Going down!

Enough is enough! I'm tired of splashing paint about. Yesterday I decided to go out in the garden. I'm tackling the dreaded rushes that need digging out. I dug out three, possibly four before giving in and coming down here to the bottom of the garden.

It's been ages since I've been down here. The roof on the summer residence has well and truly caved in!

A little bit of touching up needed here.

But I'm not doing house work today. I carry on, down to the shore

There is a lump of rock that sticks out at the bottom of the garden, and when the tide is out it reveals  its stunning and quite beautiful colours. I'm sure the colours intensify with each year.

These are straight out of the camera. No amount of post processing could improve on these incredibly vibrant colours. Sorry, I know I waffle on a bit. I just wonder what causes it - not my waffling, but what sort of chemical reaction happens to produce these rich luminous hues?  

A few days ago we were at the top of the hill, and now I'm  at the bottom.

 My lens cap could work it's way down here I suppose and nestle in amongst the shells

I do feel incredibly lucky to have all  this at the bottom of the garden. The crofters living here had peat at the top of the hill to burn and seaweed at the bottom to fertilize the land. It truly is paradise at times, especially when it isn't raining!

But the rain and wind and sleet and snow fade into a distant memory on a day such as this.

I'm almost certain that these ducks are red-breasted merganser. I've not seen them before, and my fuzzy photo and lack of a zoom lens made them difficult to identify. But they are common here in the highlands and will breed on sea lochs. I could just make out a fuzzy crest on the male. When the loch is calm it's a great opportunity for wild life spotting. I've still yet to see my first otter - but I know they are here.

Tomorrow, I'm grouting the shower room tiles, but when it gets a bit much I can always retreat down here!