Light night

Back from a last walk with Rosie (see right) and amazed at the change in the weather.  Earlier there were downpours and thick grey cloud all around.  Now not a cloud in the sky, a bright crescent moon, and still enough light at 10.30 p.m. to take a walk without a torch. The colours in the sky went from deep navy through turquoise to pink against the sharp edges of the dark hills.  Only the brightest stars visible with more appearing as we arrived back home.

Wanderers return

Last week (22nd April) I saw the first swallows of the year in Aber.  This is a week later than last year which may be a reflection of the colder winter we have had this year.  I spotted two sitting on the telephone wires - no doubt resting after their long flight - and also one swooping and turning in the field opposite.  So far there has been no interest in the nest under the back porch.  After a very successful year in 2007 when two broods were raised there, there was only one brood last year.  Maybe there just wasn't enough food for them.  The midges were not too troublesome last year but the signs are better (at least as far as the swallows are concerned) for this year as the number of flying insects around is increasing rapidly.  And I've had a couple of bites to prove it.

"Then welcome, little swallow, by our morning lattice heard, 
   Because thou com’st when Nature bids bright days be thy reward!"

Thomas Aird 1802 - 1876

For more information on swallows and their habits visit the RSPB site on the swallow and migration

They also need rain and mud to provide the building materials for their nests.  No shortage of that today as there was light rain when I walked the Aber path to the village for the paper this morning which has been followed by a lunchtime downpour. 

The walk to the village is part of the Aber Path and leaflets are available at the beginning of the walk by the Kilmaronock Millennium Hall.  It goes past the house and on to the Nature Reserve by the loch, managed by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

About this blog

It is April and Spring has come to Scotland - at last.  As I walk the dog most days through the woods and by the loch I marvel at the small changes that take place day by day.  In this blog I hope to record these and to share my love of this area with others.  Aber is a small collection of houses by Loch Lomond.  It is not far from a slightly larger village, Gartocharn, which is reached by a short walk through the fields in the mornings to pick up the paper from the Post Office.  

This photo was taken on our walk by the loch last night at about 8.30 pm.  It 

had been a pretty dreech day but there was a soft light on the hills and a glow on the water.  On the way back I saw the first ducklings of the year.  A little flotilla of about 7 or 8 keeping close to Mum by the waters edge.  It was too dark to identify the species but I will be on the lookout for them again.

                                                                

                                                                   There is now an abundance of Spring flowers everywhere; primroses, violets, wood anemones, wood sorrel, celandine and the blue bells are just beginning to show through.  The blackthorn is prolific this year too although in this photo it is hard to distinguish the blossom from the lichen on this old tree.  It bodes well for sloes later in the year.

We are out and about most days and there is always something new and different to see.  These are what I will be sharing and I hope that my love of this place and the joy I get from living here is communicated to you.