The Secret Song

Algy flew into the edge of a forest beside the great sea loch, and found a cosy spot where he could recline on a soft bed of grass and dry bracken. Lying back among the autumn foliage he stared up at the tall trees towering above him, listening to the sounds of the birds and tiny insects who were going about their daily lives in this peaceful environment. It was much calmer inside the forest than on the shores of the loch, and he could hear many wee rustling noises and murmurings of the forest folk. Algy reflected on the amazing complexity of life that went almost entirely unnoticed most of the time… It reminded him of a children’s poem which he had discovered recently:

Who saw the petals
drop from the rose?
I, said the spider,
but nobody knows.

Who saw the sunset
flash on a bird?
I, said the fish,
but nobody heard.

Who saw the fog
come over the sea?
I, said the sea pigeon,
only me.

Who saw the first
green light of the sun?
I, said the night owl,
the only one.

Who saw the moss
creep over the stone?
I, said the grey fox,
all alone.

Algy hopes that you all have a calm and peaceful Sunday xo

[Algy is quoting the poem The Secret Song by the early 20th century American writer of children’s books, Margaret Wise Brown.]

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Algy reclined on a rock beside the water, watching the burn meander its way through several shallow blue pools and then rush headlong over the rocks, foaming and bubbling its way across the red stone as it tumbled downhill towards the sea. He wondered why it was in so much of a hurry, when he was happy just to sit quietly by its side…

Algy hopes you will have all been able to enjoy some happy, quiet moments today, while the world roars and rushes by 🙂

Algy reclined on a rock beside the water, watching the burn meander its way through several shallow blue pools and then rush headlong over the rocks, foaming and bubbling its way across the red stone as it tumbled downhill towards the sea. He wondered why it was in so much of a hurry, when he was happy just to sit quietly by its side…

Algy hopes you will have all been able to enjoy some happy, quiet moments today, while the world roars and rushes by 🙂

Source: adventuresofalgy

Algy could see from the rapidly darkening sky that another shower of heavy sleet was approaching, so he tucked himself into a large hollow beneath the battered old gorse bushes, made a cosy bed of dry bracken to rest on, and settled down to wait for the skies to clear again.

Algy hopes that you will all find a cosy place of shelter this weekend too, especially if your own skies are looking black…

Source: adventuresofalgy

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.]

Algy decided to investigate the forest behind his back, so he turned away from the great loch for a while and flew in under the trees. Here the tree trunks grew straight and tall, and very close together in places. The forest floor was mossy and soft, but surprisingly dark. Just a wee bit further on, Algy could see a bright, sunlit clearing, full of flowers and light, but in the permanent twilight beneath the trees everything was hushed and calm. He perched for a while on an old log, listening attentively to the quiet rustling of the tree tops high above him and the tiny sounds of unseen insects scuttling about among the old leaves which covered the ground. It was certainly pleasant to rest quietly in the dimmed stillness of the forest before venturing out into the dazzling light beyond.

Algy was entranced by the magical environment of the great freshwater rock pool. It seemed to be a world apart, peaceful and warm within the shelter of the natural rocky fortifications which surrounded it. This was a place of strange colours and fascinating reflections; a place of calm and stillness which confounded the wildness of the ocean beyond it, and the blast of the constant wind that swept across the exposed headland above it.

Algy leaned back happily against the sun-warmed rock and wished that he could stay there indefinitely. He remembered the opening lines of an old poem about just such an environment:

          Bright as a fallen fragment of the sky,
          Mid shell-encrusted rocks the sea-pool shone,
          Glassing the sunset-clouds in its clear heart,
          A small enchanted world enwalled apart
          In diamond mystery,
          Content with its own dreams, its own strict zone
          Of urchin woods, its fairy bights and bars,
          Its daisy-disked anemones and rose-feathered stars.

Algy hopes that you will all find such a magical place in which to rest peacefully and recover from the struggles and turmoil of daily life :))

[Algy is quoting the opening verse of the long poem The Rock Pool by the early 20th century English poet Alfred Noyes.]

After all the excitement of opening Amy’s pictures and exhibiting them – not to mention the effort of his tussle with the folder – Algy felt in need of some quiet rest and relaxation. So, at the end of the day, he flew down to the sea and sat quietly on a rock, to watch the reflections on the swirling water at sundown and listen to the soothing sounds of the ocean.

Algy would like to thank everyone who made such kind comments on his adventures with Amy’s beautiful pictures, with special thanks to LuxLit for the reblog – and above all extra special thanks to Amy for making and sending the drawings. Fluffy hugs for you all xoxo

The mist was on the hill, and not likely to lift in the forseeable future, so Algy found himself a nice soft patch of “bonnie blooming” heather to snuggle down in. Both types of heather were flowering together now, and they made a very pretty bed, although the midges were swarming thickly around him in the heavy, damp air. But luckily for Algy, feathers keep most of the midges out, so he tucked himself in and had a good, long rest.

Algy hopes that you will all have a good, long rest this weekend too – hopefully with better weather, and without midges to annoy you!

Algy set off on his adventure, but he hadn’t got very far before he felt in need of a wee rest, so he found a grassy patch of bluebells by the loch where he could enjoy one of himmelueberhamburg’s “on the way moments” 🙂 The birds were singing and the sun was almost shining, and Algy felt pleased to be out and about.