Strange Glow in the Sky

A week after the 'great storm of 2011', which was followed by seven days of wind, rain, hail, sleet and lowering grey skies, the community woke to a strange orange glow in the southeastern sky. The Diary, walking down to the shop in time for opening, was able to record this phenomenon in some detail, starting with this picture looking across Kilchoan Bay, with the crofting house Mull View on the right.

This shot, with the jetty in the foreground, shows a magnificent, glowing object, which appeared at almost exactly nine o'clock. In the right distance, the highest mountain is Ben Talla on Mull.

The local wild duck population, preening itself at the head of the bay, seemed surprisingly unmoved by this celestial firework display which by this time, after some consideration and recalling a recent trip to Africa, The Diary had finally identified as a thing called 'the sun'.

And what a beautiful morning we were treated to. Although it was chilly along the Ormsaigbeg road, it wasn't until this crossroads that frost became apparent, and at the eastern end of the village, around Glasbheinn Cottages, the temperature was still will below zero. This shot, looking along the road from below Ben Hiant croft, shows a group of Kilchoan croft houses and, above them, the peaks of Beinn na Seilg and Stacan Dubha, still wreathed in mist at half past ten.

By one in the afternoon the mist had burnt away and we were treated to warm and very welcome sunshine.

This is one of the joys of this place, that we can experience such contrasts of weather within such a short period. Of the two types, The Diary sincerely hopes that we see more of these crisp, sunny mornings than the previous week's storms, exciting as they may have been.