Category Archives: nature

The “Great Confinement” and the coming of Spring

Posted on March 31, 2020 by

1. To Torridon, BGC (before the “Great Confinement”) Diary excerpt, Wednesday February 12th. I watched the river plunging through our lower fields from the attic window. It was black and foam flecked; periodically wavelets slushed out across the field. The … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, experiencing nature, geology, landforms, landscape, mountains, nature, nature writing | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Procession to late autumn

Posted on October 30, 2019 by

From Red River Croft it is possible track the procession of sunsets over the calendrical year, solstice to solstice. Across the Inner Sound the midwinter sun descends quickly behind the undulating hills below Skye’s Old Man of Storr while in … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, Autumn, Autumnal equinox, birds, coasts, crofting, encounters with wildlife, environment, experiencing nature, nature, nature writing, Scotland, Skye, weather, wilderness, wildlife encounters | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Abundance

Posted on August 30, 2019 by

It is late August and the morning is fierce with light. Westwards the Outer Isles are floating in a blue haze, their familiar shapes swollen yet indistinct. I am roaming the croft fields with a bag and a walking stick. … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, crofting, encounters with wildlife, environment, experiencing nature, landscape, meadows, nature, Scotland, summer, wildflowers, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Sinuosity

Posted on June 17, 2019 by

In April the land burned. Cold snow showers that had bundled together under cloud-bands of steel grey and ink in late March were swept aside by penetrating blue skies, fierce light and desiccating wind. The air was bright, dry and … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, encounters with wildlife, environment, experiencing nature, landscape, landscape photography, mountains, nature, nature writing, orchids, skylarks, swallows, wildflowers#cuckoos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

One hour, one shower, altered perspective.

Posted on December 9, 2018 by

Along this small frisk of marginal land, sandwiched between high mountains and deep sea, an old path has been re-established by our footsteps. For me it has become a prayer walk, a cleansing-of-the-mind pather, from croft home to sandy beach … Continue reading →

Posted in beaches, clouds, coasts, encounters with wildlife, environment, landscape photography, nature, nature writing, photography, Scotland, sea, Skye, storm, weather, wilderness, winter, winter weather | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Fire and fury (and cuckoos)

Posted on May 28, 2018 by

On Saturday morning a surprise landed on the lawn as I knelt gardening. A cuckoo, his livery as blue as the waters of the Inner Sound rippling with currents of platinum-grey and violet, his abdomen a striped T-shirt. His “Cu-ckoo” … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, experiencing nature, landscape, landscape history, nature, peat bogs, Scotland, Uncategorized, wildfires, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Winter blues and the magic of light

Posted on January 13, 2018 by

So much happens in midwinter, not just the mayhem of a family Christmas but out there, beyond the walls and windows, down by the shore, in the fields and in the woods. Apart from the preternatural (and for me much … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, Christmas, clouds, coasts, encounters with wildlife, environment, experiencing nature, family, ice, landforms, landscape, landscape photography, midwinter, mountains, nature, nature writing, north winds, peatbogs, photography, Rainbows, Scotland, sea, Skye, snow, solstice, storm, Storms, thunder, Trotternish, weather, wilderness, wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments