This is a very special time of year in Assynt.  The flora really begin to come into their own, and if you're lucky as we have been this year, you get an extra special display of wild flowers in June.  During May we were treated to a bumper crop of primroses  before the numerous bluebells and tiny violets appeared a few weeks later:







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Yesterday I went off into the hills with Peggy (Lexie is still not well enough to do anything but the easiest of walks, so we were on our own for our Sunday Walk this week, and she had to stand in as poser dog which is usually Lexie's job as she is better at staying still).   We hadn't got far from the house before we came across what I had specifically planned to search for - the marsh orchid:

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I didn't have to search hard, as again it would seem that this year we have more than I've seen in past springs.   Usually they appear as single flowers dotted around the hill, but this year they seem to be appearing in clumps as well as singly.

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I was specifically looking for my favourite type which is a deep, dark purple shade, but it eluded me yesterday.  I'll keep looking.  However there was purple to be seen - in the form of the very early heather flowers just starting to make an appearance, almost before the leaves have properly greened up:

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Lexie's loch was looking as lovely as ever, although the clouds over the far end of the loch did build up into a thunderstorm yesterday evening:

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Finally, does anyone know what this flower is?  It isn't the best of photographs as while kneeling down in the soggy grass to photograph it Peggy and I were surprised by a loose, strange dog wandering about on its own.  But it is probably about 4 inches high but I forgot to make a note of the leaves.

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