Kintyre again

Each evening after supper Morag and Norma walked from the house, across the road, through the gate and onto the beach, turning right to follow the water’s edge, as much as possible, to the church in the distance.   I was content to potter around the beach nearer to home,  taking photos of the wild flowers growing on the machair.  That’s a Gaelic word for the grassy land above a beach, often quite wide and well trimmed by grazing sheep, but not in this case.  The sand-based grass level was not so wide, and not a sheep to be seen!  So that meant there were plenty of wild flowers.  Here are just a few.

Ragwort, very pretty but poisonous, especially to horses.

 

 

 

Daisies, not sure what type they are, but they grow in profusion in the sand along the high edge of Scottish beaches.

Red Campion, another flower found near beaches, and in hedgerows, also on beaches, and some low growing silverweed

 

 

Some yellow vetch and a purple clover….

…and a sprig of bramble flowers.  There will be a lot of brambles/ blackberries to eat in the autumn!

 

Looking over a mixture of iris leaves, spirea, campion, grasses and a few other wild plants to the islands of Cara and Gigha with just a sensation of Islay appearing in the distance.

Returning to the house just around sunset, it was bathed in a rosy glow, so I took this photo.  Do you see on the right the little white doe above the arch?  

 

It got broken during last winter due to the frosts and bad weather, but has now been repaired and looks as pretty as ever.  The house was once a gamekeeper’s house, probably why the little deer ornaments the arch.

So as our few days drew to a close we had a revue on the things we had made.  On the last night I threaded my beads alternated with tiny glass beads, so here they are…   I’m rather pleased with them!

Morag felt-covered some stones as paperweights, and made a picture of the view to Cara, as well as string her autumny coloured beads into a bracelet and finish off her purse. 

 

 

 

Norma also made a picture, and some beads shown alongside her troll face and purse.

My triumphs were my hat and my beads, both of which I have shown you already.

Next morning we left Linda’s and Ken’s but not before photos had been taken… Ken, Morag, Norma, Linda, and her dad, also Ken, who lives next door, but pops over each morning for his cup of tea!

Behind us is the old stables, part of which we worked in.  We also had had a lot of fun watching the swallows flying in and out of the open fronted part, to feed their young in a nest up in the rafters.  Last pics – the swallows……..  Four babies were almost at flying stage, climbing onto the edge of the nest to stretch and test their wings.  I’m not sure if there was another baby or not.  It was difficult to see the number of little beaks that called to be fed when the parents arrived.

I love this picture though – three youngsters peep over the edge of the nest, the one on the left watching me watching him!  I love his tufty baby feathers.

 

So, back home we came, the end of one more adventure, and the next day I was to set off on yet another.

Talk again soon.