The loch shows an infinite variety of faces as the light hits it on different days.

Lucky used to be a stray girl but has now found her new identity as a Donich Lodge boy (the vet discovered he was male when we took “her” to be spayed). He would ask you to respect his new pronouns.

The high mountain pass over the Rest and be Thankful is the main route out of the village. Here it is in winter.

Spring sky over the mountain tops.

Sunset from our front door step.

A misty moon over the mountains as darkness falls.

View over towards the loch from near the summit of Cnoc Coinnich.

A rainbow appears in a clear interval between showers.

Lochgoilhead in the distance on a clear spring morning.

As the year turns, the mountains are white on most days.

Looking across the loch from the village, clouds form a band across the hills.

Tora and Schrodi our snow Bengal brothers used to live here. RIP both of you

A dragonfly pauses for a rest by the side of our pond.

The weather here can be appalling. Here gales and torrential rain have blocked one of the village’s few roads.

The colours on the mountains fade to muted browns as autumn approaches.

The Donich Water in one of its kinder moods as it runs through our garden.

One of a myriad insects pollinating our heather.

A group of wild haggis have made a den down by the river.

Our new Highland Tiger Saphy prowling her territory. She is a demon for the wildlife with her specialized prey item being shrews. She is not adverse to mice, voles or birds however.

This is Amber aka as Bramble. She is big, black, rather podgy and a bit of a scaredy cat. We had her cloned shortly after she arrived.

Although we don’t get much snow at loch level, the higher mountains are covered for five months or so of the year

SERRANO - MINIMAL, CLEAN, FRESH

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Apr 11th, 2024

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And then there were three

Word seems to have passed around the local sheep sorority that a large garden with lush grass, interesting trees and compliant humans is available with vacant possession. So today two sheep became three…  If you don’t see the third, there is a lamb right behind the back ewe next to the edge of the lawn.

Apr 11th, 2024

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Another wonderful wildlife moment

This morning the coffee time excitement was through the side window of the kitchen which overlooks the feeding area. We normally put seeds on the windows sills as well as the feeding table. So this morning here was this gentleman. A great big pine marten. He was so close I could have touched him (much […]

Apr 10th, 2024

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They’re back…

I’ve really missed seeing the deer in our garden. We used to get them all the time – but I haven’t seen them here in the last two years (although R saw one a few weeks ago). This morning I was filling the kettle and looked out of the window to see a face looking […]

Apr 9th, 2024

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Saphy would like to apologise…

She tried really, really hard to make it to the bedspread, but she just couldn’t get there and had to be sick on the wooden floor instead. Last night in the absence of R, all three cats slept with me. Amber in my bed, Saphy in the new office bed, and Lucky on a rug […]

Apr 8th, 2024

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Further to yesterday’s post

I did try out the bed in my office last night. It is super comfortable compared to my usual bed and I am definitely going to be buying a new one for my main bedroom in the future. Anyway, as I have said before, Saphy really, really loves this bed. As I was getting ready […]

Apr 8th, 2024

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Fish Pie

My Mum’s 85th Birthday is on 27th April – exactly two weeks after my operation. At this point I will be in a temporary cast and the advice (at least as far as I can see from the Internet) is to do as little activity as possible until the wound has been checked and the […]

Apr 7th, 2024

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Some more visitors to the garden

A sheep with her lamb. They have been with us a few days – as ever with sheep invaders, we really hope they stay. They could live here in peace and harmony, avoiding becoming lamb chops, and in return we could get our lawn kept short for us. Also I in general like sheep. Less […]

Apr 6th, 2024

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Old Helensburgh

I’ve been doing some more painting. My latest project was going to be based on a picture of Helensburgh R saw on a heritage website about passenger transport on the Clyde.  The plan was to do a kind of blend between two pictures – the old and the new. This is the old photo – […]

Apr 4th, 2024

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Some cats crept in

J pointed out that my post about soda bread yesterday had been crashed by this photo. The cats must have crept in and done it with their paws while I was out of the room. The depiction is of the new bed I’ve set up in my office for when I am off my feet. […]

Apr 3rd, 2024

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A nice loaf

A lovely soda bread loaf. 250g white plain flour 250g wholemeal plain flour 1tsp bicarb 1tsp salt rosemary leaves finely chopped 400ml buttermilk (I used fresh milk with a bit of lemon juice in it to curdle it). Mix the dry ingredients together. Mix in the buttermilk to make a softish dough (don’t kneed it […]