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

A variety of different boating craft were enjoying the warm weather and the waters of Loch Ness including this flotilla of colourful yachts which had travelled all the way up the Great Glen from Fort William.

On Whit Sunday, while the rest of Great Britain was getting wet with downpours of rain, we went out for a drive and a picnic. Parked up the top by the side of a beautiful peaceful loch which is actually by the side of the main road linking Inverness and Fort Augustus. Needless to say there was not alot of traffic and we had a pleasant stroll along the banks. The wild yellow gorse is still abundantly in flower and very colourful on the hillsides and moors.The wild purple rhododendrons are beginning to bloom, bluebells are still flowering, white sloe blossom is appearing on the shrubs making a very colourful scene at the moment.

Guests staying in Aspenwood Cottage recently were fortunate to spot this tawny owl in the tree by the bird table one morning. No doubt it was eagerly watching for the mice that come to feed on the remnants of food dropped by the birds on the table. They kindly emailed this amazing photo...many thanks.

Saw our our friendly female deer -our resident lawnmower - at Aspenwood on Saturday. She had a good munch by the sign to the entrance of the cottage and then enjoyed the grass clump under the bird table. After filling up she trotted casually down the bank to our house below. We've seen a very large brown hare several times on the path in front of our house and also on the grassy path to the wee beach. The birds are constantly feeding at the bird table now and more females of the species appear to have a ferocious lunch away from the nest. On the return journey from Foyers we spotted three red squirrels chasing each other around a tree trunk near Easter Boleskine - much too fast for a photo but I'll keep trying. Friends in the next village of Dores have seen an otter crossing back to into the waters of Loch Ness. We have seen our regular 'Ollie the osprey' flying over the loch a few times - he returns every year for rebuilding the same old nest and awaiting the wife for breeding purposes. The ospreys at Loch Garten have produced two eggs lately and we follow their progress through the local radio and news with enthusiasm. Bluebells are flowering profusely in the low damp undergrowth and on the banks all the way into Inverness - a ribbon of colour to match the yellow gorse. and primroses.

There has been alot of activity on the bird table lately. Male birds have been stocking up with whatever is on the menu for the day- Ray's yorkshire pudding is a big favourite - and taking it back to the nest for mum and the youngsters. We had our first baby birds arrive on the nut feeders this afternoon - two female siskins -watched by a more colourful dad on the other feeder. They tried to copy dad but they weren't really sure what to do and sat there for ages overwhelmed by their new surroundings. A rather showery wet week but the rain was needed and very much appreciated by the flowering rhododendrons.

The boat service of the Loch Ness Express comes into operation again starting this weekend. It has a new timetable and will now stop for passengers at Inverfarigaig pier. We have booked to go on it this Sunday to travel down from the pier to Fort Augustus. We are going into The Lovat Arms in Fort Augustus for their new menu which we can put into Aspenwood. Watch this space for the exciting trip on the Loch Ness Express.

We have had glorious weather for the past week and it is so nice to sit out in the evening after doing all our various tasks with a glass of something refreshing. The 2 cats enjoy rolling over in the shade and stalking anything that dares to move in the long grass. Our regular female deer usually comes to visit and often all three animals are in very close proximity but going about their own business...munching or hunting. This female deer came to visit last year - we can tell as she has a slight nick out of one of her ears and she turned up with her offspring in September. To see more of her - watch the video.