Forsythia…

It was spring at last. Algy’s home in the wild West Highlands was still being blasted by an icy wind carrying battering showers of rain mixed with hail or sleet, but it was undoubtedly spring at last, and there were times between the showers when the sky turned blue and the bright new flowers revelled in the sunshine.

Algy loved the early spring because there were so many flowers which shared his own sunny colours. Waiting for an auspicious moment when the wind seemed to have dropped to a tolerable level for a wee while and the clouds had dispersed, temporarily at least, he settled himself into a sunny forsythia bush and thought of a poem he had once read… and of you, all his friends around the world…

You said, take a few dry
sticks, cut the ends slantwise
to let in water, stick them
in the old silver cup on the
dresser in the spare room and
wait for the touch of Easter.
But a cold wave protected the
snow, and the sap’s pulse beat
so low underground I felt no
answer in myself except silence.
You said, winter breaks out in
flowers for the faithful and
today when I opened the door
the dry sticks spoke in little
yellow stars and I thought
of you.

[Algy is quoting the poem Forsythia by the 20th century American poet and philosopher, James Hearst.]

Advertisement

Friendship Sparkles

Algy has been deeply touched by all the sweet “welcome back” messages and comments which he has received from so many friends around the world since his return two days ago. He can’t help wondering whether any other fluffy bird ever had friends like this before… So he sends you all his very fluffiest hugs and his warmest thanks, and these lines from an Aztec poem:

Like a quetzal plume, a fragrant flower,
friendship sparkles:
like heron plumes, it weaves itself into finery.
Our song is a bird calling out like a jingle:
how beautiful you make it sound!
Here, among flowers that enclose us,
among flowery boughs you are singing.

[Algy is quoting part of an ancient Aztec poem, which he believes to have been written by Nezahualcoyotl, King of Texcoco in the 15th century.]

Alone… Not Alone!

Algy perched on a cushion of orange-brown seaweed on the cold, grey rock, as the storm clouds gathered overhead and the waves crashed all around him – a fluffy bird alone, facing the wrath of the elements…

For a moment he was reminded of a famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe, but then he reflected that in fact he was never alone, as he had so many amazing friends, all around the world.

So Algy sends you all his very fluffiest hugs, from the stormy shores of the wild west Highlands of Scotland, and reminds you that if you should ever feel isolated, as Poe did, remember that you are not really alone, as you will always have a very special friend, waiting to send you a fluffy hug 🙂

From childhood’s hour I have not been
As others were—I have not seen
As others saw—I could not bring
My passions from a common spring—
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow—I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone—
And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—
Then—in my childhood—in the dawn
Of a most stormy life—was drawn
From ev’ry depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still—
From the torrent, or the fountain—
From the red cliff of the mountain—
From the sun that ’round me roll’d
In its autumn tint of gold—
From the lightning in the sky
As it pass’d me flying by—
From the thunder, and the storm—
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view—

[Algy is quoting the poem Alone by the 19th century American writer Edgar Allan Poe.]

Happy Valentine’s Day !

Algy is excited because it is St. Valentine’s Day and he has some beautiful red roses to give all his amazing friends. The wonderful thing about the internet is that he can give roses to all his friends at once 🙂

Algy sends you all his love, and lots of very fluffy hugs from the wild and windy West Highlands of Scotland xoxo

During the week, the post bird brought Algy a most exciting parcel wrapped up in brown paper, which had flown to him all the way from Regensburg in Germany. He opened it eagerly, and found that it contained a beautiful German Advent calendar card and a packet of his favourite lebkuchen – not to mention some very pretty Christmas paper napkins 🙂

In the short, dark days of December, Algy will have a happy time munching his lebkuchen and opening the tiny windows in his calendar, so he sends his fluffiest thanks and lots of fluffy hugs to his very kind friends in Regensburg. He is extremely grateful for such kindness, and thinks that he must surely be the only fluffy bird to receive such gifts! Thank you so much xoxo

Algy flew down to the water’s edge and perched on a damp stone, surrounded by a thin carpet of fallen leaves. He had been visiting some dear friends, who were now returning to their home in a warmer, more sheltered land, and for a moment the dark shadows crowded in upon him across the water. But as he gazed at the shimmering surface, he realised that in fact the threatening shadows were surrounded by glistening light and patches of beautiful blue… and then he felt a wee bit better. As he watched some of the red and gold leaves drifting slowly down the river, Algy hoped that his friends would be able to drift back again to see him very soon…

Algy dedicates this post to all his friends who are parted from their own dear friends and family, and he sends you all some very special fluffy hugs xoxo

It was a fine, warm autumn afternoon, so Algy tucked himself down into the long grasses and rested. In the quiet and peaceful environment of his remote home on the wild west coast of Scotland, he was thinking of all his wonderful Tumblr friends, dispersed in so many different places around the world: old friends and new friends, young friends and old friends, healthy friends and sick friends, urban friends and country friends. So many different people, with so many different experiences…

Algy knows that many of you live busy and sometimes even stressful lives, with many different challenges to face. So he sends you all his fluffiest hugs, and hopes that you will all take some time this weekend just to rest awhile:

Come, rest awhile, and let us idly stray
In glimmering valleys, cool and far away.

Come from the greedy mart, the troubled street,
And listen to the music, faint and sweet,

That echoes ever to a listening ear,
Unheard by those who will not pause to hear­

The wayward chimes of memory’s pensive bells,
Wind-blown o’er misty hills and curtained dells.

One step aside and dewy buds unclose
The sweetness of the violet and the rose;

Song and romance still linger in the green,
Emblossomed ways by you so seldom seen,

And near at hand, would you but see them, lie
All lovely things beloved in days gone by.

You have forgotten what it is to smile
In your too busy life­; come, rest awhile.

[Algy is quoting the poem Come, rest awhile by the late 19th/early 20th century Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery.]

While Algy was resting on the rock, he heard that his oldest friend, an elderly lady, had been taken to hospital with a heart problem. Poor Algy was very worried, but the next morning a little bird passed by to bring him the good news that his friend was all right, and was returning home. Although the weather was grey and grim, Algy was so delighted that he immediately leaped back into the sea to do a special Happy Loony Dance, to celebrate and to make his old friend laugh.

Algy knows that some of his Tumblr friends have similar concerns… so if you are feeling worried or downhearted, or are just suffering from the January Blues (or Greys!), Algy hopes that his Happy Loony Dance will help to make you smile too 🙂

On Christmas Day, Algy was invited to his assistant’s house for a wee bite of Christmas pudding and some fun with the Christmas crackers…

Algy was delighted to find a pile of cards and presents waiting for him, which had been sent from overseas by his wonderful Tumblr friends around the world. Thank you all very much indeed! Your kindness and friendship is hugely appreciated :)))  Algy sends you all lots of very fluffy hugs xx

( Algy apologises for the poor image quality in this GIF. His assistant has had terrible trouble uploading this one, and reprocessed it dozens and dozens of times before finding a colour palette that would work. “Error uploading image"… Aaaarghhhh! )

When night fell, Algy woke up and found that he was no longer alone. Some of his little forest friends had seen the bright star shining on his Christmas tree, and had crept up quietly in the darkness to join him. They had brought him a very special present for Christmas Eve – a beautiful German tin full of spicy lebkuchen. Algy was astonished and thrilled, but he was even more surprised when he turned the lid to open the tin and heard the lovely melody of Stille Nacht!  It sounded so enchanting, tinkling softly in the depths of the forest with the wind rustling through the great trees in the background. Algy and his friends sat there spellbound, listening to the gentle music by the light of his Christmas tree star, while from time to time a few flakes of snow drifted down silently around them.

Listen to the sound of Algy’s musical tin, playing in the forest.

Algy and his friends wish you all peace and joy at Christmas time xx