The Heather Flowers in the Sun

We've moved into a spell of fine weather, albeit cool in the brisk wind northerly airstream.  The days are drawing in, to the point where, very shortly, we'll be seeing the sun rise through the gap between Beinn na h-Urchrach and Glas Bheinn.

The fine weather has arrived just in time for the full flowering of the heather.  This view looks from the top of the hill where the road runs down into Kilchoan and across the slipway and shop to the ridge along the back of Ormsaigbeg, Druim na Gearr Leacainn, while....

....this is the view in almost the opposite direction, from Druim na Gearr Leacainn across Kilchoan Bay to Ben Hiant.

Tucked into the small, southeast-trending glens that run down the side of the ridge, where one is out of the wind, the air is warm and filled with the insects that are feeding off the heather nectar, mainly bees, hoverflies and flies.  Butterflies are noticeably scarce at present, but in this particular glen there were three peacocks, all working their way upwind and up the glen.

All three of the heathers - bell, ling and cross-leaved heath - are in flower, though the bell heather flowers are beginning to turn brown.  The same little glen was home to some bell heather which was more pink in shade than normal.

The colours along this hillside are breathtaking, and when one walks it's like wading through a sea of lilacs, purples and pinks.