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Monday walk

In between mists and showers, we had a very enjoyable walk from the cottage, through the woods of the outer gardens, to the wreck of the old sawmill, and then to gaze upon one of the island's apiaries (where I had some beehive envy).   We continued along the track, which skirts around the woods to the south of Colonsay House and ultimately gives a view across Loch Fada and the surrounding landscape.
With moss-smothered dry stone walls and most trees still in full green leaf, it was a very green walk, but here and there hints of Autumn are creeping in.
 Most of the wild flowers on the island are past their flowering season but devil's-bit scabious is still going strong.  It has the most intense lavender colour, and much beloved by bees!
Colonsay is home to one of the UK's very few native black bee populations, Apis mellifera mellifera. It is a precious reserve for the black bee as, being on an island, it remains disease free.  Generally in the UK our bees are the European honeybee, Apis mellifera, which is lighter in colour.  The busy bees on Colonsay are very special and the honey they make is second to none!

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