Taexalia
wild.life
Stones of Note
Inverness Museum and Art Gallery is a treasure trove of heritage. The displays are presented in an accessible and interesting way, which made us wish we had a little more time. I did have time to indulge in making colourful rubbings of the replicas of the Pictish Art which formed my favourite part of the exhibition. Above is the Wolf Stone which is an incised Class I Pictish Stone. This wonderful throwback to our ancestors of 2000 years ago was found embedded in a wall in 1903. It's hard ... read more
Why I Am Participating in Earth Hour
http://www.earthhour.org/home/
Or perhaps NOT Why I Am Participating in Earth Hour...
The suggestion is really simple. I mean it is so simple that I cannot believe that people are having a problem. I mean what is so hard to understand about this:
At 8:30pm local time on Saturday 28th March switch your lights off for one ... read more
Sea Stag
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Dancing With Bluebeards and Red Shoes
"While the cause of much human suffering can be traced to negligent fostering, there is also within the psyche naturally an innate contra naturam aspect, an "against nature" force. The contra naturam aspect opposes the positive: it is against development, against harmony, and against the wild. It is a derisive and murderous antagonist that is born into us, and even with the best parental nurture the intruder's sole assignment is to attempt to turn all crossroads into closed ... read more
Highland Spring
The days between Imbolc and Ostara are, for me, the time I feel the Quickening. Tempestuous and unpredictable weather matched by the rampant behaviour of animals and birds, and the persistent appearance of plants like the snowdrops and crocuses. Always, the long dark days of Winter ebb seemingly too slowly into the shorter days of Spring and we find ourselves always seeking definitive signs that Spring has arrived. This is something that has been with us for thousands of years and something ... read more
Ada Lovelace Day ~ Sue Bailey
I only heard about Ada Lovelace Day moments ago via my Twitter stream. When I went to investigate further I discovered it was something close to my heart - a blogging event aimed at drawing attention to women excelling in tech stuff. Well I'm all for promoting women excelling in any field because I think there's a massive imbalance in the world of role models - everywhere I look it's the stories of men that dominate. As it turns out, the woman who tweeted about Ada Lovelace Day is the ... read more
Oh Shit Sherlock
Having a plan is always a good idea, setting goals is often a great motivator and laying a good foundation is generally clever. Embracing life as it comes, accepting failure and letting go of expectations is wisdom. I had a long list of Things To Do On Holiday and they did not come to pass in the ways I had hoped and planned for, but the surprises and the unplanned moments more than made up for the not-quite-there-yets. Like my nephew learning to stand then gradually having the confidence ... read more
Moments of note 2009-03-17
Sunshine over Poolewe # Poops of Otter and pine marten so far... # Corrieshalloch Gorge is gorgeous ... read more
Moments of note 2009-03-14
Gran Torino excellent. Clint Eastwood a genius. But you knew that. # If everyone felt the same way about the same things what a boring world it would be. :) # Think sir fred needs to donate his pension ... read more
Moments of note 2009-03-13
One more sleep # Cripes managed to be ready in time to catch bus instead of taxi! # Change trains at Stirling. Smells funny. # Our reserved seats being hogged by weirdo with a loo roll. # Wildlife sightings - kestrel, geese and loo roll man. # Peaceful scenic journey being ruined by numbskull with leaky headphones. Grr. # Stags. Real ones. Not pre wedding booze tourists. # James Jauncey sitting nearby. Haven't read him so keeping schtum. Momentary missing of bookshop banter. # Anyway ... read more
One More Sleep
Well that is if I can actually get to sleep. I have a tradition that the night before a trip I am unable to settle down and sleep. Usually it is excitement flavoured with the thoughtstream of concern over whether I have packed enough of the right clothes. Which is kind of funny since I am not a fashion fiend in the slightest. I can tell you that for this trip I have at least two pairs of socks for every occasion. Perhaps even three. So a sock-free thoughstream at least. Our adventure is ... read more
Poised
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A Random Collection of Thoughts
Thought One Having experienced what it is like to have my blog stalked by someone who does not have my best interests at heart, I find myself quite often deciding that silence is the best option. The thing about blogging that I had always enjoyed was the freedom I had given myself to be whatever I was in the moment, to be open and honest about how I experienced life and to share my perspective of the world with anyone who wanted to read. The past year has challenged me on this because ... read more