What's the Story in Dalamory » River Orchy

Technical troubles again

freda — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:37:12 +0000

Sorry for being offline yesterday, there was a problem with the server. It did make me realise how often I am on the website, tinkering, posting and generally messing about; and of course the stats were down to near zero. (Not that I bother about things like that of course.)

Yesterday was one of those rare, still autumn days – no real sun, but sudden showers and in between, the drip, drip, drip from the leaves still on the trees. Misty’s walk was to be to a forest, as there is more cover there, but sadly it was closed off for tree-felling operations. The natural Scottish oak woodland had looked as if it needed some TLC. The maintenance people usually just fell dangerous branches/trees and leave them where they fall to create an ongoing habit for small creatures. In the end we settled for a walk along the River Orchy.

Guess who forgot to take their camera? Annoying because there was the potential for some stunning shots. Not so much the colour of autumn leaves, but more the muted colour of rain glistening on the trees and occasional glimpses of a misty sun shining through the backdrop of nature. Absolutely stunning. Unfortunately my word pictures are not up to describing the beauty of shape, form and silent acceptance of the watery world. The river rushed alongside the little road, bracken the colour of burnt umber lined the verges and the trees were awesome in their acceptance of rain and the eventual falling of their leaves. Ditches were full of clear water lined with sunken leaves and burns rushed down the hillsides to meet up with the mother river. It felt us if we were a part of nature.

What a miracle.

The brooding skies of autumn

freda — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 15:14:13 +0000

Went for a walk with the dog this afternoon and caught the tail end of a shower. The temperature is still pretty high for this time of year (17.5C) The acorns have started swelling on the oak trees and in some places the heather is turning brown. I guess that means that summer has come to an end. As you can see from the photo it is a particularly brooding sort of day.

We are spoilt for beautiful places around us – lots of good walks and picnic spots. I used to like climbing hills and even the odd mountain, but that is much more of a challenge nowadays. It is amazing how quickly the days go by. Today has been the odd bit of computing, a bit of housework, a potter and tidy up of magazines and papers, lunch (soup) and a snooze, then a walk, followed by coffee from a flask and some time idly gazing at the river (in good company of course)…….. and will now include more computing, a bit of a read and maybe some TV after a good meal. I have worked out that wall to wall NCIS recordings in the evenings make for a restless sleep; the answer is very simple – finish with an episode of the Waltons on DVD.

I suppose you could say it is a nothing kind of day. Amazing how enjoyable the weekends are in retirement.

Being positive

freda — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 10:07:59 +0000

Have decided to be more positive today. There was a temptation to continue to rant about the Government, the cuts, the economy, the bad things…….. and so forth. Then I thought about the peaceful time we had with Misty at the river yesterday on our walk. It was warm, there was the buzz of insects (some of them you had to duck from) and just sitting for a

few minutes watching and listening was therapeutic and soothing. A dipper relentlessly squawked and bobbed up and down, but I couldn’t see if there was a nest near. The sandmartins were whizzing and wheeling around overhead and diving into their holes in an overhanging banking. Gradually, all the negative media pressure drifted away. Deep breaths and being at one with nature – how precious.

In a long distance shot you can see how empty of water the river really is; and what you don’t get in this perspective is the fact that the channel is in reality quite deep. Don’t be fooled by those clouds, in actual fact the weather was muggy and hot. There was even a hint of thunder rolling around the hills. We tried to walk gently along the river-smoothed pebbles and stones, and managed not to slip and slide too much. The water was teeming with tiny little fish – food for the herons and the oyster-catchers.

Misty gave way to temptation and did her usual sploshing about in the water, at one point she put her head under water and ended up not being able to see for the hair plastered in front of her eyes. She came up for air and shook her head obviously wondering why the world had gone dark.

As I sit at my desk this morning and think of all the walks over all the years with all the children and all the dogs, I feel truly blessed. When all around you is gloom and doom and fear, it is worthwhile reflecting on the important things in life. They will be different for each of us.

You see….. there I go again. I guess it is something to do with my training, first as an insurance broker assessing risk, then as a minister thinking about how events affect every individual person. I cannot help but think of the people for whom children are not a blessing. Either because they have none, and perhaps wish it were otherwise, or because they do have little ones and simply cannot cope. The secret of happiness is to make the most of what you have. In the western world we are still remarkably well-off compared to elsewhere in the world. So it is important to value each day for the gifts and blessings that it brings. And if sad things come along, we hopefully will have built up a resilience and/or faith that will carry us through.

Now – do I apologise for what is sounding remarkably like a sermon? Or do I forgive myself and go and have a smooth, rich, frothy cup of ethically sourced Columbian coffee?

No contest.

Unwinding

freda — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 17:05:51 +0000

It has been one of those wonderful unwinding days. The sun has been shining, and for much of the day I rested and caught up with myself. But best of all, was the opportunity to sit beside the River Orchy for half an hour, watching sandmartins, pied wagtails, and smelling the strong, heady scents of the purple wild thyme and yellow broom.

I have never seen the river so low; that made it possible to walk far upstream and find a spot to sit and blend in.

The wild thyme was the most profuse ever….

And of course Misty came too.

And Him Behind the Wheel. But I won’t show you the photo where he forgot to smile!

Blackmount Estate

freda — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 16:47:27 +0000

What are the words that Misty loves more than ‘Walkies?’ You’ll never guess. So I shall tell you. It’s “Would you like to go on an Adventure?” There is a resounding, Yes-woof followed by a Hurry up-bark, if we are not quick enough to kit up. Today the weather was fine so we decided on a walk up at Blackmount, Loch Tulla and then a relaxing coffee in the campervan.

The River Orchy can just about be seen from the Homestead at Dalamory, but below is a view from the early reaches up in the hills between Blackmount and Glen Etive.

The Estate have created a fish dam in these upper reaches, presumably there are salmon and trout. Couldn’t see any though.

Misty is back in her favourite position….

And I enjoyed my coffee with the best view in the house (campervan I mean.)

Most dramatic part of the day: – The far hills of Blackmount itself
Most Intriguing: – Fishponds
Most entertaining: – Botanists bending down taking photos of different kinds of mosses; or were they biologists looking for beetles?

Glorious afternoon and much appreciated by all the inhabitants of Dalamory. Brings a lift to the spirit and a thankful awareness of the whole of creation.

I guess the exercise was good too! But as for the whole 95 miles of the West Highland Way – perhaps not this year.

Exploring rivers new

freda — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 17:29:20 +0000

A tributary of the Orchy

River Orchy

freda — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:53:07 +0000

What's the Story in Dalamory » River Orchy

Technical troubles again

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