Beauty, the Beast, and the Fire

This Highlander with her calf was photographed on a croft at Achnaha. He's called Hamish, a name given to him by the daughters of Alasdair MacLachlan, the crofter. He was born on 25th January, a day before another of Alasdair's three highlanders gave birth to Emily. The third highlander is due to become a mum shortly.

These are the first calves to be born on the croft since Alasdair took it over.

Meanwhile, the remains of the pilot whale washed up at Sanna at the end of December (see Diary story here) still lie in a narrow bay below Sanna Bheag. The body is surrounded by the tracks of the gulls who have been pecking at it. The smooth outer skin has been removed to expose what looks like a coat of hair.

Both photographs were taken on Sunday. By that time the fire at Tigh Peigi was out, though it had flared up again the previous afternoon shortly after it the house was declared to be safe. Kilchoan Fire Brigade attended, and were joined by Acharacle and Strontian, who brought a thermal imaging camera. This enabled them to identify the hot spots. Kilchoan team finally returned to base at 1.45am on Sunday morning, having first been called out at 8.00pm on Friday.