Mother deer with baby

Mother and baby deer came for a visit this morning along the grass bank in front of the house much to our black cat Maisie's surprise. We let Maisie out at 3.25 this morning for her hunting session and at that time in the early morning in the Highlands it is broad daylight.
The baby deer suddenly stopped and stared - possibly at the first cat it had seen but nobody was particularly bothered although the youngster stayed very close to mum all the time.The weather has been misty and showery all week but by evening time the sun has often burst through the clouds enabling us to enjoy a drink outside and watch the sun go down gradually and stay outside until about 9.45 p.m. In another month the sun will set over the mountain at 11.30.p.m.

RockNess

The RockNess Music Festival was held at the village of Dores overlooking Loch Ness last weekend. About 35,000 enthusiastic fans turned up with their tickets over the two days. Many had booked to stay in the well organised campsite, some booked to stay in the self catering teepees, others in local accommodation. The weather was fantastic and a good time was had by all.

Hello deer.

Had a surprise visit this morning from a mother deer and her very young fawn who suddenly emerged from the bushes behind our bird table. The fawn stood still for a long time and gazed curiously at us, possibly we were the first human beings it had seen. The mother was never too far away and kept a watchful eye on us whilst eating at the same time. When she moved further up into the forest the youngster quickly bounded after her and was soon lost from sight in the heather and blueberry bushes.

Farigaig Forest walk.

The haar mist eventually burnt itself down into the waters of Loch Ness this morning revealing a cloudless blue sky above. We went for a leisurely walk into Farigaig Forest listening to the bird songs and crunching on fallen pine cones underfoot. The bluebells or 'wild hyacinths' as they are locally known are still blooming profusely under the trees and they have provided a very good show this year.

Red squirrels

On our travels recently we were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of our native red squirrel in the conifer trees enjoying the sunshine. Easily recognisable by the striking orange-red fur with white underfront, ear tufts and the long bushy tail which is almost as long as its body. The Highland region is the only part of Scotland where the red squirrel thrives and the grey squirrels, which were introduced from North America, are absent. After a sunbathe and a quick glance at us the squirrel rapidly scuttled away to the safety of the top of the tree.