Thursday 29.07.2010

A late walk under low, grey clouds with a freshening breeze and a lop-sided golden moon balanced momentarily on top of the local sledging hill. Could hardly have been more different to yesterday. The day may have been warm and sunny but tonight there was promise of autumn.

Wednesday 28.07.2010

Sometimes it`s like being David Attenborough though he would probably have known whether they were Whitethroats or Garden Warblers or something else I was watching. Kneeling in the wet grass this morning trying to get a proper look (must buy some new binoculars) I wouldn`t have been surprised to see an Orang Utan peering back at me through the undergrowth, especially as the atmosphere was warm and damp - very jungly.
Dog and I were completely soaked by the time we got back, having waded through swathes of tall grasses and head-high ferns but that simply added to the tropical feel - and later in the day came the monsoon.

Thursday 22.07.2010

Tuesday was hot sun and flies and a last walk with visiting dog. Yesterday was deluge. Today was 12 hours at work but then a late evening walk, just me and dog, in golden light with a big waxing moon and gloriously fresh air.
Tired and bamboozled by various vicissitudes when I set off but by the time I got back couldn`t remember what they were. Bit of Billy Bragg played at top volume got rid of the last vestiges of self-pity and I`m away to finish his book.
Talking of books, took time out from Billy to read Michael Morpurgo`s Private Peaceful which has been on my list for a long time. Excellent, but only read if you have a large box of tissues handy.

Sunday 18.07.2010

Bright and breezy,clean-washed morning for a bright and breezy walk though most of the time I was surrounded by a cloud of flies that must have made me look like Pig-Pen.
Lots of purple about: thistles, vetches and some of the grasses beginning to flower and the little herb called `self-heal` which seems to spread everywhere and is, we are told by Gerard, the best "wound herbe":
"the very name importing it to be very admirable upon this account and indeed the Virtues doe make it good, for this very herbe without the mixture of any other ingredient, being onely bruised and wrought with the point of a knife upon a trencher or the like, will be brought into the form of a salve, which will heal any green wounde even in the first intention, after a very wonderful manner, The decoction of Prunell made with wine and water doth join together and make whole and sound all wounds"


Once the shock of bad news diminishes it`s the sense that nothing will ever be the same again which is one of the harder things to come to terms with - even the trivial realisation that previously innocuous words and place names will from now on always have different associations.

Tuesday 13.07.2010

Circumstances dictated that I couldn`t get on to Bennachie until 10-ish this morning. Luckily they also dictated that I had more time than originally anticipated. With rain and wind forecast for the rest of the week we made the most of the beautiful day and did the `three peaks` - Mither Tap, Oxen Craig, Craigshannoch and back up to Mither Tap before descending to the car.

2 and three-quarter hours, allowing for a little pause on each summit.












Dog and Lab had a great time, the latter being true to her breed and jumping into every stream we passed and the two of them posing proudly for pics on the tops.

And in the event it provided some solace in the wake of a friend`s very sad news.
John Muir, the Scottish naturalist, said, in his slightly over wrought way,
"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."
They may not drop right off but you do feel better able to cope with them.

Monday 12.07.2010

Another canine guest - a more sensible Lab,if that`s not too contradictory - and we were out relatively early as I had to go to work later. Relatively early but still warm enough for the flies to start buzzing round, necessitating the improvisation of a fly switch from lengths of cow parsley and dock.
Many many moons ago I took a driving test in a dusty little town in Uganda. The test simply entailed driving round the block, a three point turn and reversing into a parking space but my chief memory is of the solemn official dressed in a dark suit, standing on the street corner as I performed these manoeuvres,waving his splendid fly switch backwards and forwards in an authoritative sort of way.
It had a long tail made out of some kind of animal hair with a beautiful beaded handle and I`ve always regretted not bringing one home with me.
I passed, by the way, despite this distraction.

The dogs meanwhile ran round getting very hot, startling pheasants, chasing rabbits and having a thoroughly good time.

Thursday 08.07.2010

Lived and worked in some beautiful places but a perfect Scottish summer`s evening takes a lot of beating. Too hot and stuffy to be indoors all day but needs must - fans going nineteen to the dozen at work. However, by nine o`clock this evening, though the sun was still warm, the air was fresher and there was a reviving breeze.
The shadows steadily lengthened as dog and I walked the woods. Last year I gave up ploughing through the unmowed patches of shoulder high vegetation but if you persevere you get your own little track. Might take the secateurs with me next time though.
The bullocks galloped across to greet us like long lost friends, had a good stare and then stampeded away in a cloud of dust as if they were auditioning for an episode of Rawhide.
As the sun finally disappeared behind the hills, the breeze dropped and there was that magical stillness of a northern summer night.


Just started a Billy Bragg book on the meaning of belonging.

Tuesday 06.07.2010

Still feels like Monday as not yet to bed. Stayed up to watch Enemy of the State. Scary stuff.
On Sunday the road to town was paved with gold as the near gale force winds blew all the flowers off the broom. This morning, as we skirted the woods, the still strong breeze was driving voluminous white clouds across a busy sky and scattering all trials and tribulations, cares and woes into the wide blue yonder.



Just finished a very intriguing book: if you think you know what happened to Adam and Eve, read The Garden by Elsie Aidinoff and think again.

Friday 02.07.2010

Why does the sky look so much bigger when it`s full of clouds than when its empty? The last few nights have been all about the clouds, every shade of grey and cream and white, tinged with pink as the sun goes down. Every shape as well and constantly changing in the strong warm winds which also no doubt added to the bullocks` exuberance as they galloped over to inspect us and then, with a lot of snorting and head tossing, kicked up their heels and tore away. You never seem to see sheep having such fun.
So Andy lost and Brazil, my team in the sweep at work, got knocked out of the World Cup. Sigh.