As Summer Fades
Summer is leaving, and if you look closely, the first signs of autumn are beginning to appear.
The cottages have been wonderfully busy throughout the summer, with guests enjoying long days on the estate, with fishing and kayaking on the lochs and exploring the wider Argyll countryside and islands. We’re still fully booked for much of the season ahead, but while summer carries on for our guests, the estate itself is already beginning to prepare for the months to come.
The fields are getting ready for winter
One of the biggest signs that the seasons are turning is the silage.
Over the summer, the fields have been busy as we work to get enough winter feed safely stored away for the livestock. Silage season is an important time for farmers, as good silage provides the energy the animals need to get through the colder months in good condition, so getting it made well matters every bit as much as getting it made at all.
Making it depends on the weather, though, and this year that meant waiting for the right window before we could get out with the machinery. When a good dry spell finally arrived, it turned into one of the best days of the summer. With tractors going from early morning, ice creams handed round to keep those all-important spirits up, and pasties brought out to the cabs for dinner, so no one had to stop for long.
It’s one of those parts of estate life that visitors might not always see, but it plays a huge role that is the rhythm of the year here. And days like that are exactly why it’s worth it.
Heather on the hills
The landscape is beginning to change too.
There’s a subtle shift in the colours of the countryside, the heather is bringing warmer tones to the hills and woodland edges, and the first blackberries are appearing along the paths and hedgerows. Crumble season is upon us.
It’s a beautiful time to walk around the estate. The days can still be warm and bright, but there’s a crispness in the air first thing in the morning and the evenings are beginning to draw in.
Even the light feels different.
There’s a softer glow over the lochs in the evening, and the hills can look completely different from one day to the next depending on the weather.
The rut has begun
Perhaps the most exciting sign of autumn at Ederline is that the rut has begun.
The red deer are entering one of the most dramatic periods of the year, and the sound of stags calling across the landscape is a sure sign that summer is slipping away.
For anyone staying with us at this time of year, it’s worth keeping your eyes and ears open when you’re out walking. The deer are one of the great privileges of being surrounded by such a wild landscape, and there’s something particularly special about experiencing them in their natural surroundings.
A different kind of season at Ederline
There’s a lovely contrast at this time of year.
Our cottages are still full of guests enjoying summer holidays, days out, swimming, walks and adventures around Argyll. But behind the scenes, the farm is already preparing for winter, the wildlife is following its own seasonal rhythms, and the landscape is quietly changing around us.
That’s what we love about Ederline. There is always something happening, but it’s rarely the same thing twice.
And when the evenings become cooler, there’s nothing quite like settling in with a good meal, a glass of something nice and the peace and quiet of the countryside.
Although we’re still making the most of the last stretch of summer, the signs are all around us now.
Autumn is on its way.
And we think it’s a pretty wonderful time to visit.
