It was the end of another beautiful Scottish day, and the waves lapped lazily in soft sights onto the beach. They could hardly summon the energy to move even the tiny white shells which lay in drifts across the pale sand. The air was perfectly still and clear, carrying the sounds of a distant cuckoo and the warm buzz of nectar drunk bees. As the sun began to soften and relax into the west, the restless waves carried golden sun stars across the Inner Sound, all the way to our waiting feet.
As the day slid slowly and inevitably into night, the sun tried to outdo the beauty of the approaching night sky, throwing her own stars in a glittering trail across the waves. If you walked star by star along her path, you might reach the land of youth, Tir na nOg, where beauty never fades. Out across the clouds of Manannan, with the kelp trees and salmon cows of the otherworld rolling on beneath your feet. Pearls gleaming like apples on the the silver boughs which sway, in a sky filled with sea trout birds. But it’s no place for the living, a place of enchantment and inspiration best visited only briefly, before returning on sighing, star speckled waves to the shore of here and now.
breathofgreenair 
A book, Seonaid 🙂
I’m dreaming of books and writing….. 🙂
🙂 !
Sorry Seonaid … I lost this one somehow! Lovely, crisp, photos … love ’em. D
Sun stars is a lovely way to describe them! Your photos are a delight, Seonaid. 🙂
Beautiful and enchanting. I hope to revisit Scotland someday, and looking at the beauty in your images just reinforces that desire. 🙂
Those star-studded waters are lovely!
They are, and it’s such a peaceful place.
Oh! How I wish that I would have been there in those moments of magical shifting of light and beauty, Somehow it feels that I have stood there before….most likely through my Scottish ancestors way long ago. You pull me towards visiting across the seas with every post dear Seonaid……
Gaye, how lovely it would have been to share the sun star magic with you in person 🙂
It’s funny how some areas can feel so familiar, somewhere deep in our bones and our ancestral memories, long before we visit!
Yours is the first blog that I’ve visited today… happy sigh! Beautiful photos, hypnotic words.
And you brought me a happy sigh with your lovely comment. There’s something so wonderful about getting feedback, hearing how a post has effected those who read it….I think that’s what’s makes blogging so special and so addictive!
Your stories are thoroughly enchanting. I wish I could capture my world with the same brilliant photography. I definitely missed some gorgeous areas while I visited Scotland.
Gwynn, what a lovely comment, thank you. I always love to hear who I’ve enchanted 🙂
As for Scotland, there are so many beautiful areas, each beautiful in their own ways…..but sometimes the best spots are just slightly if the main tourist routes….or stumbled across accidentally. I’m still finding new spots after all these years!
I loved coming along on this enchanted journey, Seonaid. I can see this story as a children’s book, quite magical.
Now there’s a thought….a children’s book of magical Scotland…and of course I’ve never quite grown up myself 🙂
A wonderful dream scape, I’d like to spend winter at Tir Na Nog if you could arrange that please 🙂
No worries Gilly, would you like to travel by salmon or by flying sea trout?
I’m not very good under water but if I can transform into mami wata I’ll be okay 🙂
Breathtakingly beautiful…soon I will be visiting…Hopefully it will not rain all the time. If it does, I will have to live on your photos and stories!
I’m sure you’ll get some good weather Anna Christine, I will keep all my fingers and toes crossed for you 🙂
😉
How wonderful, Seonaid. Those ‘sun stars’ are just beautiful, and your narrative is enchanting, as always. 🙂
Thanks for the gorgeous comment, and I’m so happy to hear you enjoy my enchantments 🙂
Beautiful Photos. The color is magnificent!
Charles it’s so hard to capture low bouncing light, so I’m delighted you like the results…..in real life it’s some how even more breath taking….and utterly peaceful 🙂
Your beautiful words accompany the stunning sunlight photos so perfectly well. Great post, Seonaid!
Thanks Amy, you always write me such lovely comments 🙂
That sunlight on the water really does look like stars. What a dreamy interlude.
This bay is a perfectly dreamy place to while away a whole afternoon or evening. It’s so peaceful and the light and sounds bounce in wonderful and surprising ways 🙂
That sunlight on the water really does look like stars. What a dreamy interlude.
Stunning shots. I feel as if I am right there, feeling that warm brown sand under my feet and hearing the waves come rippling in. The light on the water is mesmerizing.
Well it’s such a delightful place that I know you would have a lovely time….and probably dip your toes in the warm shallow waves 🙂
What incredible shots. Thank you for sharing. 🙂
You have brighten up my day with your dazzling words and images. Too beautiful for words….yet you have managed to make them equally so.
Aw, what a gorgeous thing to say. Nature once again swept me away in her spell….and the only way to refund my feet is by using words to weave my way back 🙂
I really wanted to go to Scotland…..now I REALLY want to go to Scotland! 🙂
Oh I’m sorry to have fuelled your desires 🙂
It’s a place you can find yourself…..
The beauty never seems to fade in Scotland, either!
It’s true, but it’s a beauty which dazzles in its constant shifting. You never quite know what tomorrow will bring….