#abriachan
Bailey & I took a long walk. The weather matched my mood; melancholy. The deed is done. Why do I feel like the villain? Is it Stockholm syndrome? Did we just get familiar with the abuse? My daughter has tried valiantly to raise my spirits from afar. At least my wife says she feels that a weight has lifted. I guess we’re going to grieve a while.
And finally, one of our poppies bloomed. What does that herald?
Scenes from the trail - the sequel
Timber prices are through the roof just now so the harvesters have been busy. Yes, they make a mess. No, I can’t get upset about it. The trees they take are aliens. They drop needles that form a thick blanket creating utterly sterile forests. The carpet of needles doesn’t harbour insect life, which means there are no birds or small furry predators. These plantations are unnaturally quiet because there’s zero life in there.
The good news is that the Forest Trust replants with a mix of native hardwoods. Although they’re much slower growing and need protection from deer, the biodiversity has increased exponentially over two decades of sensitive and careful management.
The bonus from Bailey’s perspective is there’s a sea of mud full of exciting smells just begging to be explored.
Three pictures taken on three consecutive mornings. Although the days are short during our winter, the spectacular sunrises more than compensate.
My day summed up in four pictures.
Boxing Day 2021
The last of the sun today and the first half decent sunset we’ve seen for a while. We’re approaching that time of year when we’re blessed with truly spectacular sunsets.
The sun only reaches 9° above the southern horizon just now & sets in the south west. In just a few months time it will set in the north west and drop only 8° below the northern horizon, which is why we have endless days in summer. I can barely wait.
Scenes from the solstice trail.
Just a few hours of daylight yesterday and with the temperature hovering around -2° our sortie was brief, but beautiful.
Now we’re back on the road to round the clock daylight :-)
Season’s greetings to you all.
Scenes from the trail, post Barra version.
Storm Arwen and now Storm Barra, the first two named storms of the season have passed through, dealing us a barely glancing blow.
Many folks further south were not so lucky; some remain without power a week later & the swift arrival of Barra must have been cruel blow to them.
Checking the trails today revealed a few windblown trees, two of which are blocking routes. I’m sure the ranger will deal with them swiftly.
The thaw is already underway, so Bailey and I will venture further afield tomorrow. Happy to have the snow back though, even if it was only for a few days.
