Thursday 29.12.2016

Not a patch of snow left anywhere,all greens and browns as far as the eye could see, a mild(ish) breeze wafting the scent of pine about and a sky full of golds and greys and blues and whites...and then......later on...U.F.O.s......

Wednesday 28.12.2016

No dramatic meteorological events today....and yet... and yet. Overcast but with glimpses of blue, a brisk breeze, the light muted as the sun began to sink below the horizon. One kind of typical winters day then: the freshly turned-over soil a rich brown, all kinds of green with patches of snow still lying, a day for throwing back the shoulders, taking deep breaths and walking a bit faster....
...and then as we came down the hill, the sun having finally disappeared behind us in a blaze of gold, the sky ahead of us - to the north in fact - began to turn a pale pink, a prelude to a crimson finale that spread across the whole sky as if to demonstrate there is no such thing as an "ordinary" day.

Tuesday 27.12.2016

Love the British climate - one day a zephyr, the next snow and a baltic blast and today - a lilting breeze, a smidgen of real warmth in the sun (though snow still lying in the shade) and the birds in the woods emerging from wherever they were hiding yesterday and tweeting away as if spring were just around the corner.......and contented sheeps on the neeps ....wonder what tomorrow will bring :)

Monday 26.12.2016

Still blowing a hooley but today it`s an icy blast: normal service has been resumed for Boxing Day on our Scottish hillside.....

Sunday 25.12.2016

It`s proper windy when even the trees in the middle of the woods are thrashing about. So yes, very windy as we set off at about quarter to one but also very sunny

and ridiculously mild as we did an extra loop to extend the walk - one of those "could-have-walked-to-John`o`Groats" days.....sweeping away cobwebs, restoring spirits towards the end of this weird, absurd year (R.I.P. Rick Parfitt) and.... enjoying the fact that someone else was cooking the Christmas Meal....

Having read and loved A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig a few weeks ago, all other books are on hold for the reading of the sequel - The Girl Who Saved Christmas over the next few days. Full of proper magic and hope...Merry Crimbo!

Wednesday 21.12.2016

Thought we might have left it a tad late, setting off at quarter to three, up the road into a bitter wind and the sun just disappearing behind the trees.
In the woods though, as so often, a different world, sheltered and calm, just the tops of the trees catching the wind and coveys of pheasants taunting Dog 2 while Dog 1 looked on sceptically, though even she was tempted to chase after the deer that jumped out in front of us.

And by the time we emerged, turning down the road towards home, the wind had dropped,the sky was clear,the temperature had plummeted and in the fading light it definitely felt like the first day of winter: no feasts, no sacrifices,no dancing naked round standing stones (in these temperatures?!) but we have got the Christmas Tree in and decorated, keeping the dark at bay. :)

Sunday 18.12.2016

It`s continued to feel more like late autumn all week, today (only three days short of the winter solstice) practically spring-like as the temperatures "soared" to about 15 degrees in the midday sun, the birds started scrapping for territory and the geese appeared to be wheeling round and heading back north....apart from the lone one that flew overhead as we were coming back down the road.....why do lone geese look lost when a lone crow looks purposeful?

Anyway - if it weren`t for the low trajectory of the sun and the quality of the light it could all get quite confusing.
Beautifully calm, pastel skies

and mysterious patches of mist,

only the silhouettes a clue to the actual season.

And here`s a book recommendation: try The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler. Not that long, quite quirky and scarily relevant for our times............
And while we`re on books for our times, this one should be compulsory..... The bone sparrow by Zana Fraillon.

Friday 9.12.2016

So the sparkly frosty stuff is all well and good but mild days have more than their own wintry beauty as noted in the last post. Today, not quite as mild as the barmy, never mind balmy, temperatures of Wednesday (16 degrees!), was nevertheless one type of winter landscape at its best. The grey clouds created a subdued light which somehow served to intensify the greens and browns, the air was still and redolent with woodsy, mushroomy scents and other things that were driving the dogs crazy with joy and sending them dashing in and out of the undergrowth in a futile attempt to catch something.

As we turned for home the copper coloured leaves that lay beneath the beech trees were suddenly illuminated by the sun which had made a brief appearance, sinking beneath the cloud and hovering on the horizon long enough to send out shafts of pale silvery light between the trees and across the path. Hard to explain but for a second or two it felt like the planet had stopped turning and was just taking stock of itself........

And once back we were treated to a finale of coral pink sky before it was time to light the fire and get in to a bit of hygge.

Sunday 27.11.2016

Cloudier than forecast, greys and creams with glimpses of blue in between and the occasional ray of silver sun. No wind but sharp air that nipped the nose and ears. Somehow more wintry than the colder bright days we`ve been having but whatever the weather it`s reassuring to walk round the woods and find them pretty much the same as the day before and the day before that, given the way the world in general seems to have gone ever so slightly bonkers. Posted this quote from David Mitchell`s Cloud Atlas before but suddenly it seems more apposite than ever:

"Sometimes the fluffy bunny of incredulity zooms round the bend so rapidly that the greyhound of
language is left, agog, in the starting cage."

Been plenty of agog-ness round here just lately.

Meanwhile gather the drink of your choice and maybe a few nibbles and watch this (it`s very long but explains, as it says, how we got here):

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p04b183c/adam-curtis-hypernormalisation

Wednesday 23.11.2016

Another sparkly cold morning to set the blood coursing round. Called it winter in the last post but officially it`s still autumn of course as the colours attested:



Skeins of geese silhouetted against a bright blue sky and the leaves on the ground positively crunchy. Bliss.

Sunday 20.11.2016

The sun was at its zenith as we set off just after midday today. Storm Angus having stayed south of the border (take that you Sassenachs) we were left with a perfect winter-walking day, frozen ground, sparkling in the sunshine, clear air with geese criss-crossing the sky, deer bounding across our path taunting the dogs and pheasants clattering about in the undergrowth doing much the same thing.

In other words it felt like we were properly back, to the woods, and the winter, everything in the right place and at the right season, after a couple of months...well, gallivanting (although now I`ve spent half an hour getting distracted while I looked up that word I`m not so sure). Suffice to say a fortnight in September travelling to Slovenia via Amsterdam and Vienna to Ljubljana. On to Bled, back to Ljubljana then on to Koper, Trieste before heading back up north via Milan, Tirano, Chur, Zurich to the return ferry at Amsterdam.
Highlights included
-the `Third Man` ferris wheel in Vienna

- amazing Slovenian landscape - Heidi country! - including cows with bells :)

- stunning if steep and exhausting forest walks in the foothills of the Julian Alps and arriving, in the nick of time, at a three storey mountain `hut` with hot coffee and warm strudel!

- food, more food

and convivial food markets (didn`t want to leave this one.)

- train journeys, not to mention trams and buses and ferries.

Oh and so much more...and then there was Copenhagen but that`s another story to mull over..........and gigs.....and house moves.........and farewells.....

And meanwhile there`s work and walking and swimming and reading and even a few Christmas cards getting written..........and several more gigs to look forward to of course. :)

Friday 9.9.2016

Two-part day and a salutary reminder to boot:

1. Blustery and cool, low slate-grey clouds racing across the sky, rain imminent.
Activity: three hours or so spent assisting The Shepherd as he wrestled (i.e. sheared) the sheep. "Assisting" involves standing in one spot (avoiding flying mud, wool and expletives) occasionally handing over essential equipment.
Result: stiff muscles and joints, getting colder, feeling older, hallucinating about hunching over a warm fire with several cups of hot tea.

2. Later, still blustery and cool, clouds lower and darker, rain closer.
Activity: walking-quite-fast for an hour round the woods with the dogs.
Result: muscles and joints loosened up, warmer, rejuvenated, no need for tea (though as the rain finally arrived it was nice to come in to a fire and a wee dram).

And the moral of this tale.....KEEP MOVING whenever possible or face becoming fossilized or, as the dictionary has it, "rigidly antiquated."

Wednesday 7.9.2016 - later

Autumn sights.......

....summer temperatures, even at 7 o`clock this evening. The woods eerily still, the air motionless, the bird song ringing out across the evening hush, the swallows clearly confused about where they should be.

Wednesday 7.9.2016

A succession of beautiful early September days making walking the woods a delight: the light

....the scents and sounds, the warmth! So warm we`re now apparently growing cotton in Scotland........

Joyous shenanigans at Shambala over the bank holiday weekend...my pictures don`t do as much justice to it as these:

http://photos.shambalafestival.org/2016/?image_keywords=Highlights+2016

but a particular shout out as always to

http://www.thehurlyburly.co.uk/ & http://www.oliviersbakery.com/

Those almond croissants!!






Since then it`s been back to work before the next adventure: much driving up and down the country next week and then 2 weeks abroad ......trains and boats and buses and more trains and lots and lots of walking. :)

Sunday 21.8.2016

A misty moisty morning gave way...stealthily...to a warm afternoon and a perfect summer evening....and it was all about the light.



Autumn was knocked back into its box for a little while longer.

Friday 19.08.2016

Three walks on three successive days but at least two seasons. Yesterday and Wednesday full on summer:clear sky, light and shade, hot and panting dogs despite the good strong drying wind.

Today the wind was still blowing, rippling the barley, but it was grey and colder and there were definite suggestions of a change......

Brrrr.......