Wednesday 30 January 2013

Wednesday 30.01.2013

Blowing a hooley most of the day: the wind buffetted us around as we leant into it going up the hill but once in the woods it was tamer.

Despite the relative calm on the ground, the tops of the trees thrashed about, roaring like a churning sea while branches clattered together or tumbled to the ground: natural percussion, accompanied at intervals by the screech of swinging metal gates or a wail as the wind fluted across the tops of them.

This has made me want to research music created from nature: somewhere there must be a musical Andy Goldsworthy?


Pools and lakes and rivers of snow still lying about in places










while elsewhere the melt-water runs down the road












but plenty of greenery too.






Wind-assisted on the way down the hill arriving back slightly quicker than usual, breathless but very pleased with ourselves.

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Tuesday 21.01.2013

Turns out not necessary to fill out tax return.....whoopee.....and it`s a snow day off work.....
....so the rumpus begins:
some to play,









not forgetting to keep a lookout for the snow plough,










some to wander about looking confused







and some to wonder if they should have gone south after all.








All very pretty though








if a tad too deep at times....








Sunday 20 January 2013

Sunday 20.01.2013

No walking...tax returns.... :-(

Instead a little blog housekeeping. Some time ago I was invited by FrankieSoup to nominate 11 small blogs for the Liebster Award*. (Oh heaven help me it was September).

Always knew it would be hard but I have found two blogs that I`ve been enjoying though tbh not sure how many followers they have so I hope I`m not insulting anyone by nominating them.

First off I declare an interest in www.guitarglasgow.com as there`s a rumour going round I`m related to the author. That notwithstanding it is a well-written blog,witty,informative and occasionally, musically, quite technical.

The other I have stumbled upon through the magic of Twitter and know nothing about its author except we share an enthusiasm for young people`s books: http://bookauhu.blogspot.co.uk/

So that`s two....only another nine to go......

Oh..and here`s more real snow footage:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01q9d86/Winterwatch_1963_The_Big_Freeze/


*Liebster Award:
The idea is that the award is given by bloggers to bloggers, and that all blogs nominated must have fewer than 200 followers. It's a way of increasing traffic to smaller sites.

When you get the award, the person giving it asks you 11 random questions, then you have to nominate 11 other blogs and come up with your own set of questions.
Here`s my questions re-posted for the two I`ve nominated so far:

1.Why blog?

2.What are you currently reading?

3.Would it bother you if you never travelled by air again?

4.What do you understand by the word politics?

5.If you could become really expert at a craft (or, if you are, expert at a new one) what would it be?

6. Similarly, if you had the chance to become fluent in another language which would you choose?

7.Someone says they used to read but they no longer have time: how do you respond?

8.What was the last film you saw and what did you think?

9. If you suddenly lost everything you own (stuff, not people or animals but including photos,mementoes and souvenirs)how big a trauma would it be?

10. Have you ever said yes when you should have said no and/or no when you should have said yes and were the consequences dire or did it all turn out alright in the end? (No need for embarrassing details!)

11. Faced with a task you`re not looking forward to (maybe even having to compile 11 questions!)are you a "let`s get it over and done with asap" sort of a person or could you procrastinate for Britain?

Friday 18 January 2013

Friday 18.01.2013

Wild and windy- biting on the hill this morning but some splendid cloud and light,







and shape.....





...mushroom or anvil?






Enough snow in the woods to necessitate a slightly slower speed,but back up on the road it was full steam ahead.












Talking of which...how about this for real snow......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cl4pJwcE7JI&feature=youtu.be

Aaaah - happy days!



Wednesday 16 January 2013

Wednesday 16.01.2013

Off lickety-split this morning into a breathtaking (metaphorically and literally) landscape. Hard frost and bright sun, the dogs mostly two black dots against the white, their noses ploughing up the thin layer of snow as they scuttled back and forth seeking out the most scrumptious scents.


Beautiful feathery clouds to top it all off:


Scotland on a morning like this takes a lot of beating.




Sunday 13 January 2013

Sunday 13.01.2013

Just home on a stunning, still and frosty starlit night, the music of the spheres quite clear.

Very different this morning as we leant into a freezing wind, tiny specks of snow swirling round us. Spent a while trying to decide how to describe it only to discover that Ian McMillan* had tweeted the perfect simile: "tiny pieces of snow hang(ing)like wintry punctuation."

Briefly a proper mini-blizzard as we turned for home which cleared almost as soon as it arrived but left a wintry landscape.












*The Barnsley Poet (aka The Beat Generation Les Dawson)
@IMcMillan
ian-mcmillan.co.uk

Friday 11 January 2013

Friday 11.01.2013

Starlit,frosty pre-dawn; dull, grey morning; sunny, shiny afternoon; and we eventually set off just after three in the afternoon as the freezing fog was beginning to roll in.

And very lovely it was:






drippy, misty, moisty, all the edges fudged and a slight sense of mystery.....



...and the chickens only just going in when we got back an hour and a half later....the days are drawing out!




Wednesday 9 January 2013

Wednesday 09.01.2013

Cold and gloriously sunny, an icy wind blowing away the effects of a decadent weekend in a Southern city............well,a really good one anyway (no harm in dreaming)of which more later.

Long shadows and the patches of frosted grass was a reminder that winter`s far from over,despite the warmth from the sun in the shelter of the woods: wouldn`t have been that surprised to have heard a woodpecker.









All very bright and sparkly though,





with plenty of other bird activity and the odd bunny skipping about taunting the dogs.

It did sweep away the after-effects of yesterday`s 10 hour train trip but in truth much of the weekend in the aforementioned city (Bristol) was spent walking, how else to explore an unfamiliar place?

More than worth it too: old and new buildings jostling for space, a fun market* and good food.**

And on the subject of food, greengrocers galore (why aren`t there any to speak of north of Edinburgh?

With at least three pubs down every side street, or so it seemed, several with fascinating histories***,lots of live music and good beer not to mention a boat devoted entirely to cider, a good time was had by all even if sleep was in short supply.

Then it was on to a nonagenarian birthday (the usual sort of debauched riot you would expect.....the pics are frankly un-publishable.......) before returning to the relative sanity of life on a hill in the middle of nowhere - but then it`s the fools on the hill who see the sun going down and the world spinning round isn`t it?


* http://www.stnicholasmarketbristol.co.uk/

**http://bristolculture.wordpress.com/2010/02/03/cafe-royce-rolls-st-nicholas-market-bristol-cafes

*** http://www.7stars.co.uk/history.htm

Tuesday 1 January 2013

Tuesday 01.01.2013

Last night at midnight: bright moon just on the wane and Orion hanging high in the southern sky - not a bad start to 2013.

Nor was today`s walk - cool and blustery,grey clouds but glimpses of white and blue. Invigorating after a New Year`s day spent having a cathartic clear out of clothes hardly worn. Temporarily has you believing that life is under some sort of control.