10 DAYS!!! Do they not know how much energy this puppy has and what he will do to the house in 10 days with no exercise?!!! The fun really started when they also revealed he'll have to wear an enormous lamp-shade round his neck for the duration, to stop him from pulling the stitches out. So not only do we have a hyperactive puppy bouncing off the walls, we now have a clumsy 3-foot-wide puppy bouncing off the walls and knocking over everything in sight, including us.

On the plus side, we've got lots of visitors lined up between now and Christmas, and now that the hostel trade is quitening down we are hoping to have more time to get out and about in the hills doing what we love best.

Jen x