We noticed Saphy and Amber patrolling round one of the armchairs in the lounge. We couldn’t see any sign of a rodent, but turning the chair on its side (having locked the girls in the bedroom) we managed to shake loose a little field mouse which was hiding in the base of the chair and […]

Apart from me, my whole family has birthdays in the spring. We were supposed to be having a dinner on 8th April, but two days before R was driving to Glasgow and stopped in Arrochar for petrol. Then the Land Rover wouldn’t start again and he was left standing in the cold at the petrol […]

Two pine martens. I think one of them is a young one and the other is the mother as martens are very territorial and one of them seems a lot smaller than the other. The woodpeckers are out in force at the moment.

We’ve decided to have a go at Solar power. In our usual style this is not a small simple installation, but as close as we can get (bearing in mind the Argyll climate) to being energy self-sufficient. So we are fortunate in being a south west facing bungalow with no direct shade. The only problem […]

We thought Amber was a staid middle aged cat who didn’t like going out much. Appears though that she still has an appetite for chasing prey. Luckily this poor little squirrel escaped.

We saw this huge lady in the middle of an even huger pile of frog spawn in the pond in front of Inveronich house.  

Well, my famous lentil soup and homemade bread anyway.  I don’t know who it is famous with, but it should be as it is tasty, healthy and very cheap.  Also the whole thing takes about 20 minutes prep time in total for both soup and bread. The breadmaker must be the most useful “gadget” ever […]

We don’t see many snowdrops here, so generally our first wild flowers are crocuses and windflowers.

We’ve kept the girls in up until now, just so they would be settled and know Donich Lodge is their home. Saphy is showing signs of sniffing at the doors, but Amber doesn’t seem that interested. Amber is overweight and it will be good for her to go out and climb some trees. This is […]

Amber has been coming out more and more and is now living in the house rather than under the bed.  I think she is just a nervous cat – possibly related to something in her past. But she is really beautiful (if big boned – read plump).  She has gorgeous amber eyes and the thickest […]