Taexalia

wild.life

Riot Responses

I apologise in advance if this turns into a mish-mash of ideas and a ramble. I'm trying to tease the Who I Am Response out of the knotted tangle of Emotional Reactions of what I have seen over the past few days. I reject the idea that the riots that have dominated several English cities are simply a product of poverty, or race. I see people from all walks of life indulging in this behaviour - men and women, boys and girls of many ethnic backgrounds. They are not dressed in rags, they are in ... read more

Flying Solo

I gaze out at the hazy blue sky, relishing the bright sunshine after days of wind and rain. I am up early, getting things done, energised. A movement catches my eye and I am mesmerised by the sailing shape of a Buzzard. This is the front window that looks over the town to the Forth and I am used to watching Buzzards out the back windows. I relish this unusual sight.

Then a Crow flies into the ... read more

Magical Solstice

Yule Lunar Eclipse

We had a gorgeous view of the moon hung low in the West this morning and we were awake to see ourselves start to cast a shadow over her. It was not as dark as it might have been, since the snow cover reflects an eerie blue light. We fuddled with cameras and then I gave up and just watched the universe at work. What a sense of stillness and movement as the earth's shadow ... read more

Body Language

This morning I am thinking about my dog and the experience we had last week with a group of children who wanted to meet him. The children were on bikes or scooters and they were noisy and excited. My dog, who is a little shy and unsure sometimes, hid behind me with his tail between his legs. This is sort of sweet, in retrospect, given his sheer size. Rather than walk away with him, I decided to try and give him, and the children, a good experience. I had to be patient in explaining to the ... read more

Five State Wisdom

I'm on my annual retreat collecting experiences, memories, wisdom, ideas and photos of some of the wildlife I've met along the way. I'm also collecting States - so far I've been in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. For now, I'm going to share some of the wild thoughts that have come up along the way... • Let go or be dragged • Peace is being at one with myself in the midst of everyone else's chaos • I'll be your dancefloor, but not your doormat • Sometimes walking ... read more

Lone Pine Standing

This Lone Scots Pine stands overlooking the Firth of Forth near to where I live. I see it every day, a constant and consistent marker on the journey. Some days I don't really see it, or even acknowledge it's presence and other days, like today, I pause to look at it and take in it's stature. I wonder how this tree came to be growing here. It is the only Scots Pine in an area sprinkled with pockets and swathes of mixed deciduous ... read more

Dance of the Red Fox

We went for a walk yesterday morning and one of the differences between the greyhound and the humans was highlighted as we climbed the steps to the high field. His nose engaged and his body language hinted at the traces of something interesting that happened earlier, he sees first with his nose, then his eyes. With us, our eyes engaged first with him and then with the changes in the landscape we noticed... a small area of ... read more

Is It Spring?

I'm hearing this question all over the place as people wish the moments away looking for something better. I look for signs of new life emerging - the snowdrops and winter aconite shine their carpets of hope amongst the decaying humus of the woodland floor, the owls and foxes make eerie night noise as they mark territory and call for mates, buds on trees seem to swell a little more and my flowering redcurrant is uncurling leaves... The wheel is turning, but the Carlin/Cailleach has not ... read more

Today It’s About Love

I can recommend The Inch View Hotel, Burntisland, for a delicious meal in an intimate setting. I'm not a food critic, so I'll just say that feeding me pork and me relishing every bite is a rarity. I would eat their pork tenderloin twice. That's how I spent my Valentine's evening yesterday. Yesterday because today is all about love. Forty years ago today @ popped into the world and gifted those of us lucky enough to know him with his special brand of Different. Happy Birthday Mister @! ... read more

Messages About Marking Territory

The birds that catch my eye just now are the birds marking territory. Is this a message, or a mirror, or an affirmation? The Buzzard is not hunting when it glides against the clouds. The Buzzard hunts from the vantage point of a fence post, a telegraph pole or a tree. No, when the Buzzards are tilting on the wind, soaring and circling, they are marking airspace and conversing over who can fly where. They may even be describing their home and territory to a potential mate. But they do not ... read more

I Always Cry…

...at the Ballet. The casual observer (and let's face it anyone observing my tears in a darkened theatre during a ballet can't really be considered casual) might think that I am just caught up in the story, touched by the emotions of the dancers or whatnot. The truth is that some wounds don't heal, and perhaps they are just never meant to. One of the most tender parts of my Bone Song is What To Do With My Inner Dancer. Before I go on, I'm not looking for advice or "you shoulds" - and ... read more

Happy Birthday To Me

It's my birthday today. I am 36 years "old". Conventional wisdom tells me that I am meant to be embarrassed, upset or distraught about this age. Actually conventional wisdom started telling me that from about the age of 29 - 30, this being the age of doom where everything changes for the worse. I made my Mum laugh the other day when I dramatically wailed Meg Ryan's line from When Harry Met Sally - "...and I'm gonna be Forty!" I just like to make my Mum laugh, but really I don't have a big ... read more

Wee Blossoms

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Forget Me Not"][/caption] I am absolutely determined to get to 28th July and have a blog post for every day. I know there is a theory about quality over quantity but this is my challenge to myself to actually write something here every day. I am trying to build the habit of daily writing and learn a bit of self discipline where creativity is concerned. That sounds a bit odd ~ "self discipline where creativity is concerned" but I ... read more