Can one have too much weather?

All in the last few days. 

Our street (these photos are not black and white)...

Two miles to the east at the harbour mouth...

https://youtu.be/vsiyoV_qiSc

In the woods five miles to the west...

It's all been quite exhausting...

A pep talk from Bertie

Advice in Verse

(especially applicable to those enduring the Scottish summer...)

Why fret about the wet?
Don't be cowed by too much cloud.
There is much to gain from lots of rain,
Why fret about the wet?

Don't grizzle when there's drizzle,
And if it's dreich, stand tall, look chic!
When skies are grey, go out to play,
Don't grizzle when there's drizzle.

A blizzard can be wizard!
And ice is rather nice.
In heavy snows, just wear warm clothes,
A blizzard can be wizard!

There is no doubt, we won't have drought.
Evapo-transpiration's low in this location.
Enjoy walkies through mud when everywhere's humid.
There is no doubt, we won't have drought.

Yes, why fret about the wet?

Scottie talk

So here I am on the beach at Nairn (our favourite stop-off en route to Torridon), enjoying a break in the wintery weather, checking out some driftwood and minding my own business, when along come two Scotties and their owner.

Has it ever struck you that the conversations your human engages in with other dog owners are not of the highest intellectual  calibre? 

It seems a bit rich to be criticised as uncouth for sniffing each other's rear ends by way of introduction by a species that rarely ventures beyond "Oooh, SO cute. Boy or girl? What's his name? How old is he? Weather's not so bad today is it?"

(This final question is purely rhetorical. Unless it is freezing cold AND rain is bucketing down AND a gale is blowing AND visibility is at the 'can't see beyond the tip of your nose' range, the typical Scottish dogwalker will classify conditions as "nae bad".)

For the record, these Scottie guys are called Archie and Phoebe and they are, respectively, five and seven years old. It is agreed that we are all three exceptionally handsome terriers and that the weather is indeed "nae bad".

Later at the Torridon cottage I am pleased to see that Gail had packed some suitably brain stimulating reading material for the weekend, and live in hope of hearing her discussing the relevance of quantum decoherence to the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, or the role of non-locality in avoiding violations of Special Relativity, with the next dog owner we run into....

Beats Brexit anyway.

New Duthie Park Café and Canine Rights

There is an important debate going on in Duthie Park this morning. Let's listen in for a minute.

Well it seems that the newly renovated café in Duthie Park is about to open, at last*. 

The regular dog walking gang are asking the manager if the café is going to be 'dog-friendly'. It looks like the dogs are joining in. Really the case in unanswerable, don't you think?

• First off, it is noted that year round, we dogs and our owners are the main park users, we come here come rain or shine, every day, unlike your fair weather, school holiday visitors, Saturday afternoon cricketers or bus tourists doing the rounds of the Winter Gardens. So we feel we have rights.
• Secondly, it is not good enough for dogs merely to be given access to the outside terrace area, which apparently is the current plan. I mean, how many days per year in Aberdeen is it actually warm enough for even the hardiest and most loving dog owner to want to be eating outdoors? 
• Finally, there is the economic argument, which is of course paramount in the minds of so many humans. Not only will allowing dogs in increase takings, but just think how much could be saved in floor sweeping costs with all those canine Dysons to hoover up the cake crumbs...

We shall be reviewing the café in due course.

*Behind that 'at last' is a long and sorry saga of Aberdeen City Council mismanagement, incompetence in letting the café contract to an untrustworthy party, lies told by said party, delays, near bankruptcy, supposed investors dematerialising when payments are due and - oh gosh we had better stop here before Gail explodes in a fit of apoplexy...

A sensible decision..?

And then it was autumn

A treat most unexpected,

But welcome as a bone,

A week of sun, blue skies, still air,

When summer should be gone.

It could not last, it felt

So undeserved. And yet

When normal service weatherwise

Resumed today, and wet,

Cool, blustery, and dour,

The world o'ernight transformed,

I thought it quite unfair,

And for the sunshine mourned.

Then Gail cried "Chin up Bertie,

Remember what they say,

There's no bad weather just bad clothes.

Put on your coat, and seize the day!"

Bored of this spot? Reflections on repetition

So we were over at the Torridon cottage this weekend and once again Gail made me stand on the stone in the front garden so she could take yet another picture of me, framed between the Scots pines, the sea loch just beyond.

Gail, I said, I’m thinking my loyal readers might be getting a wee bit bored of this view by now. Do I really have to post the shot you took today? Nice though it is [one has to be diplomatic] I don’t want my blog to become repetitive.

A look of incredulity and hurt flickers across Gail’s lightly freckled face.

Bertie, she says, how could anyone possibly tire of this magnificent view? Which incidentally is never, ever the same; it changes by the season, by the day and even by the hour.  Look, yesterday’s snow on the mountain tops has melted in the warm May sunshine and the surface of the loch is now rippled by the breeze whereas in the still of the early morning we were treated to an upside down version of our little corner of paradise. If it rains as heavily as forecast, then amidst the fifty shades of grey landscape we will see a white ribbon of water cascading down distant hillside. Should the skies stay clear, the Torridonian sandstone will glow red in the setting sun. And of course Bertie, you, who provide the perfect foreground interest for the composition, also have a hundred different ways of looking cute as cute can be.

Am I alone in thinking that being considered cute ‘foreground interest’ is just a wee bit patronising if not downright insulting?

The good news is that, once I had done posing, we headed out on a coastal ramble and Gail remembered to bring along the camera along, so I can show you some fresh views of the landscape (and, of course, me).

Friends, I am wondering if any of you are similarly afflicted with a human who simply cannot resist photographing you over and over again in some favourite spot, and who gets upset if you complain, or demand a change of scene?

A work in progress...

 What do you mean only half done?

OK so I know we're meeting my WFT pal Horatio near Ballater on Sunday but do you really think he's the type to be impressed by a smart furdo? 

And by the way, haven't you seen the weather forecast?

PS: Gail's Big Boss has not responded to my letter. Hmmm. Time to phone Ernie….

Should I be happy or sad?

Happy 'cos it's so cold and windy and rainy that Gail decided to stay in with me this morning rather than take my big rival out for a spin.

Or sad 'cos it's cold and windy and rainy so we only went for a quick walk in the park.

On the basis that one can't choose the weather but one can choose one's attitude, I have decided to be happy anyway.

PS from Gail: this post is in tribute to my dear, recently departed friend Kate, whose capacity to inspire lives on. 

Clachnaben: the promise and the reality

A typical late summer hill walk in Scotland...

Oh, and our friend Alison (in the red fleece) wants me to point out that that is not her normal hairstyle!