Monday 4/11/24

 A walk-for-ever sort of a day yesterday. So we did. Completely still, the overnight work of legions of spiders glistening in the sun.

As we set off for a longer walk, realised the wind turbines in the distance were completely motionless. 

Been a while since we walked up to them so it seemed a good destination for a change of scene.

 

 A  track between fields, with occasional glimpses of these behemoths standing sentinel,

 

then almost suddenly plunged into gloomy, damp forest, more spiders, (where are they all?!)

incongruously bright mossy decorations

and all the while being beckoned on by the turbines.

Once up close we wandered around between a few of them - simultaneously impressive structures and slightly sinister the way they just stood there......

 

 

 

 

until, as we began to retrace our steps, the whole thing became even more eerie as the blades on the one we were approaching appeared to shift. Thought at first it was a trick of the light but as we stood and stared upwards it was obvious that without warning, without any discernible change in the air, noiselessly, the blades were, indeed, almost imperceptibly beginning to turn. It was completely mesmerising.

It was as if someone had waved a wand.  All around us, one by one (though not all) the turbines began to wake up, either turning the blades or repositioning the way they were facing (which I have subsequently discovered is called the Yaw: "the rotation of the entire wind turbine in the horizontal axis") Fascinating.

Also a very good thing that we were there on a balmy autumn afternoon.

As we got back up on to the road and looked back it was possible to see that first one now bowling along merrily while others began to catch up, turning at different speeds (or some still not turning at all). All in all an education and an inspiration to find out how they actually work. Love to imagine Terry Pratchett style figures sitting inside what I now know is called the "nacelle", (though I don`t know how to  pronounce it) keeping an eye on the prevailing weather and making adjustments accordingly but I fear it may have more to do with algorithms.

Thus entranced we returned home as the sun gently began to sink lower and lower

briefly setting the trees on fire before finally disappearing.

Thursday 31/10/2024

 Clocks back on Sunday and yesterday afternoon it felt like the world was settling down, easing back, ready for long dark nights ( when we`re supposed to have time for jigsaw puzzles and long classic novels). It was mild, the air was still and rich with autumn scents, the sky a kaleidoscope of greys and blues, yellows and white but nothing moving apart  from the sun moving slowly towards the horizon, the light diffusing as it did so.

Today, woke up to more beautiful colours but in contrast the wind was stirring things up, sending the leaves whirling down and around as we yomped through the woods this morning, some of the trees almost completely bare quite suddenly. 

Then a final tramp up on our back field as it all came to a stunning finale: the sun slowly descending, creamy low-flying clouds tinged with gold spreading across the sky and, almost incongruously, a thin line of jagged black clouds sitting angrily on the horizon. A strong but strangely mild wind swirled around us and as the gold gradually turned a vivid scarlet, it would have been no surprise to see the hag on her broomstick silhouetted against the sky as she made her rounds this Hallowe`en. Back indoors the appropriate measures had been taken, just in case.

 

 

On Tuesday took another walk up Bennachie, Oxen Craig this time though I`d forgotten just how many steps there are on that route which is a lot harder than shuffling up. Still, a good view of Mither Tap as you pause for breath and it was a perfect day.

                                                                                               

When I came down I found the picnic spot where there`d once been a significant birthday party with lots of family and friends. Empty this time and with plenty of time before I had to get to work (hence no canine company which always feels a bit strange) I sat in the sun and watched the leaves floating to the ground.Privileged moments.

 

 

Monday 28/10/24

Can be quite salutary this blogging malarkey:  11th September! Suffice to say on this damp and grey morning that in the interim there have been stunning autumn days of colour and the associated evocative earthy scents of everything dying back. There have been the first storms of the season, winds that on one morning threatened - literally, and that word is not used loosely - to throw me off the top of Bennachie. Rain, rain and more rain with the subsequent flooded roads. Bright sunshine and clear blue skies or dry brown days, so still the trees were utterly motionless and you could have cut through the air with a knife. Some days the sun retained enough warmth to encourage a few butterflies and bees out for a last forage and clouds of gnats (or what we used to call gnats, not sure what their Sunday name is) hung in the air. The odd suggestion of a frost on one or two mornings but a lot of very mild temperatures as well, shirtsleeve order on some walks.  Beasts still out in the fields and sheep, some looking as if they are already in lamb, others raddled and in waiting. Earlier in the month there was still a lot of green about and it was possible to almost watch as the change began but by now we`re full into the blazing colours - especially on the beech trees. And there`s always the geometry of the grain harvest, the long rows of straw waiting to be baled, and then fields covered in giant checkers waiting
to be collected. And skies of course, splendid skies all part of the season`s warp and weft. No two days the same.s

 

There were excursions: along the coast from Sandend to Portsoy one bright breezy day, done on the spur of the moment because the weather made it irresistible;

And some interesting forays up to Mither Tap on Bennachie, one in the cloud,

and one on the aforementioned windy day .....

 ...and one day, also on the spur of the moment on a perfect walking day, a slightly longer route taking in a local monument which has been beckoning for a while. *

Always worth a foray of course because the day can feel very different once out in it from the way it looks though the window. Grey and damp it might have been this morning but it was very mild and the woods were all a-glitter and a-glow, the lichen positively pulsing with light, the beech leaves turning to a deep burnt amber and spiders`webs draped across the gorse and caught in the long grass stems. Love to think of all that manic weaving going on as we sleep - should be able to hear it.

*In memory of local worthy Colonel Alexander Shand.

Wednesday 11.09.2024

 So cold out there this morning! Temperatures plummeted yesterday, the wind whipped up and suddenly it`s light the fire and make soup. And keep walking, only a bit faster.

Autumn clearly signalling its imminent arrival as we took to the woods for the first time in a long time yesterday. You can almost smell it. The leaves are hanging on but there`s the first indication of the change to come

and berries of course - that old "mellow fruitfulness" - though it didn`t feel very mellow in the strong cold wind. Saturday, on the other hand, promised the quintessential autumn day, the early morning mist slowly retreating, the cobwebs laced over the gorse, the ripened grain, the clear sky and still air.

By the afternoon the sun was beating down, people were splashing about in a local river and summer clothes were getting a late outing.  That was it though. Back to cloud-enfolded and dreich for the rest of the weekend and now - arctic! Well, not quite but it is cold. Another brisk walk the order of the day, plus tales of gallivanting. 

 

Tuesday 22/07/2024

 Looking back at that last post, hadn`t realised that was probably the best it was going to get. Maybe that`s an exaggeration but there does seem to have been an overwhelming amount of damp, dreich and seriously wet weather over the last few weeks.

And yet, and yet, it seems to depend where you are on this green and pleasant land (at least the rain keeps it green).

Back last month the Cotswolds offered up a few days of warmth and good walking weather, footpaths wandering through yet-to-ripen wheat and barley fields, at their most photogenic in some ways.On to Glastonbury with its usual mix of thronging crowds and peaceful oases, big names on the Pyramid stage, blasts from the past at smaller venues (Lulu and Judy Collins both smashing it at their respective sessions) and simply wandering about and stumbling on unexpected gems, bearing in mind lessons learnt about not trying to walk too far in what was in fact several days of hot dry weather.

 And lo and behold,  that heat and sun had done its work back on those same fields which were now, mostly, golden.

More  walks through the picturesque countryside,

quintessentially one kind of England, before heading north, to a smaller festival, set in beautiful grounds overlooking the Firth of Clyde; 

then `touching base` with the youngest member of the clan before arriving back to wilder landscapes......and quite a lot more of that rain.

Beautiful in its own way, this time of year it`s the blues and yellows that stand out 

and the big full skies which demand you straighten the shoulders and take deep breaths.

 

Since returning there`s been monsoons but also perfect days to walk with a fresh breeze stirring the trees, the grasses, the yet-to-ripen grains. The woods have been full of small brown butterflies, bees and birds....and rather more mushrooms than might be expected at this time of year, a reminder of autumn not really that far away though perhaps more indicative of the prevailing damp conditions.

Anyway, yesterday it was the beach that called, empty despite it being the holidays, the tide well in and so mild, a dip would have been in order if I`d remembered the swimsuit. 🙄

Wednesday 22.05.2024

 If you could bottle the weather we`ve had in the last few days.......well, not sure what you`d do with it but it has been pretty much perfect, especially for strolling around. Clear skies, really warm sun kept in check by a sweet gentle breeze and nature on the brink of "bustin` out all over". Fresh green on the trees, especially the beech which take the prize (as they do in the autumn) and every shade of yellow - golden gorse, the broom a little paler while great swathes of the landscape are covered in the fierce lemon yellow of the ubiquitous oil-seed rape with its unique pungent scent.

On many of these beautiful days we start off draped in the haar* which, as well as making everything drip gently, coats all the familiar landmarks in gossamer and puts time on pause as we wait to see if it will linger all day or drift away. Mostly, in the last few days, it`s done the latter, drawing back to reveal a  flawless late Spring day before creeping back in as the sun goes down and everything cools.

Best of all, or perhaps mundanely, with the nagging jeopardy of it all collapsing any minute into the more usual "changeable" (i.e. four seasons in one day) everything emerges to take full advantage: the cattle are released from their winter sheds and scamper wildly round the fields; people find their shorts and white knobbly knees are everywhere; barbecues, advertisements for camping, convertible cars with their hoods actually down for once and restaurants put their tables and umbrellas out on the pavement. Unfortunately some shops also decide it is time for the air-conditioning which is really not necessary in these northern climes in May and can spoil the mood, leaving you shivering before you reach the fruit and veg. But hey-ho, we can kid ourselves.

Meanwhile, dogs and I have indulged ourselves with walk after walk, no extra clothing required, breathing in the multi-layered scents and fragrances, watching the bees and butterflies linger on the dandelions which are in full flower just now (more yellow) and listening to the cacophony of bird song. 

  

Just now it is grey, a bit muggy and starting to drizzle. Apparently we`re due thunder and, tomorrow, deluge. Plus ca change and all that.

*  "haar" - from the Middle Dutch apparently...or Old Norse...take your pick.......prosaically, just means sea fog.