Algy hopped over to the rocks, where the incoming tide was surging and gurgling through a narrow channel in a most delightful way. For a short while he perched on a rocky seat in the sunshine, just watching the water rushing backwards and forwards, although he knew that he would not be able to stay there for long…
Algy followed the lighthouse keepers’ path down to the barnacled rocks at the edge of the sea, and found himself a prickly perch among the rock pools. The tide was coming in, and the water surged all around his feet with much enthusiasm. It was great fun to watch, and he wondered how long it would be before he got splashed…
Algy hopes that you have all been having fun and enjoying yourselves this weekend 🙂
On a fine but decidedly chilly spring day, Algy perched on a mass of slimy seaweed, watching the tide come in. He was intrigued by the increasing flow of clear water through a sandy channel between the rocks. With each tiny wave the ripples advanced a little further and the drying seaweed got a wee bit wetter and more colourful again. Algy knew that in a few moments more he would have to hop into the air, if he didn’t want his legs and tail feathers drenched with salty water, and he wondered just how long he could wait… He was reminded of a haiku by Buson:
The spring sea
all day ebb and flow
ebb and flow
Algy wishes you all a beautiful, calm and peaceful weekend xoxo
[Algy is quoting a translation of a haiku by the 18th century Japanese master Yosa Buson.]
It was a fine September afternoon, and although the south-westerly wind felt cold, the sun was bright and the sea was full of colour. Algy decided to fly over to a spot which he especially liked – a tiny beach on the headland, which was better suited to the scale of a fluffy bird than the big beaches across the bay – and he perched there on a rock, watching the ripples wash backwards and forwards across the pale sand as the tide came in. From time to time, a shiny silver head emerged from the water, not far from his perch, and a seal smiled at him for a few moments with the light flashing off its wet skin, before it dived again and continued to explore the underwater beds of seaweed.
When Algy found a comfortable perch on a warm rock, there was a calm wee pool at his feet and many exposed boulders around it, with patches of clear sand in between. But it seemed like no time at all before the tide swept in, surging relentlessly over the rocks and through every little nook and cranny, causing much excitement in the rock pools. In just a moment more Algy would have to fly up to a higher spot, but he remained at his perch for as long as he could, watching the spray fly up around him and the water churning beneath his toes…
Even on a calm summer’s day, there is rarely a dull moment where the sea meets the rocks, and each wave rolls and breaks and splashes in a different way. Some of the waves sweep up the deep gullies with great enthusiasm, foaming on the rocks as they pass, and others break early and then wash gently up the channels with barely a murmur. There are few things (if any) that Algy enjoys more than perching on a rock at the edge of the ocean, whiling away the hours just watching the dance of the sea.
While Algy’s assistant was out and about signing and selling his books,
Algy himself was just lazing around on the rocks, watching the endless
motion of the sea and its tides. He loved to perch very close to the
water, and try to guess which of the waves would manage to splash his toes 🙂
On the morning after the British general election, Algy perched on a rock in the glorious sunshine that was illuminating Scotland, and contemplated the beautiful colours of the peaceful tide of change in Scottish waters 🙂
Algy sends extra special fluffy hugs to all his friends in Scotland today xoxo
And he also sends extra special fluffy hugs to his friends in England who were hoping for a change that did not happen there xoxo
And then the wave retreated, depositing Algy on a mound of rotting seaweed, flat on his back. But for Algy this kind of thing was all in a day’s work, so he just laughed at his sodden and bedraggled state, and waited for his assistant to come and give him a helping hand… 🙂
The wave caught hold of Algy, and swirled him round and round in the seaweed until he was thorougly drenched in sticky salt water, and his feathers were matted with particles of wet sand and all kinds of sea debris…
The Adventures of Algy 