The Trees of Eilean Shona

[gallery columns="4" type="rectangular" ids="1115,1117,1005,1100,1000,1040"] So who would book a holiday where there was no TV, no mobile or t'internet access, no roads, no shops... no pub... eek!  Just a little cottage for two which is regularly visited by pine-martins.  Well that's what we did at the beginning of May and packed our bags and scooted up to Scotland to the beautiful island of Eilean Shona which is only accessible by private ferry which then only runs twice a week. And what a fantastic two weeks we had... I have no idea where we find the time to do things in our busy lives as we never had enough time for reading and watching the world go by because we were so mesmerised by the wildlife.... ticks included. I have so much to tell you about Eilean Shona that I won't really be able to give you the full picture in one post.  So my first post is going to be about the trees and woodland on the island which are so incredible that it's difficult to put into words or even illustrate fully with photographs. Scots Pines that are so tall they give you vertigo and create an eery knocking noise when the wind blows through them. I've never really been in a place where I am surrounded by woodland that has been allowed to grow to its full potential with only the slight hint of some forestry management going on where trunks have fallen across paths.  Other than that trees lay where they fall and the size of some of these monsters when they fall they take others with them in a domino effect. [gallery type="rectangular" ids="1113,1112,1121"] There is this whole spring regeneration going on here mixed in with in some areas which look like complete destruction presumably from high winds, trees growing so tall they become unstable, or trees just coming to the end of their lives. The woodland has just been left to do its own thing. We're missing the woodland in Eilean Shona. The lost hours exploring or just sitting listening to the wind working its way through the trees but I'm sure we will return very soon. My next post will be dedicated to the wildlife of Eilean Shona, more precisely pine martins with a few deer thrown in.