Walking down the track to Camas... in the sunshine. (Until today, we had not seen the sun for over a week.) Children carrying a block of peat used for fuel at the outdoor centre. On the hill above, a wind turbine provided power for the centre.
Can anyone identify this jellyfish from the beach at Coll? It was a little larger than my hand and reminds me of a lion's mane!
A magical island of hidden beauty. One of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.
Red boxes on the island of Tiree! This lonely mail box is practically right on the beach and the phone booth is just across the road. Kite surfers were out in the bay along with the windsurfers that Tiree is famous for.
Back from a few days on the islands of Coll and Tiree. Both of these islands can just be seen from the north end of Iona on a very clear day. This 'pudding house' on Tiree overlooks miles of sandy beach at Gott Bay. I saw several of these distinctive homes with only the mortar painted white. They are called 'spotted' or 'pudding' houses!
Hills of heather looking towards Columba's Bay. The flowers are already fading as autumn approaches and darkness creeps in earlier each evening. It is already dark now by the time the Abbey bells ring seven times at ten to nine for evening worship.
On a gray, stormy morning like today it is good to remember the warmth and light of the spring. I met this little lamb in April on the Iona golf course. Perhaps she was inspecting the greens.
MacKinnon's cross displayed in the infirmary museum of Iona Abbey.
The national emblem of Scotland is one of the flowers carved on the north range of the cloisters of Iona Abbey. Legend has it that 800 years ago, a barefoot invader stepped on a thistle in the dark. His yell of pain alerted the Scots to the advancing Norsemen and so the battle was won by Scotland and the thistle later became the symbol of the nation.
I learned a new alphabet this week. During an afternoon studying the Vikings with the eight students at Iona primary school, I discovered that Viking runes are easily carved symbols. On the left side of this grave slab in the Abbey museum it reads "Kali, son of Olvir, laid this stone over his brother Fugl." The carving is from around 900AD.
