Discussion and recommended reading

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A Rich Diet?

I got some interesting pictures yesterday of a red squirrel female who is obviously nursing young. A close look at her right side
between fore and hind leg will show two teats.


I first noticed because of the cleavage from the front view. She's eating peanuts about five meters from me while a CD is playing quite loudly (Rory McLeod).
It seems to make the wildlife quite calm
to have either the radio or some other sound source going.
I shall keep the blog posted if/when she chooses to bring the young around.

The View from Bed

Dusk colours accent the different new leaves in the forest

Sunrise is in my face every morning,
and the birdsong is intense from well before Dawn.

Looking South, late morning

Looking North, late morning


And, a pheasant Hen, sitting tight in the afternoon sunlight

Sleeping Smooth

A couple of views of the new treehouse with canvas cover contrived out of secondhand marquee canvas.
Sides can be swept up or pinned down, depending upon weather, and back curtain can be easily lowered to give a window on the sunset.

A 'new' bed, contrived from reclaimed timber and a good futon reclaimed from someone who wanted a softer bed. It was beautifully comfortable last night (26/7 Feb).

Added March 1st, after a wonderfully stormy night. It was wonderful, and, so long as the wind doesn't come from the East (it hasn't yet), BRING IT ON!!

Global Warming in an early Spring

Early Spring yet again? Wild Narcissae in woodland litter Feb 18th, 2007
And some more for context.
And, some of the romneys as requested. Sadly, they wouldn't consent to being photographed while riding the quad bike...
And one of my favourite (among many) rocky outcrops on the honorary stockman's rounds.
And an old friend. Sometime soon I'll post a picture taken looking up from the centre. It's around 200 years or older and is shaped to its hillside for minimum wind resistance (or maximum survivability).

A New Treehouse?

Does it qualify as a treehouse? Good view out over the valley, anyway.

Pretty low to the ground, but only at one end,

and it's right at the top of the wee wood, backed up to the granite hilltop.
Yeah, I reckon it's gonna be a treehouse. Spruce roundwood free from forest operations and planking reclaimed from Tom's big treehouse.
Now to think about an awning roof using secondhand marquee canvas. More developments anon.

Christmas Cheer at Scrooge Castle

Come to our house fo Christmas Cheer

Frontyard Christmas Campfire.

The age of digital photography comes of age. A picture of two other photographers reviewing their latest.....
Who documents the documentors?
The Gods smiled upon our Carol singing gathering, providing
a truly stille nacht - Not a breath of wind,
truly 'acoustic' music accompanied by a foot-powered harmonium.
And a smokeless fire of ashwood. Much song and conversation and very little digital camera use....

Everything in Season

All natural ingredients

Season's Greetings!

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . . .

and a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make Scotland great, (not to imply that Scotland is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only country in Great Britain), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, choice of computer platform, or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.)

Finally Got Images to Work!

Panorama from North Glen, overlooking the double bend of the Urr Water Red Squirrel at North GlenPanorama from Hog house Hill Looking towards Screel Hill and Bengairn. North Glen so small as to be invisible beyond the river
Click for full size

Two Beardies

This posting is simply a method of getting images onto blogger so that one of them can be used for profile. The editing of this supposedly 'beta' version is atrocious! Perhaps it will improve, but who knows.....

Windows On Your World

This is my contribution to the BBC Radio 4 PM Programme "Windows On Your World" mass observation exercise. 4000 pictures taken at 17:00 GMT December 5th, 2006.

What are you seeing right now?

946 Words in Your Ear

Globalisation seems to be an attempt to override the traditional wisdom that the most important determinants of property value are location, location, and location. With profligate use of fossil fuels, goods and people can be moved anywhere. Living a long time in one place is a privilege granted to far too few of us these days. When one's work is also largely 'at home,' the deeper relationship to place is intensified. That this is nowadays such an uncommon boon is a mark of our times - mobility seems more highly prized than stability. I am 34 years in place.
Click image for full size view
The front door overlooks a tidal valley with a settlement of six thousand folk a few miles upriver and a disused ford and fishing port (now yachts & dinghies) a mile downstream (both thankfully on the other side of the river!) Half a mile downhill (but upriver) is Palnackie, which owes its existence to good anchorage and functioned as the principal port for the catchment. From the hills out back, the landscape is coastal peninsula and bay grading through arable, pasturage, and forested hills which rise steeply above treeline to 1250 feet.

It would be difficult not to become deeply attached to such a place. Sadly, many of our young are unable to remain. The dominant economic assumptions and the imperative of mobility draw them off and we maintain our low but stable population largely by importing silvertips who can afford to live here without paid work.

The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is over one-third forest (if the term is used loosely enough to include conifer plantations) and over the years, I have developed a deep interest in the trees which are the nearest and most numerous of my neighbours above the scale of birds and mice. For so long-lived a clan, however, the tree folk have few really old members hereabouts. Yet, timber harvesting is expected to double in the next fifteen years, the optimum lifespan of a Sitka Spruce being reckoned at forty five years.

There is considerable discussion and debate on the strategies appropriate for forested land, whether more land should be forested, and appropriate objectives for such afforestation. From the trees which currently cover one sixth of Scotland, only one Scot in five hundred is employed. Best estimates are that fewer than one in fifty jobs locally is provided by the trees who occupy one third of the land. There would seem a strong argument that any public money in the sector should be targeted towards developing forests with more direct benefits to people, particularly those who live (or wish to live) in close proximity to forests.

"Thus, at the heart of the Strategy there must be a strategic direction: - to ensure that forestry in Scotland makes a positive contribution to the environment. ...This must recognise the need to ensure that Scotland's trees, woods and forests are located and managed for long term sustainability and biodiversity in order to make the maximum contribution to the environment consistent with agreed economic objectives." (1)


But it is apparent that the Forestry Commission, who manage the public estate, and their private sector colleagues are constrained by such "agreed economic objectives" which require maximum mechanisation and upgrading public roads to carry the heaviest lorries and machinery. "If vehicles are overloaded this process [road damage and deterioration] is accelerated. Studies over many years have shown that the damage caused is proportional to the fourth power of the weight. [emphasis added]" (2) Thus, putting twenty tonne load limits on rural roads would remove almost 94% of the damage . It would also involve twice as many jobs for lorry drivers and increase the cost of timber haulage, as opposed to externalising the social and economic cost of roads onto local authorities (communities). This is utterly rejected by the industry as harmful to competitiveness.

"Rather than presenting quick answers, as technocratic culture tends to do, we need to reflect on whether or not we are asking the right questions...[or whether] ...people ‘participate’ in a project without having to decide on the critical issues related to that project."
-- Pablo Leal (3)


It would seem that everything is up for discussion in consultation with the notable exception of "agreed economic objectives" which are obviously agreed elsewhere. That the perceived need to become competitive in the global market militates the minimisation of employment and maximisation of fossil-powered mechanisation with attendant emissions only emphasises the folly of continuing to build a global culture based on moving things and people around by burning carbon. Such thinking is not restricted to forestry or agriculture, but is visible everywhere in our heavy addiction to mobility. Transport is the sole sector expected to increase emissions of greenhouse gasses in the coming decade(s). This seems so accepted that it passes without notice in government papers. (4,5)

In short, in consultations concerned with rural development, land reform, land-use, including forestry, and probably many another, a common thread emerges, embodying the persistent fallacy that the economy contains the ecology. Sustainable development, the mantra repeatedly invoked, must in every case be subservient to "agreed economic objectives." Clearly the right questions are not yet being asked of the right folk.

Taliesin - 1997 festival

2nd to 5th April, 1997

Pay attention to the open sky,
Let the buildings keep our children dry,
Let Creation reveal its secrets,
By and by......

Our first celebration at Taliesin was a brilliant success, thanks to immense voluntary input.

Godfrey leads the list, but unnumbered others contributed handsomely.
I reckon 2 dozen or more put in at least a day (not counting those who came from afar) in just the build-up probably more than a dozen put in at least 3 days effort at hard labour, laying paths of bark chippings, stripping 150 poles, setting up six 22-foot tipis and a 50-foot longhouse, a green woodwork shelter, a mini-tipi box office, a trapeze setup for Tim & Karen, etc.

A slideshow of the event:

-- Photos: Simon Brooke and others
Or click here for a write-up to peruse at your own pace

John Currie came and put up his painted twelve-foot genuine indian tipi, filled it with artifacts, dressed a young lady in full costume, and charmed young and old alike with traditional storytelling. He made the tipi 40 years ago and honeymooned with his wife, visiting reservations all over North America.

People brought tents and built benders, many stayed in the tipis, 13 in mine one night. The place was alive with kids, day and night. A large gang roaming one newmoon starnight found foxfire, the phosphorescent fungus, glowing in the dark woods and ran about bursting into adult fireside gatherings to share and show off their discovery: "Ed, Ed, I've got a stick that glows in the dark! Here, let me put my coat over your head so you can see it glowing!" They soon had found enough so each had a bit. The largest were fist-sized on rotting hazel butts.

On the 1000th night before the millennium (new moon or thereabouts), Comet Hale/Bopp and countless stars conspired with tipis lit by firelight within to produce what must surely be a prize-winning photograph from Simon and the most enduring image of the event.

There was music every night, though only programmed for Wednesday (Treebeard) & Thursday (Two Left Feet). Smoky longhouse barkchip floor for reel & willowstrip ceilidh.

Other music from Trevor, Karen, Blackie, Blue, Pete, Marco, Andy&Sarah, Mike, Tony, & many others. The last evening was like a family gathering round the kitchen fire, soft music mostly, and a memorable rendition of 'Before the Deluge' from our landlord & host, Tony Bonning. "Pay attention to the open sky," and, looking up, there was our guardian comet smiling in the northern starscape.



Some of them were dreamers
And some of them were fools
Who were making plans and thinking of the future
With the energy of the innocent
They were gathering the tools
They would need to make their journey back to nature
While the sand slipped through the opening
And their hands reached for the golden ring
With their hearts they turned to each other's heart for refuge
In the troubled years that came before the deluge

Some of them knew pleasure
And some of them knew pain
And for some of them it was only the moment that mattered
And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings
And exchanged love's bright and fragile glow
For the glitter and the rouge
And in a moment they were swept before the deluge

Now let the music keep our spirits high
And let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by
By and by--
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky

Some of them were angry
At the way the earth was abused
By the men who learned how to forge her beauty into power
And they struggled to protect her from them
Only to be confused
By the magnitude of the fury in the final hour
And when the sand was gone and the time arrived
In the naked dawn only a few survived
And in attempts to understand a thing so simple and so huge
Believed that they were meant to live after the deluge

Now let the music keep our spirits high
And let the buildings keep our children dry
Let creation reveal its secrets by and by
By and by--
When the light that's lost within us reaches the sky
--Jackson Browne, 'Before the Deluge'
A dozen years on, we are still going strong!!