The postcard Tim and I sent Joseph and Rosalie from Scotland came today!

Rosalie found this stack of sheet music and is just finishing up singing each page in turn. I love seeing the things she comes up with!

Tonight will be her first night sleeping with a pillow! It has been obvious she needs one, as she would regularly take her blankets and stuffed animals and wad them up under her head. What a pretty, happy face!

We're home! As it turned out, a French labor strike delayed our arrival in London, meaning that we missed our flight to Dallas, caught a later flight to Chicago instead, stayed overnight in the Windy City, and made it back to San Antonio today! It's nice to be back and see dear Joseph and Rosalie again! We're all out on the back porch now to watch their sprinkler running in action!





It's so nice to just relax together and watch the kids play! Tim and I are enjoying hearing about all the things that happened while we were gone. Of note, Joseph went with Grandpa to church on Sun and was very well-behaved. He even said a thoughtful prayer in Primary all by himself! Rosalie was her usual delightful self most of the time, but Grandma and Grandpa said they do have a better understanding of her aberrant "little pill" side! In any case, we're so grateful for all my parents did and I don't think the kids could have been in better hands!

Last night in Portree we picked up a small book called Short Walks on Skye by Joanna Young and today we're using it to explore the island by car and on foot! Off the main road a bit, we parked our car near a hidden footbridge and walked across to a tiny island in the middle of the River Snizort called St Columba's Isle. There are lots of interesting gravestones scattered about, and the river surrounding us is beautiful!

Our next short walk begins at a small hotel parking lot, and leads along a byway and up to the ruins of Duntulm Castle. As we passed this driveway, I couldn't help but notice a fluffy ewe and her babies plopped down for a rest. She is watching me quite closely, but at least she's letting me get close enough for a picture!



This shot shows our road now, and Duntulm Castle on the cliff over the water. The field to our left was full of sheep, including another dutiful mother bleating for her lambs to come a little closer. The wind is quite stiff and the rain a bit stinging, but after all the days of good weather we've had, we certainly can't complain!



Our next couple of stops featured the famous Kilt Rock, which really does look like a neatly pleated kilt, and the iconic Highland Cows, also know affectionately as "hairy coos" because of their long, shaggy, and profuse hair. Although we've glimpsed a few before today, this was our first chance to catch a shot with them!



By the time we left Skye, it was too late to detour to Loch Ness and too rainy to stop at lovely Loch Lomond, the latter of which we also saw on Sun when it was much more sunny and crowded! We are taking a few minutes, though, to get out and hike a bit at Glencoe, a place known as one of the most scenic spots in all of Scotland. Now we'll head back to Glasgow and catch a few winks before our flight to London in the morning. What an utterly amazing trip this has been!

We'll be seeing a lot more of the Scottish Highlands today during our drive from Oban to the Isle of Skye! Pulling over and enjoy the nice view, we unexpectedly found ourselves in this field full of little cairns!

There aren't many stones left to work with at this point, but we did our best to make our own little addition!

Although we weren't too interested in touring the inside, we couldn't resist taking this shot in front of Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most well-known spots in Scotland!



Our B&B tonight is in a tiny cluster of houses and farms called Luib. I'll admit that I squealed when I saw the sheep grazing on the hill behind it. This beats the big tourist spots any day!

Here's our lovely room with a gorgeous view of Loch Ainort and the surrounding mountains!



After driving into Portree for dinner, we spotted some sheep right along the roadside. They didn't seem too concerned about the passing cars, so decided to stop and get a shot with them. As soon as we started slowing down, though, they took off like they thought we had mutton on the brain! Here we are now chasing them down the road on our way back to Luib. It's been another wonderful day in the Scottish countryside!

Meanwhile, back in TX, Grandma and Grandpa Gedlaman have introduced Joseph and Rosalie to the fine art of playing in the sprinkler!

Apparently Rosalie just stood like this for a long time, watching the water hit her hands!

Now here's Joseph on the run! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for taking these shots and for taking such good care of the kids!

Today is going to be, without a doubt, the highlight of our trip here in Scotland! We're still birders at heart, and this will be our chance to see birds we've only dreamed about, along with plenty of other natural wonders. We left our B&B right after breakfast and raced to the ferry terminal, cutting it a little closer than we had planned, but still making it! The ferry trip to Craignure on the the Isle of Mull was largely uneventful, giving us a chance to catch our breath before finding our bus to Fionnphort. Here we are getting ready to go!

Our bus driver is a real hoot, although I have to listen carefully to hear his jokes over the noise of the bus and through the Scottish accent. He stops the bus every once in a while to show us a particularly interesting stag, loch, plant, mountain, or bird, like this Oystercatcher sitting happy as a clam on its gravel-pile nest!

Now here we are on our crowded boat, zooming toward the Isle of Staffa! Most of these people will get off there, and a few of us will continue on to Lunga and the seabird colonies!



Staffa's most famous feature is Fingal's Cave, which we'll be back to explore briefly later. I can't explain how grateful that I am feeling well today and that the weather is still sunny and pleasant!

Here is our first view of the Isle of Lunga on the left. Our boat guide tells us that the sides of that cliff are full of nesting Guillemots and Razorbills!

As we hopped off our boat and made our way across the rocky landing area, this Oystercatcher spotted us and started peeping. I don't think it's as happy to see us as we are to see it!

Now we need to make our way up the worn path to the top of that cliff to the right. The first cliff we saw is much further right than that, out of this shot entirely. We've got some hiking to do!

Although we had already seen a number of Puffins flapping energetically over the water as we approached the island, it was no less amazing to reach the top of the cliff and see how small, handsome, and adorable they are up close and in person!

Actually, there are a lot of Puffins up here, and I really mean a lot! They are everywhere we look, popping in and out of nesting holes, fluttering on and off the cliff, pulling up grass, and just plain staring at us. They are apparently quite used to visitors, and as long as we move slowly and keep and arm's length of distance between us, they mostly go about their business as usual.

Puffins apparently either dig their own holes or use old rabbit burrows. They only spend time on land to nest, and their short, powerful wings are better suited to swimming underwater than to flying, although unlike peguins, fly they most certainly can!

These two are knocking their bills together to say hello. Aren't they cute?





Although I think I could stay out here on this soft grass watching the Puffins all day, our boat will be back to pick us up in less than two hours, so we had better move along!



Here are just a couple shots of the gorgeous scenery surrounding us as we hiked across the island. Like the ones below me in this shot, there were always Puffins close by!



It became pretty obvious when we were getting close to the Guillemot nesting colony because it got really noisy! They seem to prefer the bare, rocky areas of the cliff, as close to their neighbors as possible without poking each other with their bills. Although pretty well defenseless as individuals, we saw them scare off a number of threatening gulls with their large numbers and loud squawking!

Most of the Guillemots were on the other side of the ravine from us, but we did manage to spot of few huddled in the shade on our side as well!



We also saw plenty of Razorbills and Shags, and more Puffins, too, of course!

It's been an absolutely perfect day on Lunga! Now it's time to head back to meet our boat!

Just after leaving the island, our driver paused to point out the fin of this a Basking Shark, the world's second-largest shark. It's a good thing it eats krill and not people!

Here we are now back at the Isle of Staffa! The entire island was formed from flowing lava, which cracked into hexagonal columns as it cooled. It would be pretty easy to walk along even without the rail!

It's nice to be visiting Fingal's Cave now that the crowds have gone, since there isn't a lot of room for jostling! This is the impressive sea cave that inspired Mendelssohn's Hebrides Overture. The lighting made it hard to get a good shot, but it is beautiful!



We had just enough time after seeing the cave to climb to the top of the island! Our bus driver on Mull told us this plant is called Bog Cotton, which among other things can be used to make clothing and stuff pillows. I think it's very pretty!



Being up here like this is truly an otherworldly experience! It's time to head back to mainland Oban now, but it has been a full and wonderful day!

Meanwhile, Grandma and Grandpa Gedlaman are taking care of Joseph and Rosalie back at home. I miss them, but I'm not the least bit worried about them! Here are a few shots Grandpa took of the kiddos playing with Grandma. I'm so grateful for their willingness to help us take our first vacation without kids since Joseph was born!