Cottage Diary - Aspenwood self catering luxury Holiday Cottage overlooking Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland.

The purple heather on the hills and mountain slopes is in full fantastic flower. This photo was actually taken in mid August so it is blooming one month earlier than usual mainly due to the alternating weather conditions of the unusually wet spring followed by a very warm summer. It is a beautiful, cheerful sight, providing a typical scene of the Scottish Highlands in Autumn.
The rowan berries are on the trees early too. Last year we had an invasion of waxwings. Apparantly, if the rowan crop is not so good in northern Europe, or there are too many birds for the available crop, the waxwings will fly over here and strip our trees very quickly in a feeding frenzy for their favourite food. These invasions are erratic and have been going on for centuries, the earliest waxwing winter recorded in 1679. We will watch out for them this year just in case they appear and I shall be ready with my camera to record it for the cottage diary.