Stevan and I had a quiet welcome to the New Year.  We prefer to spend it at home, and at midnight we venture out and make our way to the top of the little hill in our garden to look out over Assynt.  Occasionally we see and hear fireworks celebrating the New Year, but generally it is pretty quiet around this part of Assynt.

After all the wild weather of the last few weeks, today dawned quiet, cold and sunny.  A beautiful day.  We headed down to Stoer Beach to see what the the storms have blown in.  I was lucky enough to find this Sea Bean or Molucca Bean - I'm told it foretells of good fortune, so a pretty good omen to receive at the beginning of the year.  Whatever it is, it is pretty!  I couldn't quite capture the texture of it in the photographs but this gives you an idea:

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The tide was low, which always gives a great photo opportunity.  The second time we stayed in this part of the world we rented a house which overlooks this beach, and it is a view I rarely tire of:

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One of the best things, though, about visiting Stoer beach is that walking home offers us a smug cosy feeling when we look back to the hills.  Our house is set into the hillside and is barely visible unless you know it is there, or have a hefty zoom lens like Stevan does:

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The green shading that is on our perimeter fence gives the game away.  Every time I see our home from this perspective I am thankful that we are able to live here.  Long may that continue.

I am sure 2014 will hold many challenges but I am equally sure it will be exciting.  So here is to 2014, and here is to you all - best wishes for a wonderful new year.