Tangles and twinings
The grass by the river bank is long and lush. Where they mowed the paths to the fishing beats a week ago there are now two good inches of springy turf underfoot and to either side the sward is long enough to hide a woolly dog. The heaps of mown grass have “matured” and Lyra…
Halfway May
It’s been a while since I have posted a round up of developments in the garden and now that May is half way through I think it’s well past time I brought you up to date. By the end of April the orchard was waking up and all around the edge the pears had come…
Trekking
Anyone paying attention (though why should you!) will note that I am now all out of order. However, having got a pressing cri de coeur about “stuff” out of my system and with an hour of luxurious spare time up my sleeve, I am now returning to the joys of our week in Glenelg. I…
Time and socks
In the great scheme of life you never have enough. Of course there are protective measures you can take with socks. They can be assiduously flyped before hitting the laundry bin. You can hang them on the line Ark style, pegged neatly two by two. In the end, if push comes to shove, Asda do…
Four take a mini break
Author’s note: this is my fourth attempt at this blog. Versions 1, 2 and 3 were beset (all when nearly finished) with unscheduled crashing and unsaved text. I will not lie – I cycled through wry grins, petulant sighs and ultimately quite a lot of swearing. However, I closed the lid on it firmly last…
Out of Office
We have vacated the homestead for a week in the highlands (of which more anon) so this is the last report from Ruthven for a while. The days before we left were a welter skelter of trying to hoof out the worst of the shepherd’s purse and other muscular self seeders from the borders in…
Inter Alia
A welter of birthdays, visiting offspring, family reunions yet more birthdays and sic like affairs have come between me and my keyboard of late. However, following yet another bout with mum’s insurers (the product was ironically entitled “RBS Elite” – god help those in steerage is all I can say…), I find myself with an…
Coming around again…
It is daffodil season again in the Hirsel woods. The leaves are drifting down the slopes like blue green fur in the shadier stretches. Where the sun hits the flowers have begun to unfurl, a bright acid yellow, subtly scented. I’m sure I am repeating myself, this year’s words a perfect echo of last and…
Splish Splash
After the full compendium of weather recently, there’s been a growth spurt in the garden, especially in the pond. Serenading breaks out whenever there’s a glimpse of sun. We have basso profundo toads in the bottom pond rising through baritone in the stream and a few countertenors under the top pond bridge. World weary females…
Animal Instincts
Out in the fields with Lyra today I was admiring her running, all windswept fur over really quite powerful muscles, then slowing down to confident, positively Chauserian, sashay of the hips. I thought back to two Alsatian pups we met by the lake a few days ago. Their gait couldn’t have been be more different.…
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