As forecast, the sunshine lasted only one day and Sunday was dismally grey, with the clouds drifting low over the hills once again. But at the very last minute before dusk, the setting sun managed to break through a wee gap in the heavy bank of cloud, and illuminated some of the ridges with a faint magenta glow. Algy perched on a cold rock to watch for a moment or two, knowing that in just a few minutes more the light and the colour would be gone…

Advertisement

Algy perched on a rock, and watched the evening sun go down. The summer – such as it was – had almost ended, and the nights were growing rapidly longer. At such a northerly latitude, the amount of daylight varied hugely over the year, with only a few hours of semi-darkness at midsummer, and very little light at all in midwinter. This meant that in spring and autumn Algy could watch the hours of daylight alter perceptibly from day to day, as the change was so rapid. Although he knew that spring would come again, it seemed a very long way off, and between now and then lay a long, dark winter, for which folk were very poorly prepared in the West Highlands this year, owing to the unusually dismal summer…

So Algy dedicates this post to all his friends in those northern countries for whom the approaching autumn will bring long, long hours of darkness, and a slow, arduous struggle through the winter until the sun returns again. Algy is thinking of you all, and sends you extra special fluffy hugs xoxo

The sun was sinking into the loch and it would soon be dark, so Algy found himself a perch for the night in a spot where he could watch the rippling water. It was a calm and peaceful evening, and Algy was happy to sit quietly there, listening to the other birds singing their bedtime songs in the woodland as the wind rustled through the still-bare branches of the trees.

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