Chilean hillside

A frustrating start to the day - just small irritations, but they jangled at breakfast time and left me feeling out of sorts - saw me needing a soothing place by late afternoon. This is one such - the highest point, more or less, of Benmore Gardens, where conditions are apparently so similar to those in Chile that they can grow monkey puzzle trees in abundance. You can see a baby to the right of the path ...

We never see anyone else up there; I suppose people do visit but we tend to go late and listen to birdsong and the wind rushing down Glen Massan (the background here).Today the wind which had blown my washing dry in no time was not in evidence here, and by the time I took this photo I was feeling better.

My extra photo is of some flowers near the pond, including my favourite Meconopsis. We also saw some little red squirrels darting about in a tree - my afternoon was complete!