There is a haunted look about the place today. The orchard is a spectral grove of skeletal trees bearing baubles of hollowed out apples. The gravel garden has the air of Miss Havesham’s wedding feast, with eerily preserved frozen shades of summer’s bounty. Driving down our rollercoaster of a road into town for coffee withContinue reading “The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come”
Category Archives: Pets
Library musings
I was planning to start this blog with some musings about being rather sleepy and warm in the library, where mum has the wood burner stoked to thermonuclear levels. Nestling down in my seat, I patted myself on the head smugly for remembering to scan my recent “tree” blog to check for any photographic overlap.Continue reading “Library musings”
Under the November trees
Trees I promised, and trees there shall be. I have been jealously hoarding my miser’s pile of gold and copper all month, waiting for a handy moment. The Christmas cakes are in the oven and the last set of advent calendar gifts are wrapped and numbered therefore all current excuses have expired. I have loadedContinue reading “Under the November trees”
Gifted light
Today was the first solidly dry and sunny day for an age. This was a stroke of luck as I had entirely forgotten that Stuart (the Rat Man) was coming bright and early to spray the carpets against moths (Stuart is a chiel o’ pairts). This entailed chasing out the cats and taking Lyra outContinue reading “Gifted light”
Reflections on reflections
As the brightness of summer begins to fade, the woods around us grow ever lighter, gaining an almost fragile airiness. Windows appear in the canopy as leaves fall down into foosseling drifts below. Now there are just a few narrowly arched casements and tiny aureoles, but by November we will look through an astragal glazedContinue reading “Reflections on reflections”
Foraging Season
It seems as though we stepped off the plane from Corfu straight into mid autumn. Whilst we were sunning ourselves the brambles and gooseberries had been and gone and the fat Ruthven blackbirds had stripped our rowan of berries. Sloes have also been few and far between this year. And so it was that whenContinue reading “Foraging Season”
Garden Manumission
With Lachlan on a new work placement, mum and I are back on dog walking detail. Autumn seems to be trying out different weather moods. Over the course of a fortnight we have yomped across the fields in the blazing sun, battled the wind along the river path and drizzled our way through dripping woods.Continue reading “Garden Manumission”
September Songs
With Lachlan home again, mum and I have been rather rationed on the dog walks lately. Opportunities have had to be snatched when the bold boy is away on Landrover repair visits or social forays to Edinburgh for a little high life. Down by the river on a blustery day last week a monumental MayanContinue reading “September Songs”
Picking up the threads
I am coming up for air again after a tough couple of months, picking up the threads of normal life. Dad’s health started to decline badly last month and our days were filled with the trip to and from Galashiels and increasingly painful, powerless, bedside vigils. Ishbel and Lachlan came home and, as Ishbel tookContinue reading “Picking up the threads”
A reckoning…
The weather gives and the weather takes. In the end the reckoning comes…. Since the wind changed at the end of June we have been promised thunderstorms daily. Any yet, the days have continued hot and sultry, with barely the odd spit spot here and there during the day (though the lawns have welcomed someContinue reading “A reckoning…”