Whit Sunday outing

On Whit Sunday, while the rest of Great Britain was getting wet with downpours of rain, we went out for a drive and a picnic. Parked up the top by the side of a beautiful peaceful loch which is actually by the side of the main road linking Inverness and Fort Augustus. Needless to say there was not alot of traffic and we had a pleasant stroll along the banks of the loch.

Tawny owl.

Guests staying in the holiday cottage recently were fortunate to spot this tawny owl in the tree by the bird table one morning. No doubt it was eagerly watching for the mice that come to feed on the remnants of food dropped by the birds on the table.

A windy Loch Ness

The last few days have been very breezy and the waves have been violently crashing down on the shores of Loch Ness. The wind has been from the west along the entire length of the Great Glen and it has been pleasantly warm - warm enough for us to sit out in the late afternoon and enjoy the view.
Several yachts have been bravely attempting to navigate the waterway and we do wish them well.

Big Brown Hare

Spotted this giant brown hare by the side of the road on the journey to Fort Augustus today and it was bigger than our black cat. It eventually found a gap in the wire fence and lopped off home. Met our guests in Fort Augustus walking by the lock gates and they told us that they have seen a big hare running down the track from the cottage gate. They have also seen several deer roaming by the garden furniture and also an owl one morning by the bird table - no doubt watching for the mice that gather up the remnants of food underneath. Drove by Loch Tarff and had to stop several times as the sheep and lambs were wandering casually around and drinking at the loch.

Baby siskins

There has been alot of activity on the bird table lately. Male birds have been stocking up with whatever is on the menu for the day and taking it back to the nest for mum and the youngsters. We had our first baby birds arrive on the nut feeders this afternoon - two female siskins -watched by a more colourful dad on the other feeder. They tried to copy dad but they weren't really sure what to do and sat there for ages overwhelmed by their new surroundings. A rather showery wet week but the rain was needed and very much appreciated by the flowering rhododendrons.

Windy weather

After a very pleasant week of Spring sunshine the weather turned quite nasty on Sunday. We had a very blustery night and were woken up by a strong south-westerly wind and pouring rain. This combination made the water on the loch produce quite high swells and alot of white water. Even so this did not deter some hardy sailors and we could only watch in amazement as they bobbed up and down with the wind behind them helping them speed on their way.

The Loch Ness Express trip was cancelled due to the strong winds so we will wait for a better day.

The Loch Ness Express returns !

The boat service of the Loch Ness Express comes into operation again starting this weekend. It has a new timetable and will now stop for passengers at Inverfarigaig pier. We have booked to go on it this Sunday to travel down from the pier to Fort Augustus. We are going into The Lovat Arms in Fort Augustus for their new menu which we can put into our holiday cottage for guests to peruse. Watch this space for the exciting trip on the Loch Ness Express.

A very hungry deer

We have had glorious weather for the past week and it is so nice to sit out in the evening after doing all our various tasks with a glass of something refreshing. The 2 cats enjoy rolling over in the shade and stalking anything that dares to move in the long grass. Our regular female deer usually comes to visit and often all three animals are in very close proximity but going about their own business...munching or hunting. This female deer came to visit last year - we can tell as she has a slight nick out of one of her ears and she turned up with her offspring in September.