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
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May 9th, 2017
Read MoreCoos, crows and swifts
I was a bit concerned about Billy the bull and his little family, as we heard loud (very loud) mooing the other morning – and subsequent to that they were gone out of their usual field. All is well, however, as they have just been moved up the hill a bit and are now enjoying […]
May 8th, 2017
Read MoreLoudly sing Cuc-coo
I actually heard my first cuckoo of the year from Ben Lui last weekend, but today I heard the call from home for the first time in 2017. Also on the bird front, we still have two ducks visiting the pond which is unusual at this time of year although we generally only spot them […]
May 6th, 2017
Read MoreThird time lucky – Ben Donich the back way
The standard way to climb Ben Donich is from the Rest and be Thankful. This has the advantage of a path (and takes about 300m off the ascent) – but the distinct disadvantage from our point of view that it means having to get the car out (or a very long walk in) to climb […]
May 3rd, 2017
Read MoreMore wheat-free baking
After the revolting wheat free pastry I made the other day – I had another more successful attempt. This time – 150g Dove’s gluten free plain flour sifted with 1 heaped tsp xanthan gum. Rub in 75g butter (or vegan margarine) until like breadcrumbs. Then mix in a lightly beaten egg, and enough cold water […]
Apr 30th, 2017
Read MoreNew birds on the block
We get a lot of bird visitors here, but not that many different species (lots and lots, and dare I say it, lots) of chaffinches are our normal visitors – with these partially taken over by siskins in the summer. So we were pleased to see a single goldfinch on the seeds a few days […]
Apr 30th, 2017
Read MoreBen Lui – what type of fun?
I’ve been told there are several types of fun:- Type 1 fun – you enjoy it at the time and it seems as though it was fun afterwards (e.g. Orient Express) Type 2 fun – it doesn’t seem so great at the time, but after it has finished you remember it as fun (e.g. BSides […]
Apr 28th, 2017
Read MoreFlowers coming on strong
The primroses here last ages and are still going strong. They seem to like the same areas as violets and are frequently mixed in with them. Where the excavation work for the hydro was done last year along the waterfall path, the flowers are now taking over (thank goodness for nature). The bluebells are also […]
Apr 27th, 2017
Read MoreRoe Deer
The little roes (stag and doe) have been around a lot recently. The other day I opened the back door and the stag was sitting (sitting!) on the lawn looking at me in a relaxed fashion. Unfortunately he was gone by the time I got the camera out. Then I saw the doe grazing not […]
Apr 25th, 2017
Read MoreWhere they sleep
Cats are strange creatures. Tora hates his cat carrier with a passion when it is time to go to the vet. But yesterday, having left it on the spare room bed, we found him sound asleep in it. Then there is Schrodi who thought it would be nice to sleep half in the bed, half […]