Oh look, it’s raining again… can’t the weather think of anything else to do?

Algy perched beside one of his favourite pools, which forms where the quiet burn bends round the sand dunes towards the sea, and peered into the dense tangle of weeds. He was happy to see the kingcups starting to flower, and plenty of fresh green growth, but he couldn’t help feeling that the endless mist and rain was getting a wee bit tiresome: it made life very dull. There wasn’t even a frog to complain to, so he had to be satisfied with grumbling at the tiddlers playing in the burn, which was a little unfair, as the persistent mist and rain really wasn’t their fault…

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Algy GIFs on Tumblr TV!

Are you a fan of Algy’s GIFs?

If so, this is for you 🙂 Click on the link –

Algy on Tumblr TV!

As you may know, Tumblr have just launched a new feature, Tumblr TV. By going to www.tumblr.com/tv/ and entering a tag such as Algy in the search box, (or adding the tag into the URL after www.tumblr.com/tv/) you will get a non-stop playback of GIFs with that tag 🙂

At first Algy thought it was a silly gag… until he tried it for himself 🙂 Try it! Each GIF plays for a few loops, and is then replaced by another one. Mesmerizing!

p.s. Algy is very sorry that he hasn’t been posting new GIFs recently – it’s because he has been so busy with his book. He will start posting GIFs again very soon now 🙂

Have a happy, animated weekend, everyone xoxoxo

Day after day, the Scotch mist smothered the land, and the world became darker and greyer and wetter. Not a day passed without rain, and the precipiation very rarely stopped. Drizzly rain, dripping rain, splashing rain, torrential rain… the endless clouds tried every trick they could think of. When the rain did stop, it was only for a breathing space, and before long it started again.

As it was supposed to be midsummer, Algy was beginning to feel a wee bit discouraged, but he was happy to see that at least the wild irises at the edge of the sand dunes were doing their best to provide a few bursts of sunshine. As he leaned back on the tall, sturdy leaves, he remembered some lines from a poem:

Weed, moss-weed,
root tangled in sand,
sea-iris, brittle flower,
one petal like a shell
is broken,
and you print a shadow
like a thin twig.

Fortunate one,
scented and stinging,
rigid myrrh-bud,
camphor-flower,
sweet and salt—you are wind
in our nostrils.

[Algy is quoting part I of the poem Sea Iris by the 20th century American poet H. D.]

Algy was happy to see the buttercups and daisies springing up wherever there was close-cropped grass among the sand dunes. The flowers kept themselves very low to the ground, so in order to see them properly, Algy had to do the same. He was especially pleased by the colour combination which the flowers made together… there was something reassuringly familiar about it 🙂

Algy hopes that you will all have a happy weekend and see some pretty flowers, even if the weather is cold, wet and gloomy, as it is in the West Highlands today xoxo

Algy flew down to the dunes, and found the place deserted. Although it was almost summer, there was very little sign of life except for the determined larks, who were still singing despite the gloomy weather, and an occasional mournful seabird drifting here and there on the wind. The islands were obscured by mist, and the sea looked sullen and grey. As the drenching mist swept in from the ocean and the tall grasses bent low in the wind, Algy took cover behind a clump of Marram grass, where he was glad to see that some cheerful daisies and sunny buttercups had appeared at last, to brighten the place up a wee bit.

Algy left the beautiful, sheltered garden and flew back home, where he found as fine an example of Flaming June as you could hope to see… He perched on a patch of prostrate juniper, which was clinging as closely as it could to a damp rock, and gazed out across the peat bog in the whistling wind, keeping his head tucked well down to avoid the worst effects of the driving Scotch mist. He had to concede that in view of the fact it was nearly midsummer, the weather was a wee bit disappointing for the time of year…

photosworthseeing:

Dear friends at PWS, I found an unusually beautiful setting for my special PWS Sunday Selfie this month, although it was sadly lacking in camouflage potential…

I hope you enjoy it 🙂 Thank you so much for making the Selfie Sunday possible. Sending you all lots of very fluffy hugs, as always xoxoxo

Thank you for your fluffy selfie submission! We love it!

PWS – Photo(grapher)s And Fluffy Birds Worth Seeing

Algy sends his fluffiest thanks to all his good friends at PWS for making the PWS Selfie Sunday such an enjoyable event xoxo

Algy perched on the roof of a wee stone bird table, close to a pretty mauve azalea, and gazed at the garden around him. In the distance, massive, ancient oak trees towered over the rhododendrons, while closer to his perch there were several huge, exotic conifers reaching high into the sky. But at the lower level, close to the ground, there was a bright sea of fresh green and colourful flowers, with no disturbance except the flitting of birds among the bushes. It was so peaceful in the garden; Algy could hear no noise except the trickling of a burn and the sweet sound of birdsong. He was reminded of the opening verses of an old poem:

How vainly men themselves amaze
To win the palm, the oak, or bays,
And their uncessant labours see
Crown’d from some single herb or tree,
Whose short and narrow-verged shade
Does prudently their toils upbraid;
While all the flowers and trees do close
To weave the garlands of repose!

Fair Quiet, have I found thee here,
And Innocence thy sister dear?
Mistaken long, I sought you then
In busy companies of men:
Your sacred plants, if here below,
Only among the plants will grow:
Society is all but rude
To this delicious solitude.

No white nor red was ever seen
So amorous as this lovely green.
Fond lovers, cruel as their flame,
Cut in these trees their mistress’ name:
Little, alas! they know or heed
How far these beauties hers exceed!
Fair trees! wheres’e’er your barks I wound,
No name shall but your own be found.

[Algy is quoting the opening verses of the poem Thoughts in a Garden by the 17th century English poet Andrew Marvell.]

The garden was very beautiful, especially in the spring, and it was sheltered from the strong winds that constantly battered his home on the exposed coast. Algy flew around happily, exploring all the different areas. In one peaceful spot he discovered a strange, huge metal urn, and perched on its rim for a while, looking at the flowers and spring leaves, and listening to the smaller birds singing in the trees and bushes around him.

Algy was getting fed up with waiting around while his assistant finished the production work on his book. She was too busy to assist him with his adventures, and the weather was dreadful too: it was cold, wet and windy, and spring still hadn’t fully sprung. It really wasn’t any fun at all.

So Algy decided to go in search of some bright flowers to cheer himself up. He flew over to an old garden that he knew, where – despite the weather – there were many beautiful azaleas and rhododendrons in bloom. Perching in a tree beside one of the most fragrant azaleas, he was thrilled when a moment’s sunshine lit up the flowers.

Algy hopes that moments of sunshine will brighten your weekend too, even if the weather is gloomy where you are 🙂 Have a happy, relaxing weekend, everybody xoxo