Evergreen News - October 2009

Hello Everyone

On Saturday 3rd October it was blowing a gale and the rain was pouring down and it was the most miserable of days imaginable. I don't know what the thoughts of all those in the area were that day but for those who had arrived in advance of the Loch Ness Marathon on Sunday 4th, they probably wished that they had stayed at home and not put their names down for a Highland marathon in October! However, the Highland weather changed overnight and we woke to a wonderfully calm and sunny morning. Just the perfect conditions for all the thousands of runners who had trained so hard for the event. Among those runners we had Graeme, who this year was going to attempt his sixth Loch Ness Marathon. Despite taking to his bed on Friday afternoon with a sore throat and a touch of man-flu, he had rallied well by Sunday and was raring to go. I actually missed him completely at Inverfarigaig as he was slightly ahead of his estimated time but I saw him at Dores and then scooted round Inverness to catch him as he crossed the fininshing line with a sprint to record a very creditable 3 hours 59 minutes. Just under the prized 4 hour mark! He said just after the race that this would be his last marathon but then again he said that last year......

But autumn has definitely crept up on us. Despite some warm days with lots of autumn sunshine there has been a real nip in the air first thing in the morning. Apparantly there was even a dusting of snow on Ben Wyvis which is the mountain which provides such a wonderful backdrop to Inverness. The trees are really beginning to change colour and lose their leaves and it will soon be time for me to try and capture some of the wonderul shades of gold, orange and red which will be on display. Also in abundance in the woods behind Evergreen are the annual display of mushrooms. Reds, yellows, creams, browns and even a purple are some of the colours you can see on the forest floor. We were discussing mushrooms with some of our guests who had seen a variety of different types while out on a walk and even though we have a really good book on all the types of mushrooms you are likely to see, it is so difficult to actually identify each type as they can differ in the most minute way. What may look like a harmless edible mushroom may in fact be something very poisonous and deadly. So the moral of our story is unless you are a real expert at identifying mushrooms, don't be tempted to pick them for eating!

Last month I was busy putting lots of information onto our new website for our self catering cottage which is beside Evergreen. It is hard to believe that we have had Hazelgrove since March 2006 - more than 3½ years. We had a basic website for the cottage but we wanted to upgrade the site to the same standard as our own Evergreen site. It is almost a mirror image of Evergreen but of course gives you all the information about the accommodation and facilites which we offer at Hazelgrove. If you enjoyed your time at Loch Ness and were thinking about returning, why not have a look at the Hazelgrove website www.hazelgrovelochness.co.uk to find out more about the cottage If you are a dog owner then you might be especially interested to know that the back garden is secure and we are able to take up to 4 pets free of charge in the cottage.

For those of you who have stayed with us at Evergreen already you may have been kind enough to complete our short feedbak form. We very much value the comments we receive as it helps us to improve on not only some of the little things which are important to guests but also helps us to plan the larger projects. Over the last year the main improvement that the greatest majority of guests suggested they would like to see is a shower in the master bedroom en suite. Although most of you loved the bath many of you commented that is was difficult to wash hair. So, based on your feedback we have started planning a complete upgrade to this bathroom and from January 2010 there will be both a bath and a shower in this ensuite. Relax in the luxury of a bath after a long day's walking or enjoy a quick shower before breakfast.


If you read last month's newsletter you may remember that we were looking forward to welcoming our friend's cat Tabitha for her holidays. Well, she duly arrived last week and has made herself completely at home. You don't need a watch or clock in the house when Tabitha comes to stay as you know exactly what time it is when she appears for breakfast lunch and supper!! She has managed to make an escape for freedom out the back door a couple of times but all you need to do is shake some food and she abandons all thought of exploring and darts back into the house! She may get wise to this but for now it is certainly working.

Till next month

Graeme and Fiona 

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