Big Light

Earlier this evening the light was simply stunning. The sun lit up the hillsides with fresh vibrant colours of greens and blues.Gorse with bright yellow flowers filled the air with the fragrance of coconut.

A rainbow divided the sky between navy and turquoise. The rain in the loch shone with  light dancing on the water. It was very beautiful. The colours so vivid. I love this time of year. There is an intensity at times with the light that makes it truly spectacular.

Visiting

You couldn't have gone into Ullapool today without being aware that a cruise ship had slipped into the harbour in the early hours of this morning. The ship seemed to tower over Ullapool and was visible on every street corner. Its passengers spent much of the day being ferried from ship to shore, avoiding the showers, roaming the streets of Ullapool (some wearing ear muffs,) clutching cameras and carrier bags, taking in the sights and sounds of this presently rather windy and damp little corner of the Scottish Highlands. 

The M/S Artania  left Bremerhaven on the 12th May with 1,200 passengers on board and has sailed 622.56 nm to Ullapool. As I post this she is getting ready to sail again. She will be calling in at Belfast, Dublin, Falmouth and Portsmouth before arriving back in Bremerhaven on the 20th May. It was a pity they didn't dock last week in Ullapool. They wouldn't have needed their earmuffs, it was sunny and warm. I hope though they enjoyed their excursion. I love it when a ship arrives. I don't know why, but it makes it like a holiday. Even shopping in Tesco has a different feel about it!

The week in pictures, more or less...

I wander off down the garden to visit the very wet waterfall. The smell of wild garlic is pungent. Bulbs and flowers finally make an appearance as the sun begins to shine and it warms up. We walk along the banks of the river Cassley, one of three salmon rivers situated in Sutherland near the village of Rosehall, and I make my first ever loaf of rugbrod (rye bread) much loved by the Danes. I've nearly got it right. It needs a bit of tweaking, but Niels kindly said it reminded him of home!

The Good Bits

Last week a friend came to stay. She only came for a few days, and the weather, not wanting to disappoint  and obviously uncertain as to what weather she might like, laid on all the weather it had. They say people don't come to Scotland for the weather - but I think they should as there is quite a lot of it.
The little house overlooking the loch and the mountains is a much photographed spot. I've seen paintings  of it too. It makes the perfect landscape photo as it can be divided into thirds very easily! And as for those highland cows, I think the Scottish tourist board dot them about the countryside and tell them to stand still and look photogenic. I've heard them described as 'hippy' cows, and it suits them. These hippy cows had been instructed (by the Scottish tourist board of course) to stand looking out over the sea to Skye, but they were more interested in us than they were in admiring the view. And finally on the wettest and coldest day of the week we went up to Faraid Head and enjoyed some very horizontal rain. While trying to find shelter we came across a beautiful little cove with water that was crystal clear and turquoise in colour. It was also out of the wind and it was tempting to stay there, but we had to come out and face the wind and driving rain to get back to the dry and warmth of the car! My friend will be back in the south  now enjoying a warm and sunny weekend.

I on the other hand have put another log on the fire!