#scenes from the trail
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.
Scenes from the trail, episode ‘n’.
I guess a little commentary is warranted. First up is Creag Ard, my favourite quiet place, with Meall Fuar-mhonaidh in the distance. The second pic is the view north from the same spot. Harvesting continues to the extent that you can almost see our house now. Speaking of which, that’s us in the third pic from the other side of the valley. The rest are random snaps of things that caught my eye as we walked. (The hole is yet another exit hole for one of our resident moles; we’ve been overrun with them this year.)
We’ve also been insanely busy, so I’ve been neglecting my tumblr. Sorry for the prolonged absence.
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.
