Sunday 23.7.2017

Woke up to a shroud of thick cloud which persisted pretty well all day. The sun made a half-hearted attempt to burn though when it lifted a little in the afternoon but by the time we set off for the woods we were enveloped in it again, making for a wonderful atmosphere and an eerie quiet, so still was the air.



It was easy to imagine the unicorns were out and we`d just missed them...round that corner.....

or maybe this one.......

...especially given the trail they left......

Last Wednesday it was a day trip to Lennoxtown and a walk in different woods: no unicorns but a haunting atmosphere as we skirted Lennox Castle, now dilapidated - and photogenic - but with a sobering history, at least in its final incarnation.*

It was also a day of dogs and chickens and gardens and lunch and bus rides, even if one of the buses did leave early...what is the point of buses that leave early?!

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

Saturday 21.7.2017

The fresh easterly that sprang up dispersing the muggy air, shaking the trees and scattering the flies made the walking more pleasant in the woods this evening but riding on that wind were dark grey clouds roiling and boiling, looking as if they hid thunderbolts. So we picked up our pace and rattled home before the sky sparked up and the heavens opened though in the end it was all a bit of an anti-climax - no thunder and the rain has only just started now.

Sunday 9.7.2017

A weekend of damp, mild, occasionally muggy weather. On the one hand more shades of green than it`s possible to count

on the other,often hidden away,colour,

subtle

and delicate

not to mention shapely......

Going stir crazy as it rained most of the day but eventually set off anyway, overtrousers and raincoats donned, only to discard the coat half way up the hill as the grey clouds lifted. Kept the overtrousers though as we traipsed through parts of the wood where the grass hasn`t been cut, much to the dogs` delight as for them it made exploration much more fun.

Sunday 2.7.2017

Yesterday a sun-kissed evening with a strong but warm southerly wind blowing, rather, as Edward Thomas said of another occasion:

"with such peace and energy together as to call up the image of a good giant striding along
with superb gestures- like those of a sower sowing." *

It tossed the tops of the trees about, ran through the barley, hurried the clouds across the sky

and as an added bonus swirled the scents of fresh cut grass and new growth all around us like some gigantic room freshener.

The shadows were already lengthening as we went round the woods and the light cast enhanced the magic of these long summer evenings

of which, hopefully, there are a few more to come before we feel the blast of a less friendly wind.

* In Pursuit of Spring by Edward Thomas