Country diary: winter has been cruel to Orkney's otters

Stenness, Orkney: One recently turned up on the doorstep of a local hotel, skinny and shiveringIt's rare for it to snow here in Orkney. But this February, our islands have taken on the appearance of the high Arctic: the smooth, treeless hills are glossy and white, like Italian meringue, and the inland lochs lidded with ice. It's perfect winter weather. Breath hangs in the still, cold air, and the sky at sunset takes on a luminous quality with bands of rose-gold and amber sinking behind the hills of Hoy, simmering away into the sea.A few days ago, driving to town, I glimpsed movement out on the hard white plain that is now the Loch of Stenness. The thick plate of ice curved away at one corner, where movement in the water had kept it from freezing. And there, crouched at the edge, was a dark figure. It was peering into the water, far from shore. Continue reading...