Tag Archives: nature

Shielding and shelter

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

There are wriggling tadpoles in small pools across the bog next to our croft but in the last few dry days water levels have dropped and their living spaces have shrunk. A rescue attempt will be made shortly, buckets and … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged coastal landscapes, cuckoos, Highlands, landscape, mountains, nature, North West Highlands, Spring, weather, west coast, wildlife | 4 Comments

Procession to late autumn

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

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 autumn, farming, nature, nature writing, October, wilderness, wildlife | 8 Comments

Sinuosity

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

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 fires, meadow flowers, meadows, mountains, nature, orchids, Spring, weather, wild flowers, wildlife | 7 Comments

One hour, one shower, altered perspective.

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

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 coast, landscape photography, nature, storm clouds, winter weather | 6 Comments

Elemental Colours and Inner Sounds (Water Colours II)

Posted on July 16, 2018 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

I wrote last year about the Inner Sound and the Minch, stretches of sea between Wester Ross on the Scottish mainland and the Hebrides: https://notesfromasmallcroftbythesea.wordpress.com/2017/04/27/water-colours/ Red River Croft looks out over them both but especially where they meet, one running … Continue reading →

Posted in clouds, coasts, environment, experiencing nature, photography, Scotland, weather | Tagged coast, coastal environments, colours of nature, elementals, Inner Sound, marine environments, nature, Scotland, sea, The Minch, Wester Ross | 7 Comments

Fire and fury (and cuckoos)

Posted on May 28, 2018 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

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 cuckoos, environment, landscapes, muirburn, nature, peat bogs, Spring, wildfires, wildlife | 4 Comments

Winter blues and the magic of light

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

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 art of nature, birds, Christmas, coast, colours of nature, darkness, ice, Inner Sound, january, light, mountains, nature, North West Highlands, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, sea, snow, snow ice mountains storm waves birds, sunrise, sunset, weather, Wild weather, wildife, wildlife, winter solstice | 10 Comments

Whale bones and wintry wilds

Posted on November 17, 2017 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

Snow appeared on our mountain tops with the back-turning of clocks, just as it usually does, so now days are constricted, confined at each end by swift sunrises and swifter sunsets. Each incremental diurnal shortening can almost be tasted. To … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bones, coasts, death, encounters with wildlife, environment, experiencing nature, landscape, nature, nature writing, otters, photography, Scotland, sea, Storms, Uncategorized, walking, weather, whales, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife encounters, winter, winter weather | Tagged coasts, crofting, environment, landscape, nature, otters, Scotland, Scottish Highlands, Storms, whales, Wild weather, wildlife, winter | Leave a comment

Limestone homecoming and olive trees

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

For a few years I took groups of university students to Mallorca. It was both a privilege and a pleasure; hard work but great fun. Through fieldwork we investigated the island’s mountain and coastal landscapes and tried to piece together … Continue reading →

Posted in archaeology, beaches, Formentor, karst, limestone, Lluc, Mallorca, Mediterranean, Mediterranean holidays, Mediterranean vegetation, olive groves, olive trees, rillenkaren, Serra de Tramuntana, terraces, university teaching | Tagged beach, coast, coasts, geology, karst, landscape, limestone, Mallorca, Mallorca mountains, Mediterranean, Mediterranean vegetation, mountains, nature, olive trees, sea, terraces, weather, wilderness, wildlife | 5 Comments

Dog biscuits, ravens and the end of summer

Posted on September 12, 2017 by Annie O'Garra Worsley

Over the last few days high tides and a scouring north westerly wind whipped up coffee coloured foam and piled it high. Gusts carried salt and globules of froth to stick on my cheeks and glasses. Gone are the sand … Continue reading →

Posted in beaches, birds, coasts, encounters with wildlife, environment, experiencing nature, holidays, landscape, nature, otters, photography, Scotland, sea, Skye, summer, wilderness, wildlife, wildlife encounters | Tagged beaches, coasts, family holidays, Highlands, nature, otters, sand, sea, sky, Skye, summer holidays, summer weather, weather, Wester Ross, wild, wildlife encounters | 4 Comments