ONE YEAR ON LIVING IN THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

I can’t believe it has been a year already since we made the move up to the Far North, and a year since I posted my last blog! Where did the time go? We survived the first winter and it wasn’t as baltic as I expected it to be. We had brief spells of wintry weather with decent snowfall but it didn’t last long and soon melted away. Maybe this year Scotland will show us what a real Scottish winter is. Only it won't be so good for the energy bills…

I enjoyed seeing the season changes that come with all the different flora and fauna that can be found up here. Seeing the northern lights for the first time was absolutely incredible. I knew that the phenomenon could be seen in this part of the world, but never expected to see it so soon and so frequently! I’m very much looking forward to the dark sky season ahead of us for more night-time adventures photographing the night sky.

The sky unfolded with this jaw-dropping experience on a cold March night.

Living rurally and being surrounded by many sheep and cattle, they always bring much enjoyment when out walking with Mila, our rescue-dog from Romania who just turned one year old. Especially during springtime when we could hear the wee lambs bleating all day and night. Mila was and still is a bit too excited seeing the sheep. Hopefully things will calm down with her once she gets a wee bit older and understands the livestock is here to stay. She was just over 4 months old when we collected her back in January but she has grown into a big and beautiful Highland lassie. She definitely does enjoy living the Highland life and so do we!

The summer months were great. It was all about being reunited with my family and friends from the Netherlands who I hadn't seen for over two-and-a-half years. We spent a lot of quality time together and for them to see where we live helped give them a better understanding of how and where we started to create a living for ourselves in our new environment.

This year was all about getting settled in our new home. We literally needed to find out how it all works with its biomass-boiler system, solar panels and septic tank - all things we weren't familiar with. You definitely become more practical and do more diy when you’re living more rurally. I think we managed to figure it out quite well.

Because a lot of time was spent on the house, garden and reuniting with friends and family, I haven’t really ventured out that much this year with my camera. Fortunately I explored and photographed enough to provide imagery for my 2023 calendar which is now available for pre-orders!

Shipment will take place at the end of November and beginning of December. Ensure you get your copy in time for Christmas by placing an order before the 1st of December.

Your (continued) support will be much appreciated as always.

I hope you all enjoyed a great summer. I’m looking forward to the last 4 months of 2022 and can’t wait for the new seasons that come with it. The busy social spell is over, so I can fully focus on my photography once again continuing exploring new locations up here in the North Highlands of Scotland.