A touch of surrealism?

Had a meal at our favourite restaurant by the sea the other evening. As autumn sets in dining outside is off the menu, but the scattered leaves make an attractive pattern when seen from the warmth of the inside.
SJE � 2005

Village road widening

The roadworks are creeping north...

... the miniature bus stop is getting a lay by. (See posting of Oct12)

... and a day later it even has a seat ...

(Sorry about the quality of the pictures above - taken from a moving car!)
SJE � 2005

World within a World

A "World within a World".
I returned to the lower part of the Ben Lora forest, where the steep path is bordered by a small stream. The other day we had spotted this moss-overgrown area. It appears fairly nondesript at first glance but a closer view reveals a fascinating world of autumnal fungi.
I posted a picture taken here two days ago, but its not very good as the area is dark. This time I took two cameras, tripod and flash. The photos below gradually get us closer and closer into a pile of sawn timber ...

Remember to click on the pictures to see them fullsize.

























This final picture looks like a community of pixie houses on a fairy hill!

SJE � 2005

Trying multi posting of several pictures in one go using the Hello program.
The idea is to get a title (or nothing) below each picture but have them all in the same posting.



Last one. So that's 3 pix in one go.
Normally Hello only sends one picture as one post.
This trick could be useful.
The pictures are of Loch Etive, misty hills behind Benderloch and a Japanese anemone.
SJE � 2005

More from Ben Lora walk. The Beech wood - one of the dead trunks with fungi on the trunk. Some closer views below.
SJE � 2005

Fungus at eye level. I don't know the species.
SJE � 2005

I like the way the light shines through the caps and shows the stalks on this vertical shot.
Click on the picture for a bigger view.
SJE � 2005

My attempt at a pencil sketch of one of the tree trunks.
SJE � 2005

In a dark, damp hollow we saw this tree stump, covered in moss with a 'forest' of fungi growing out. Its not very sharp as the camera was hand-held. I may try to return to re=shoot with a tripod.
SJE � 2005

After yesterday's walk on Ben Lora I went to the beach today. This was the view as I approached the gate to the shore with the cliffs of Mull in the distance.
SJE � 2005

Another view looking south. The low hills on the left are the island of Kerrera, just off Oban; the middle hills are Mull and the dark area on the right is the headland on the west of the bay.
SJE � 2005

October blackberries

It might be October but we're still picking blackberries. Collected about one and a half pounds weight of them in the beach area. Had some for tea with apples from the garden and some cream. Delicious. The rest have gone into the freezer.
SJE � 2005

This is me approaching the viewpoint on the middle walk on Ben Lora. Lots of folk do this walk every day - this part is fairly level, but its quite steep and fiddly lower down. Its exactly six years since I was last here. Arthritis had curtailed any serious walking but thanks to two new hips I'm back again. I felt really chuffed after doing this walk - a small step for some but a big achievement for me. Now looking forward to trying for the summit!
SJE � 2005

The view from the top of the 'middle walk' on Ben Lora. Its six yrears since I managed to get this far up the hill. Most of the village is hidden below the conifers but you can see part of Tralee Bay, Keil crofts and Loch Linnhe with the Morvern hills in the distance.
SJE � 2005

I know we only have single-deck buses around here - but how about this for a single-deck bus stop! 

Terrific sunset tonight. This was the view from my study at about 6.30pm. Computer screen is the object on the left and the odd reflective thing on the window glass is a 'see-through' bird feeder.
(Published this using a new feature in the Picasa program which allows for simple selection and blogging of pictures. For more info click the little Picasa icon.) 

Sunset from our garden 11 Oct 05. Looking over the village church. 

We've had a stormy couple of days. Very mild for October but a good south-westerly gale. This is looking south towards the hills inland from Oban as the wind drops around lunchtime on Monday.
SJE � 2005

At last our tomatoes are ripening. Don't know the variety - bought them as wee plants at a sale. But they sure are big - I included my hand for comparison! Taste OK, too, and cook well.
(added 9 Oct - this tomato weighed in at just over 300 gm/10 oz).
SJE � 2005

These "toadstools" have appeared in the village car park. Not sure of their identity. Help, anyone? (click on Comment below.)
SJE � 2005

This should act as a reminder to me to always carry a camera. Just for once I didn't have it - I'd only popped down the lane to a friend's house - and on the way back there were two roe deer at the rear of our garden. Luckily for me they were very patient and waited until I returned with a camera!
SJE � 2005

I had to go to a meeting in Connel the other evening. There are major roadworks just south of the village, where the road is being widened and I took this shot as I waited for the traffic lights to change. We're looking west to the Isle of Mull - the dark hills with the cloud. The sea is hidden by a field and trees in the foreground.
SJE � 2005

This is the view to Ben Lora from a friend's house on the Moss Road, south of Benderloch.
SJE � 2005

For some time I've had a slideshow on the Benderloch.com website which takes viewers on a walk to the beach in February. I've wanted to make a summer version, and now that I can walk better I've got around to it. Here are three of the pictures. The show has still to be made, but I'll mention it here when its done!
SJE � 2005

With the tide low, this scene looks up the beach to the shingle bank with part of the Ben Lora forest (behing Benderloch village) in the background.
SJE � 2005

Looking west along Tralee Beach.
SJE � 2005

Had to make a couple of trips to Glasgow in September. Its three hours each way on the train, but the scenery compensates. This is a view of "The Cobbler" taken from the train as we climbed up the hill above Loch Long at Arrochar.
SJE � 2005

Warming up for the piping display at Dalmally Show in early Setember.
SJE � 2005

Falconry display at Dalmally Show. Ben Cruachan in the background.
SJE � 2005

Dalmally Show.
SJE � 2005