“Just north of Dunvegan Castle, Coral Beach (Tràigh bhorghadail) is one of the most popular places on Skye. It is often featured by travel blogs and guidebooks as a top destination on the island. On a bright day, the combination of light sand and shallow water creates a turquoise glow that seems entirely out of place in the Inner Hebrides.”
This was on a bitterly cold day in November. Brodie didn’t mind, he went for a swim in the sea. Twice.
I love these silent, visual echoes. These two images have a lot in common; the cloudy blue skies, the yellow radiance on the landscape and the track disappearing round a corner.
They are vastly different in atmosphere and mood. They can be interpreted in different ways. Both can be seen as joyous or with a tinge of sadness. What we think we know of them affects the echo of the image. For what is really going on read the ALT on both.
Recently we celebrated National Poetry Day in the UK. The theme was ‘wonder’.
‘A Warning To My Readers’
by Wendell Berry
Do not think me gentle
because I speak in praise
of gentleness, or elegant
because I honour the grace
that keeps this world. I am
a man crude as any,
gross of speech, intolerant,
stubborn, angry, full
of fits and furies. That I
may have spoken well
at times, is not natural.
A wonder is what it is.
#poetry #wonder #sky #water #landscape #isleofskye #scotland #read #alt
Radio Skye told me as I was driving home that we have had only 18 rain free days this year.
Reflecting on that I realised that it doesn’t feel like that. There have been days, like today when it has rained all day but more often than not the rain comes for periods; outbreaks of squally showers and gentle showers prevail and often it only rains at night.
I stopped after a quick downpour in the gloom to take this shot and realised brightness is never far away.
A few months ago I published what I thought was my 1000th post on here. That number included quite a few reposts of items from other people. I have removed them and now this really is my one thousandth!
I said before all that I wanted to say about all the lovely people I’ve met on here. Today it’s the turn of a work of art to star. “If there was one painting in the world you would choose to keep…?” This may well be the one! It’s not an easy choice…
I run a WA group for a group of walking buddies who happen to be ex colleagues. We post widely. One of the things we like to do is send pics with a particular theme or topic. Daily joy is the idea. Occasionally we have a joint project.
All these were sent in the last 24 hours. I made the collage.
A lot of these were grown at home by the group members. Others were bought from various places. Tomatoes are universally loved by the team.
“Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it. Even if one were to walk for one's health and it were constantly one station ahead— I would still say: Walk!”
…written by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard the rest of the quote is in the ALT
And now I have found another anomaly - this pale pink-lavender one....
Succisa pratensis - is also known by several other common names - I’ve always known them as Blue Bonnets - and by an older scientific name - Scabiosa succisa.
“The rounded and nodding, purple-blue flower heads of Devil's-bit scabious can be found in damp meadows and marshes, and along woodland rides and riverbanks. It is in bloom between July and October, its pincushion-like flower heads attracting a wide variety of bees and insects.”
This image marks an important point in my recovery. I took this photograph on the first longer walk since I came home from hospital 6 weeks ago. It is a never ending delight looking at this group of trees. Yesterday it wasn’t a very bright day. It had been raining. The sun had just peeked through a break in the clouds.
It needed to be celebrated in spite of the darker, moodier tones. To me it represents light after a challenging year to date.
This view is from the bench at the top of the rise after we walk up to the bridge over the Rosgil River and up the the lane. I see it daily and, of course, it varies enormously in its appearance and feeling. In England they have been suffering through a series of heatwaves caused by climate change.
On Skye we also have odd weather, but then we always do. This is high summer. Cool and wet. We have sunshine too and the combination is one that we enjoy.
‘The Red Tree’
Léo Gausson (1860-1944)
Léo Gausson was a French Post-Impressionist who worked closely with the artists of the Pont-Aven circle. His landscapes are remembered for their expressive use of colour. This is one of my favourites.
Gausson was later mentioned in a letter from Theo van Gogh to his brother Vincent in connection with a proposed exchange of paintings, which was completed after Vincent's death.
Brodie has been on holiday. He went swimming every day. Fox Red Labradors possess a range of physical characteristics that make them exceptional swimmers. Their double-layered coat provides insulation and buoyancy, allowing them to stay afloat effortlessly. The outer coat is water-resistant, while the dense undercoat helps to maintain body temperature, even in cold waters.
Brodie has always been confident in the water
#dogsofmastodon #labradorretriever #lochness #scotland #holiday
We have six new hens. White Sussex. Shy and a bit skittish. Only just beginning to lay.
“Chickens are remarkable, resilient creatures celebrated for their spunky personalities, nurturing instincts, and essential place in human history. Whether admired for their quirky antics in the barnyard, their handsome crowing, or their symbolic connection to fertility and motherhood, these feathered friends leave a lasting impact on our lives.”
“Green is the colour between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. In subtractive colour systems, used in painting and colour printing, it is created by a combination of yellow and cyan; in the RGB colour model, used on television and computer screens, it is one of the additive primary colours, along with red and blue, which are mixed in different combinations to create all other colours.”
But it is also pure joy from our walk in the Castle Woods today.
“Love of the land" is a profound concept encompassing environmental stewardship, cultural heritage, and deep emotional connection to place. It drives people to protect natural landscapes and to preserve ties to the country.
This view is from my road home as it passes the coast of the south east of the Isle of Skye. The hills are on Skye and on Scalpay and Raasay. The water is the Inner Sound and the Abhainn (River) Ashik runs on the right hand side.
“Heather moorland is now seen as a cultural landscape. Attention is given to how human activity contributed to its expansion over the early modern period and to its decline from ca. 1800 onwards, exploring such themes as moor burning, the harvesting of young tree growth, and grazing levels and practices, both before and after the clearances.”
From the introduction to ‘Heather moorland in the Scottish Highlands: the history of a cultural landscape, 1600–1880’
You don’t always need to take a photograph!
I first went to Venice in 1972 by train. It was late when we went down the Grand Canal and out to the Youth Hostel. I soon fell asleep on a top bunk with a shutttered window within arm’s reach….
…..When I woke it was dawn. I opened the shutter to a grey mist. Over the next twenty minutes the view of Venice appeared. I didn’t take a photograph but I committed the scene to memory. Back in London I found this:
According to a Scottish legend, if you want to see a fairy, you must eat a primrose, or rub primrose oil on your eyelids. Some ancient Druids thought that standing in a large swathe of primroses gave you passage to fairyland.
Some farmers used to put primroses in their cowsheds to stop fairies stealing the milk, or braided them into the manes of horses for protection. We have never had any trouble from the fairies.
Strange weather. It’s true that the hills were invisible in the fog bank. The sun was watery and pale. A rainstorm came and went. The road was a silver river and the air was fresh and clear. I’ve used a poem from Africa for the ALT. It tells of the same feelings I had in this nearby landscape on Skye. The image was taken by me last week. It is past the end of winter but spring isn’t really here yet. I dream.
#strangeweather #isleofskyescotland #latewinter #poetryisuniversal #sometimes
