After the wettest winter on record in Algy’s part of the world, March also started wet and cold, with two days of persistent rain mixed with freezing ice and sleet. But the days were lengthening rapidly, darkness was being banished, and from time to time the sun actually managed to shine.

Algy flew out to one of his favourite spots on the headland, and perched on a high point where he could watch the waves breaking all around the rocky coast and skerries. It was always a wonderful sight on a fine day, and he hoped that the long, dismal winter really was more or less over, so that he could spend much more time out and about adventuring again…

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The sun was shining and the landscape had put on its very best autumn clothes. Algy perched in the golden grasses, and just gazed and gazed at the beautiful scene. Before long, winter’s greys and browns would turn it all to a dull monochrome, but for the moment the colours were glorious, and Algy drank them in. He was reminded of some verses from a poem by John Clare:

The summer-flower has run to seed,
And yellow is the woodland bough;
And every leaf of bush and weed
Is tipt with autumn’s pencil now.

And I do love the varied hue,
And I do love the browning plain;
And I do love each scene to view,
That’s mark’d with beauties of her reign.

Algy hopes that if you live in the northern hemisphere, you too will have a chance to appreciate the glories of nature “tipt with autumn’s pencil”, whether it is in the wild countryside, or in a park in the heart of the city 🙂

[Algy is quoting the first two verses of the poem Autumn from The Village Minstrel (1821) by the 19th century English poet John Clare.]

The first day of November was exceptionally fine for the time of year, and although Algy knew that the good weather would not last, he decided to make the most of it while he had the chance. So he flew to a local beauty spot and reclined in a patch of dry bracken, pretending that he was a tourist admiring the view. He was tickled to see that a tree on the hillside facing him had bright yellow hair, just like his own 🙂

The weather was feeling somewhat kinder at last, and although there was a decidedly brisk wind as always, the day was undoubtedly fine. Algy leaned back on the rocks at the edge of his garden and admired the view. On such a day it was not difficult to believe that this was the most beautiful spot in the world, and the equal of any tropical paradise in every respect except climate 🙂

When the tide came in, Algy flew up from the rocks to the top of the brae behind them, and perched in a stunted bush. The position was a wee bit exposed, to say the least, and more bad weather was moving in fast across the ocean from the west, but the view across the Bay of the Sand Islands was worth a few ruffled feathers!

The landscape looked strangely flat from this high point, and the wee beach at this end of the bay looked bigger than the much larger beaches beyond it, but it certainly was a grand view, to be sure 🙂

For more information about the Bay of the Sand Islands, Algy suggests that you read A Surprisingly Fluffy Bird 🙂

For some reason Algy couldn’t understand, the weather bureau people had invented a phenomenon called “anticyclonic gloom’, and ever since then, the weather was exceedingly grey and overcast whenever there was high pressure. In the West Highlands this often meant dense Scotch mist as well, and the current high pressure system was no exception. However, the wind was very light, so Algy went out to explore the misty, dripping landscape…

Algy’s misty view this Sunday is especially dedicated to his friend walking-geema who likes this sort of thing 🙂

Have a happy Sunday, everybody, even if you are lost in the mist xoxo

By Saturday morning it seemed that the worst of the blizzards had passed for the time being, and the world looked somewhat brighter. As Algy perched on a soft cushion of young spruce branches near the entrance to the forest, the sun broke through the snow clouds and lit up the beautiful woodland on the far side of the deep freshwater loch. For a few bright moments, the whole world seemed transformed :))

Algy hopes that you will all have some bright moments when the world seems illuminated, this weekend xoxo

As Algy looked out from his perch in the grey afternoon, he thought of all his friends in the north-eastern USA who were bracing themselves for what might be the biggest snowstorm on record. The spattering of snow around Algy’s home was negligible in comparison, and he wondered what it would be like to be completely overwhelmed by a massive snowfall…

Stay safe in those blizzard conditions, everybody, and keep warm! Algy says be sure to wear your hat :)) xoxoxo

The weather was changing again, and Algy knew that soon the snow and ice would turn to rain and mush, so he decided to explore some of the higher ground before all the snow melted. He flew for a few miles, up to the moor, and surveyed the scene in each direction. It certainly looked bleak, and he was very glad that he had followed his friends’ advice and kept his hat on his head, as that wind whistling through the moorland grasses was bitingly cold.

All was peaceful again, for the time being, and Algy began to relax. But as he gazed out at the deceptively calm expanse of water and sky, he wondered what the next storms would bring…