Snow drifting (bad language alert).

 So, I'd already had to dig the car out once, and we needed a tow. Going down to sort the pony out, fine until we got to the wee pony road. Drifts are kind of hard to see as well, the depth of them. Anyway, we got stuck. Shovel out but it was slow work. Reversing and forward etc. etc. in 4WD, we made some progress. Fortunately, neighbours to the stable came out with their full off-road pickup and pulled us out. In the meantime younger daughter had scooted down to the pony and had been offered a help, so we extricated ourselves and went home.

But it's jag day. News wasn't good, roads blocked and cars stuck or off all over the place. However, come 11 and I decided to give it a go. Older daughter offered to come for the ride, moral support, so we headed for Kirkwall.

Here we are battling the weather (with apologies for someone's language but a she's a tad nervous about driving through the snow after an altercation with a wall a few years back ). (Clip actually shows trip home as we forgot to film on the way out.)

 Accompaniment - Loyal Carner.

 Other travel listening: My Morning Jacket - Waterfall.

Again I stop the waterfall by simply thinking
Again I stop the waterfall before my breathing
Again I stop the waterfall by finally feeling
Again I stop the waterfall by just believing

A bit disappointing if it is a metaphor because otherwise it's beautifully nuts.

On the way out the Oystercatcher, or another, was hanging around The Shunan. Clearly a day length driven arrival and not related to the balminess of the weather. On return I took the dog across the fields to move the camera trap as the forecast is predicting more snow and heavy rain, it was in a vulnerable spot. A male Hen Harrier hunted the ditch by the track, a Sproghawk along the Hawthorn hedge, there were two Pintail, a Shoveler and a Goldeneye on the tiny open water patches of The Shunan, along with 27 Mallard, 50 odd Teal, a few Wigeon and the Coot pair who were back to establish their territory.

Last week they were administering the Oxford vaccine here, but I got this one - COVID-19 mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNTech). Arm aches a tad, and maybe I'll feel like **** the morn, but I'm fortunate to get it this early. It's hard to understand why all my colleagues are not being vaccinated as a priority, instead we're all being given a three week supply of the flow test, not the best plan IMHO.