About
The life and thoughts of Freda Marshall, a retired Church of Scotland minister living amongst the mountains and glens of Argyll.Pages
Conundrum
Those who know cairn terriers will not be surprised to learn that oftentimes there has been a bedtime patrol of the garden at speed and with much barking. This has caused great concern and I have been worried that the residents of Dalamory are all being frightened out of their beds. Him Behind the Wheel has earned himself fifty points by solving the problem. His method consists of a series of whispered exhortations to “Be quiet” and “Go gently” whilst at the same time gradually easing the front door open.
Silence. What bliss.
Of course what will happen when I try the same thing remains to be seen.
Battered tree
Sometimes life scars us like this tree and like the cat. We just have to wait, hope and be patient. New leaves grow and scars heal.
In the wars
Fox has come off worst in what was presumably a fight between cats. He has lost a chunk of fur and skin on his forehead. Talk about looking like a gangster-cat! He has been to the vet today and the antibiotic injection seems to have calmed him down a bit. He has to go back for another on Friday. I did wonder about asking the vet if he could be tranquilised to stop the fighting, but I suspect he would simply get scratched about more.
And before you ask, Yes, he has been neutered.
Sit
Sit on the bank of a river
in reality or in fantasy
and watch the water flow.
If you know how to look without reflections
the river will speak
not to your brain but to your heart
creating a silence in your spirit
and a wisdom
that your conscious mind could never grasp
Anthony de Mello
Spring at last
Misty had her first paddle in the river; there are wood anemones in flower under the trees; a pair of blue-tits have set up house in the newly re-erected bird-box; and I was enticed out into the garden for an afternoon cuppa.
Spring came to Dalamory today.
That moment
The “Aha” moment of the day and a blessed one at that. A pair of goldfinches visiting the garden feeder. They are a rare sight here at the Dalamory Homestead. Where I used to live on the island of Seil, there were loads of them. I guess they don’t like it as much up here in the hills as by the sea.