Algy knew that very soon – perhaps within minutes – another battering shower of hail or sleet would sweep in from the ocean, and the world would turn dark grey again. But just for the moment it was dry and wonderfully bright, so Algy slid down the soft bank of sand and tucked himself in by the edge of the burn that ran across the beach to the sea. As he smiled at the golden sunshine, he thought of all his friends around the world who were deep in snow and suffering freezing temperatures, and he remembered a poem which he dedicates especially to his friends in the eastern parts of North America and in Scandinavia:

          The frosty sky, like a furnace burning,
          The keen air, crisp and cold,
          And a sunset that splashes the clouds with gold
          But my heart to summer turning.

          Come back, sweet summer! Come back again!
          I hate the snow,
          And the icy winds that the north lands blow,
          And the fall of the frozen rain.

          I hate the iron ground,
          And the Christmas roses,
          And the sickly day that dies when it closes,
          With never a song or a sound.

          Come back! Come back! with your passionate heat
          And glowing hazes,
          And your sun that shines as a lover gazes,
          And your day with the tired feet.

[ Algy is quoting the poem A Winter Sunset by the 19th century English author Lord Alfred Douglas. ]

Advertisement

Today, Algy’s Tumblr friends in America – and the Tumblr gods themselves – have been organizing protests against potential US legislation which is intended to divide the internet into paid-for fast traffic, and second-class, very slow free traffic.

Algy noticed that many of his friends were using avatars and making blog posts which were related to “spinners” or progress bars – the animated symbols you see when waiting for something to load. It was a gorgeous autumn day, so Algy decided to go to the beach and create his very own “sands of time” waiting animation, to show solidarity with all his friends in the USA. The only problem was, it was so sunny and warm under the sand dunes – and waiting for the sand to run through his finger feathers was so very boring – that he just kept dropping off to sleep…

Algy leaned back against the wee sand-cliff, and watched the light playing across the water. He soon drifted off into a comfortable doze, and started to dream about all the kind friends he had met on Tumblr. Half awake and half asleep, Algy thought how truly remarkable it was that people all around the world were following the adventures of a fluffy bird on the west coast of the Scottish Highlands!

So Algy would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your wonderful kindness, your amazing comments, your “flying hearts”, your reblogs, your messages… and just for continuing to follow Algy’s funny little adventures :)))

Extra special fluffy thanks go to those lovely people who sent Algy a “Beautiful Person Award” last week, and to all those who send him kind messages. If he has not yet written back to you, he is very, very sorry! Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with answering your correspondence when you only have fluffy feathers to type with – but he will write to you soon!

Algy is also extremely grateful to everyone who reblogs his adventures and helps them reach a wider audience, with very fluffy “reblogging thanks” to the hard-working telescopical, and a special “Thank you” to the mighty Lensblr who reblogged one of Algy’s adventures over the weekend.

Algy loves you all, and hopes that you will all have a happy week xoxoxo

The wind on the dunes felt unpleasantly sharp as it whistled through Algy’s feathers, so he decided to move to a more sheltered spot. During the winter months, excessive rain had caused the normally shallow burn to carve out a deep channel as it wound its way across the beach to the sea. In the process it had created wee sand-cliffs, which formed an ideal sun trap, exactly the right size to provide warmth and protection from the biting wind for a fluffy bird. Algy could see that the “cliffs” were already beginning to collapse in places, and no doubt they would soon be removed by the rain and the tides, but for the time being they were just about perfect. So Algy leaned back comfortably against the tiny wall of sand, and settled down to watch the light ripple across the gently flowing water, as the burn completed the final stage of its journey to the sea.

The sun came out! And the weather forecast said that it might continue to shine for several more days. So Algy decided that he would like to build a special sandcastle on the beach, to celebrate his 2nd Anniversary on Tumblr. The only problem was, collecting sand for his castle seemed to be a very much slower and more arduous task for a fluffy bird than he had foreseen…

Don’t forget to join Algy’s celebration on Thursday 13th March 🙂

When the tide swept in, Algy retreated to a drier part of the beach close to the dunes, with the intention of trying to count the sands as The Man in the Wilderness had asked. But above the tide line he found a wonderful area of reddish-coloured shells, which had been washed together by a recent surge tide to form an isolated patch on the sand. Algy decided that it would be much more interesting to count the shells instead – or perhaps just to look at them for a while …

Algy knew that the equinoctial gales would reach the West Highlands very soon now, but for the moment it was relatively calm. So he decided to seize the day and spend some time on the beach while the weather was still fair. The chilly wind slicked back his hair and whistled through his feathers, but it was good to sit and watch the tide going out. Algy was fascinated by the way in which the clouds were reflected on the wet sand as the sea water washed away; he didn’t have to look upwards to see the sky!

As Algy moved further down the loch the tide ebbed, leaving large areas of wet sand and shallow water full of sea birds bathing and squabbling and looking for food in the late afternoon sunshine.

Listen to the sounds of the seabirds calling to each other while Algy watched them from the rocky shore.

Algy retreated to a higher spot, and found a nice wee sun trap between two mounds of rock. The perfect place for a Sunday afternoon rest – at least until the tide sweeps in! Sea shells were scattered across the pale sand around him, in patterns created by the previous ebb. Algy just loves the way that these patterns constantly shift with every new tide. The beach really is never the same twice.

Algy hopes that you all have a wonderful, lazy Sunday afternoon 🙂

The tide had turned and was beginning to come in fast. A bit further out in the bay the wee islands were already surrounded, and the beach was vanishing rapidly. Algy sat on the warm sand, close to the edge of the water, and stretched out his legs towards the sea. He loved trying to guess which of the tiny waves would be the one to wash over his toes …