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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Sep 28th, 2023

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Huge storm

Storm Agnes hit Argyll yesterday with pretty dire consequences for Lochgoilhead. We have had very bad weather here in the past – notably just after we moved in during autumn 2013, and again in spring 2020, but this was the worst yet. According to our rain gauge we received 18cm in twenty four hours. R […]

Sep 25th, 2023

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Saphy missing her favourite person

J has gone home now. Saphy loves him much more than either R or myself, and will even sit on his knee for longish periods of time. The picture is of J’s bed with his hoodie lying on it and Saphy lying on his hoodie. She is mourning his departure and the hoodie is all […]

Sep 23rd, 2023

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Off on holiday

R and I jetted off to the bright lights of London for a week. This is our first holiday together since 2018. Our first night was staying over at London zoo in the “Lion Lodges” – great fun. This was the painted wall of our lodge. We got three separate private tours of the zoo, […]

Sep 15th, 2023

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Mossdale one last time

We went to Mossdale in Dumfrieshire (where my parents used to live). This was really their happiest home- Dad had retired and was free to do the garden and DIY. Mum had lots of friends and was involved with the local community, and also with her art. Sadly, old age and infirmity meant they had […]

Sep 11th, 2023

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My Dad died today

RIP John Francis Ellis 1930 – 2023. The picture above is of him with his mother and siblings in the late 1990s. All his brothers and sisters lived into their nineties, and he was the last to go at 93. He died in hospital today. He had a long and full life, and was a […]

Sep 9th, 2023

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The combing of Amber

For a cat with such beautiful sleek fur, Amber needs a remarkable amount of grooming. She just loves being combed, and every night, R spends a good ten minutes giving her the proverbial “good going over”. But no matter how often he combs her, more fur comes out – she seems to have an inexhaustible […]

Sep 6th, 2023

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My parent’s diamond wedding anniversary

My parents have been married 60 years today. We had planned a big family gathering, and I even arranged for a telegram from the King. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as a week ago, my father fell in the hall at home and fractured his hip. He is now in hospital and has come […]

Sep 1st, 2023

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Another dish from La Cuisine de R

Another nice simple one from R. Fajita rice from store cupboard and fridge ingredients. Fry a large onion with a green pepper until soft. Add three cloves chopped garlic, a finely chopped red chili, a packet of fajita seasoning and a tin of sweetcorn. Fry for one minute. Rinse 300g of white rice, add to […]

Aug 31st, 2023

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Apple pies…

I made a few apple related deserts today because all four trees are now loaded. I have to say that I am not particularly keen on apples, but our victoria plum tree which I was fond of has given up the ghost, and our cherry tree never has any eatable fruit because the birds always […]

Aug 29th, 2023

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Spectacular sunset

Lovely sunset over Bheula tonight. It is very hot down south, so hopefully it will cool down before we go off to London.