Autumn cometh

What a difference a week makes. One afternoon last week I was lying in the shade in the garden because the sunshine was so warm, but now there is a distinct autumnal chill in the air. During the summer I always forget what properly cool weather feels like, and I now realise with foreboding that it’s going to get much colder as we move towards winter. We have spent the last week out and about, walking and cycling, for which activities the cooler weather has suited me well. 

We also went for a drive down to Gairloch, which was rather quiet due to Covid restrictions; the café we visited the last time we were there was “takeaway only” but luckily we got a pleasant welcome at the Myrtle Bank Hotel where we sat in the cosy conservatory for morning coffee and shortbread. We stopped at Inverewe Gardens on the way back. They have implemented a one way system in order to encourage social distancing and in addition to lots of interesting trees and plants, we saw a wee robin hopping about in the foliage and later a wee field mouse climbing on a plant. 

We have had a double dose of great news about Davie - he has passed his MSc with merit and has been offered a job in a lab for the next six months. He has done extremely well and we are very proud of him.

Update late afternoon: although Autumn is definitely on its way, this afternoon became warm enough that I went swimming in the estuary - the water was very calm, the ducks were swimming about, and the mountains looked beautiful.