And the next day…

And the next day… the sun came out! Algy was so astonished that at first he didn’t know what to do. The mist had returned to wherever it came from, at least for the moment, and the landscape was entirely transformed: all the fuzzy greyness had vanished, and the world was crisp and sharp, and full of light and colour again. As he flew over his assistants’ garden, Algy noticed something especially colourful, hiding among a tangle of very thorny stems… Like many of his feathered friends, Algy loves berries of all kinds, so before flying back to the sea, he settled down to enjoy a summery feast of juicy tayberries 🙂

[For those who may not know: tayberries are a hybrid of raspberries and blackberries, bred in Scotland, and well suited to our… climate here. They are large and juicy and very tasty, if you don’t require your fruit too sweet.]

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As the gales began to die down, Algy sat himself up, brushed himself off, and gazed at his lap. He was still feeling rather stunned, but was pleased to see that he was not the only thing that had been knocked out of the rowan tree by the wind. It looked like breakfast time 🙂

By the next morning, it was apparent that another autumn gale was on its way. The wind was already roaring through the trees, but Algy was determined to get some of those luscious red rowan berries before they were all blown away… 

Although the weather in the West Highlands had been exceptionally grey and misty throughout the late spring and summer, with only occasional bursts of sunshine and blue sky, the landscape seemed intent on compensating for the general lack of colour. Even the scrawniest of the rowan trees were laden with bright orange berries this year, and as Algy contemplated the heavy crop of fruit, he was happy to think that there would be plenty left for his friends – like the redwings and fieldfares – who would be arriving for the winter before very long…