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

Really glad to be back home after a flying visit [literally] on an Easyjet flight from Inverness to Luton to celebrate my mum's 94th birthday. After a very smooth flight south we caught a taxi from a heavingly busy Luton airport to St.Albans and had the joy of travelling down the M1....not an experience we enjoyed at all. The traffic was nose to tail and there was noise and roadworks everywhere. We shared the 'view' outside our hotel bedroom window with a noisy wood pigeon who nested in the huge tree right outside our window...oh, how we missed the panoramic view of the mountains and Loch Ness. As much as we enjoyed our time with family it was heavenly to return home to the peace and tranquility of the Highlands.

After a morning of showers and quite gusty weather the sun came out to play, producing this amazing rainbow on Urquhart Castle.

Seen numerous native red squirrels dashing across the road as we drive into Inverness and seen a few even closer to home. Several have run across our driveway with their bushy tails flying behind them and then up into Farigaig forest beyond. One came very near to the house and sat on the old wheelbarrow by the side of the garage and posed for this photo. The next minute he dived up into the hazel trees and came down with a bunch of hazel nuts in his mouth which he took back to the nearby drey. He returned and did this nifty performance several times to stock up his larder. Plenty of hazel trees in the vicinity so will have to keep a look out for these little acrobats.

Yesterday we woke up to an overcast, rather dull morning and there was a distinct chill in the air. The northerly wind causing this was coming straight across from Urquhart Castle. On the weather forecast we were warned of temperatures dipping overnight and possible frost in more sheltered glens so will remember to put the heating on timer. Went out to feed the birds,who are waiting anxiously in the branches nearby, with their new sunflower seeds and bread mixture and they are on the table before I am indoors. Had to wait in for a Tesco delivery [how civilised!] and once he turned up we went into Inverness, nearly running over 2 red squirrels who suddenly shot across the road. We experienced rain and bright sun so had to juggle with hoods up one minute and then sunglasses on the next.In the evening mum and baby deer trotted across the driveway pausing for a quick munch before going up to Aspenwood. As we were eating supper we looked out on an amazing sunset followed by a beautiful starry night.

Wondered what Daisy was staring intently at out of the window and noticed the mother deer hoovering up something very tasty on the ground just behind her. Heard a rustle in the bushes and the baby deer crashed through the undergrowth to join mum. They munched happily together.Saw that they were really enjoying the rowan berries that had fallen down to the ground from the trees in the garden. I didn't realise that these berries were a food source for deer as well as birds....I really ought to get out more!The young deer is growing up but is still very jumpy at any sudden movements nearby so we have to creep slowly about inside the house so as not to cause any alarm. The mother,however, totally ignores us watching them and carries on munching regardless. They are fascinating to observe so close up and stayed with us for about half an hour. When most of the red berries had been consumed they left us and climbed up the forest bank towards Aspenwood. No doubt they will return as they have found a very good local restaurant.

Today just got better and better with vast amounts of blue sky and warm sunshine. Took full advantage and went to sit on the beach in the afternoon and mess about with the camera! It was really warm and the sun sparkled on the water of the loch. Could be a bit of a chilly night again tonight because of the lack of cloud cover to keep any remaining heat nearer the earth's surface. Last night was packed full of stars - a perfect night for our special guests staying in Aspenwood Cottage.

The red hydrangea bush in the barrel has been quite spectacular this year and I only wish it could be like this every August - possibly all the summer showers helped as they do thrive on a constant supply of water. Or maybe it just liked the company of all those rabbits !
Went into Inverness this morning and it was noticeable that it was more or less back to normality - children are back at school and the number of summer visitors are decreasing. A red squirrel crossed our path on the way home and alot of blue sky above. The wind direction has suddenly changed to be from the north today so there is a chill in the air and the temperature is forecast to be rather chilly tonight....a wee dram will be called for....life is tough !