Monday 27.01.2020

Needed to sweep away the cobwebs after a relatively lazy Sunday - not to mention a fair amount of foodie self-indulgence - so, well wrapped-up, quite welcomed the freezing wind that greeted us as we set off at lunchtime.

Such a bright, sharp day, we lingered a little longer in the woods, taking a path less walked which afforded different views

as well as the opportunity to check out some different trees....always forget how spendid these are, whatever the season.

Cobwebs duly dismissed, back by the fire, old dog has had enough and is snoring loudly but dog no. 2 and I may skip out and round the bounds later.....the days really are drawing out.

Tuesday 21.01.2020

Another day of unseasonably (whatever that means these days) mild temperatures. At least, they were mild here. Not so down south I believe - is schadenfreude the word? :)

What we didn`t have were the fiery skies, morning and evening, that we`ve had for the last couple of days, the sun in a bright blue sky and a lot of very confused birds: "it feels like Spring but it doesn`t look like Spring".

Instead we have been swathed in cloud for much of the day, low cloud when I beat the bounds first thing this morning and though it lifted for a few hours it descended again as we hit the woods later on in the afternoon.

Immediately we were transported to a strange and mystical place where the lichen glowed, the grass shone so green it hurt the eyes, the air was so still not even the smallest branch at the top of the tallest tree moved and the silence was deafening. Any kind of ghostly apparition or mythical creature could have appeared from behind a tree and it would not have been in the least surprising.

In other news Spendiferous Stories & Heady Ideas is finally up and running after quite a lot of false starts. I hope to have a lot of fun with it.

https://splendiferousstoriesheadyideas.blogspot.com

Friday 17.01.2020

So good they named it twice....and such a stonkingly beautiful day we made two forays: up into the woods in the early afternoon under a brilliant sky, an almost warm sun and a chill breeze that was invigorating and made you think you could walk for ever......even old dog skipped along a little and played with a stick for a while.

However, she `d had it by the time the evening beckoned us out again  (though she would have wearily accompanied us if she`d seen us go) so younger dog and I snuck out  to catch the last of the day around the bounds, a few clouds drifting in but still plenty of clear sky, dark silhouettes, twinkling lights just emerging across the hillsides in the distance and the first lone star - Venus? - hanging to the south. Magic.

                                           

Tuesday 14.01.2020

Caught the last of the light this afternoon (and it is lighter a little later every day when the sky is as clear as it has been today), and it was a fine stomp round.

However, the same tramp round this morning turned into something quite special: up before the sun though the eastern horizon was lightening, the now waning moon still high in the sky along with one remaining star. It was clear and cold and there were the lights of houses and moving traffic down below as the day got going.

As we turned along the boundary of the lower field and started to head back down there was a flock of birds wheeling over the adjacent field, a mixture of noisy crows and starlings twisting and turning and apparently having a high old time. But what made it extraordinary was the sudden appearance of hundreds more, rushing pell-mell to join them from every direction until there was the most enormous cloud of noisy delirious black shapes, a murmuration and a murder combined, quite the most awe-inspiring sight I can remember witnessing in a long time. And it felt like witnessing, not just watching, as if there was some sort of symbolic significance to the display. Quite a start to the day!

(It`s at times like this I feel my powers of description are woefully inadequate, further underlined by the fact that I`ve just read The Gallows Pole a novel by Benjamin Myers, a dark narrative set in 18th century Yorkshire, based on a true story of rogues and villains but with some of the most poetic and brilliant description of landscape I`ve come across. Us lesser mortals can only read in wonder.)

Monday 13.01.2020

Arrived home from work as the skies darkened and Storm Brendan arrived so donned a million extra layers and dragged the dogs around the bounds to savour the wildness of it. Wonderful, knock-you-off-your-feet gusts and the first drops of rain not "dropping" at all but spitting furiously onto cheeks and forehead. Glad to be back in by the fire now but can still hear the trees thrashing about outside: not that ferocious compared with a true hurricane but exhilarating nevertheless.

Friday 11.01.2020

Up on the top field at moon-set this morning: love the idea that she`s been arc-ing over us all night - or we`ve been turning gently underneath her.......astronomically inaccurate however you describe it but perception is all.
Hard frost had turned everything crisp and white and we crunched round, dogs one and two checking everything was still where it should be as the sky in the east turned redder though we were back and in before the sun (which for some reason I think of as "he") finally appeared over the horizon.

Looks set to be a fine cold clear day so we may make it up to the woods later.....the forecast for tomorrow is far less enticing.

Thursday 9.01.2020

Beat the bounds tonight as the sun disappeared leaving a nearly full moon hanging quite low in the icy blue sky: not a breath of air....completely still. Perfection.

First star...planet?...appeared as we came back down through the field, the last birds wheeled homeward overhead and a lone tractor in the adjacent field ploughed steadily up and down, sending the scent of freshly turned earth into the air.

7.01.2020

Ab fab walk on a wild wild day, leaning into the wind on the way up the road not long after noon. It was so mild it was more like being tossed around on a rough sea: even as it tried to knock me off my feet it felt like we were bathing in the air rather than being sliced through by it, as tends to be the case in these `ere parts.
The briny theme continued once in the woods,trees thrashing and tossing their branches around sounding for all the world like an angry sea.
Flocks of small birds caught the mood and put on expert aerial displays over and around the tops of the trees.
Deep into the woods and it was possible to imagine the wind had dropped. The trees stilled, the sun shone and the birds now perched in the trees calling loudly as if spring was just over the hill.

But as soon as we emerged it was clear that if anything the wind was strengthening as it pushed us down the hill, and, exhilarating as it was, it was good to get back in and shut the door on its roar.
Half an hour later the sun had disappeared behind charcoal clouds and the rain came on hard. We`d definitely had the best the day had to offer.
And in other notable news: J.T.A. was born 101 years ago today so a glass will be raised to his memory - he`d have enjoyed today`s walk. :)

Friday 3.1.2019

Good to be back on home turf, on top of our hill in the gloaming with a bright demi-moon in a clear sky and a biting wind reminding us that Christmas may be over but winter`s hardly started!

Oh, and as far as New Year`s Resolutions go.....I`m still working on the same ones (see post dated 31.12.2015, posted on the 1st January 2016) with the added aim of not groaning every time I get in and out of a chair. Quite unnecessary.

1.01.2020

So Hogmanay a relatively quiet one, very quiet in fact, sitting up in bed with a splash of whisky and two squares of dark chocolate, watching the celebrations live from Edinburgh. Just started what I think is going to turn out to be a very good novel so it was no hardship to have a quiet evening....all due to the fact I`m enjoying a sojourn in Lennoxtown, house/dog/chicken-sitting.

The weather as ever has been different every day, either mild and grey and damp or ferociously cold and frozen with bright blue clear skies.



Either way no shortage of walking here: along the old railway track by the river where, at this time of year, the lichen covered trees throw their shapes,

And then there`s the nascent forest,

not quite worthy of that title yet but it will be and meanwhile is the perfect place to meander or stride depending on how the mood takes. On New Year`s Eve it was stunning: frosted grass where the sun hadn`t touched, crunching very satisfactorily underfoot, contrasting with further up the hill where the sun had melted it all away and it might have felt like Spring with the sound of little streams burbling away and bird song were it not for the icy air which kept us moving along quite sharply.

Then yesterday the longest walk of all, through to Strathblane on the old railway line path. Would rather see trains on a railway line but this is second best.

Burns and tangled woodland, bridges and old signposts keeping us moving along,an excellent last day in this lovely place.

So that`s 2020 escorted in, lang may yer lum reek and I`m off to get a bus back up north.

25.12.2019

Early up on the hill this Christmas morning,grey with a hint of sunrise but so mild and still and quiet it`s difficult not to think we`re in for a severe spell of weather into the New Year just to make up for it.
By the time we set off for the woods later in the morning the sun was up casting long winter shadows and the birds were skittering about as if it were Spring.

Nature had decorated the trees especially for the festivities

and we took our time relishing the fresh air...and the fact that Christmas lunch was not our responsibility. :)

Turned out absolutely delicious, of course - venison casserole in a chocolate sauce - followed by the smallest pudding in the world, everything accompanied by all the extras the day demands.

(I should point out perhaps that the plate was a very small one.........)

Grabbed the chance to take another walk up the hill in the gloaming (I had done most of the washing up!)

then an evening spent watching films - Klaus followed by the 3 hour epic which is The Irishman....both very good in their own way.....and so another Christmas day slips away.....