Birch Snow

Early snowfall, Craigellachie birchwood. I love the contrast between the shady wood and the dazzling gold and white trees in the sunshine, with this stunning blue sky. “So the single most vital step on your journey toward enlightenment is this: learn to disidentify from your mind. Every time you create a gap in the stream […]

Sunset Pines

Pines at sunset, Tullochgrue, Rothiemurchus After a cold, damp, misty November day with no sight of the sun, I got lucky by heading a couple of hundred feet up to Tullochgrue – a small but steep hill which overlooks the surrounding area of Rothiemurchus.  The sun shone out from under the cloud cover as it […]

Birch reflections and reeds

Birch reflections and reeds, Craigellachie, Aviemore A sunny morning at Craigellachie lochan, reflecting the last of the birch colour along with a patchwork of autumnal reed-leaves.  I love the combination of the purple birch branches showing through as the orange fades.  Its a shock every year how quickly we lose daylight once we’re into November […]

Beech Colour

Beech Colour, Loch Vaa We don’t have many Beech here, so it was intensely colourful seeing these this morning in the bright sun, after an icy start. “Music is the miniature of the whole harmony of the universe, for the harmony of the universe is music itself, and man must show the same harmony. In […]

Craigellachie Mist Clearing

Craigellachie Mist Clearing, Aviemore Our stunning Indian summer lasted until monday – then it was back to grey and chilly!  This is our local hill of Craigellachie in the morning with the mist clearing to reveal a perfect blue sky. “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” – […]

Golden Birch

Golden Birch, Craigellachie National Nature Reserve, Aviemore Autumn is definitely on the turn – most of the birch wood turned colour overnight, a beautiful mix of gold, orange, yellow and some still green.  We’ve had the most beautiful autumn weekend of warm sun showing the colours perfectly, but turning very cold in the shade! “The […]

Echinacea

Yes, its been another week of rain interspersed with heavy showers, and the odd ray of sun that lasted long enough to almost make it out of the door each time.  To be fair, we had a beautiful couple of hours this evening at sunset.  Its been cold, too – the fire has been on […]

Vibrant Rowan

After several days of rain, a day of sun and sparkle.  This pair of interleaving Rowan trees caught my attention with their vibrant light. The Rowan has been revered across Europe as a sacred tree since early times.   Its older name, Quicken-Tree, from the Anglo-Saxon cvic (life) indicates ‘Sharing out the blessings of life’. (Fred […]

Feshie Lochans

I hope you had as stunning  a day as we did today – it felt like the first real summer day, given how its been for most of the last month and more.  It was quite a novelty to feel the sun’s heat on my back! Maybe its the first day of an early ‘indian […]

Scotch Argus butterfly on thistle

Today was the first sunny, warm day in … a long time!  I took a short walk to a favourite natural meadow surrounded by birch woodland, full of wild flowers.  There were literally hundreds of Scotch Argus butterflies flying around in clouds, landing 3 or 4 at a time on the thistles.  However, they turned […]