Category: dogs

Haibun: Pulse of the Ancients

a brindle whippet sniffing the moss on the trunk of an ancient oak tree

September’s sun dapples through green and ochre leaves as the path meanders past a three-hundred-year-old sycamore, still standing strong. A few dog-less people make a fuss of Misty as she skips past them to the sunny side of the wood. A robin sings his heart out on a garden fence, where the path passes a few houses. We cross a small wooden bridge over the burn, one side of the water green with algae. Once we turn left, we see her.

Birnam Oak
six hundred years old
this autumn

close up of the bark and lichen of an ancient oak tree

One of the last living relics from a medieval forest that once grew here, her girth is around seven metres. The oak’s lower branches are so heavy they are supported by stilts and part of the trunk is hollow.

Shakespeare is said to have visited this area in 1589 when he was an actor and later immortalised the wood in his play Macbeth. This tree would have been mature when Shakespeare walked here. Touching the bark with my left hand, I feel a pulse that gets stronger and stronger the longer I leave it there, filling my palm with heat that travels down my arms and my spine, as if they are branches.

then and now
a mild south-easterly
tingles the leaves

© Xenia Tran

Birnam Oak, lower section in the warm September sun

I am guest-hosting Haibun Monday at dVerse Poets tonight and the bar opens at 8pm GMT.

Wishing you all a happy Monday,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Frame

dVerse Poets: Haibun Monday – September Song

Tanka: Sacred Waters

leaves on a birch tree in the foreground by a waterfall

calling us anew
towards the sacred water
this dream world
sun-kissed by autumn
where love so freely flows

© Xenia Tran

a small waterfall in a narrow part of a river

Wishing you all a happy Thursday and a peaceful rest of the week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #144

CMMC: September Pick a Topic from my Photo

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Dream World

Tanka: Douglas Fir and Larch

close up of a smiling brindle whippet running through the grass in the forest

ah the bliss
when we come to this place
late summer
the chiming of cones falling
stays with us every year

© Xenia Tran

close up of leaves, needles and cones on birch and douglas fir

We are taking a short blogging break to enjoy the fine weather and will be back on Thursday 22 September 2022.

Wishing you all a happy Thursday and a peaceful weekend ahead,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Tanka Thursday: When

CFFC: Nature

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge: Trees

Haiku: Ferns and Trees

a smiling brindle whippet striding out along a forest trail

ferns and trees
the first of many dreams
that speak

© Xenia Tran

close up of green ferns over a small pond

Wishing you all a happy Monday and a peaceful new week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge: Greenish

Tanka: All as One

Loch an Eilein Castle

a brindle whippet in a black rain jacket on a forest trail

light rain
on the crumbling ruins
grass and moss grow
in the shade of willows
all as one with nature

© Xenia Tran

castle ruins surrounded by trees and covered in moss and grass

Wishing you all a blessed Thursday and a peaceful rest of the week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Tanka Thursday: Ruins

CFFC: Man-made Items

Tanka: Low-Tide Treasures

a smiling brindle whippet running across the beach

fleeting world –
gulls and oystercatchers feed
in the lagoon
there are treasures to be found
at this special hour

© Xenia Tran

oystercatchers and gulls feeding in a tidal lagoon

Wishing you all a happy Monday and a peaceful new week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #141

Thursday’s Special: Pick a Word in August 2022 – Lagoon, Shoreward

Supporting Children with Cancer UK and Dogs Trust

We are delighted to make another donation of £150 to Children with Cancer UK with proceeds and royalties raised through Between Heather and Grass during the 2021-2022 tax year.

Between Heather and Grass is our second book of poems and images inspired by our beloved whippets Eivor (2010-2022) and Pearl (2011-2022), and was especially created in memory of our nephew Jamie.

2022 Donation Certificate from Children with Cancer UK

Children with Cancer UK is the leading national children’s charity whose vision is a world where every child survives cancer. They work to develop safer, kinder and more effective childhood cancer therapies, with fewer toxic side effects.

They are there when families need help most. By funding welfare projects, delivering unforgettable events and fostering a loving environment, they strive to make the world a happier place for the children who are diagnosed with cancer.

It is with a warm heart and gratitude we are able to continue to make a donation to this amazing charity.

To find out more about their work or if you want to support the charity directly please visit their website here.

2022 Donation Certificate from Dogs Trust

We are equally delighted to donate the same amount once more to Dogs Trust this year.

Dogs Trust is the UK’s largest dog welfare charity and has been caring for dogs in need for over 130 years. They take in dogs that have been abandoned or handed in by owners who could no longer care for them and find them new, loving forever homes.

They have twenty-one rehoming centres across the UK and provide Home from Home foster care for dogs who are not comfortable in kennels or when the kennels are full, and Freedom Project foster care, special foster homes for dogs from families fleeing domestic violence. In addition to these services they run educational programmes in schools, training programmes for owners and actively campaign on dog welfare-related issues.

To find out more about their work, adopting a dog, fostering, volunteering or to support Dogs Trust directly, please visit their website here.

haiku Divine Love by Xenia Tran from Between Heather and Grass

This book is now also a tribute to Eivor and Pearl and the wonderful journey through life that we were blessed enough to share.

A very big thank you to all you fabulous people who have bought a copy of Between Heather and Grass, left a review and helped to spread the word.

If the book is new to you feel free to click on the icon below for a peek inside …

Book to Look look inside cover for Between Heather and Grass

Wishing you all a blessed Thursday and a peaceful rest of the week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Journey

CMMC: August Alphabet – Letter ‘N’ in the Middle of a Word (Donation)

Tanka: One Step Ahead

Cairngorms National Park

a smiling brindle whippet in a black jacket running towards the camera

your smile
always one step ahead
of the weather
where love winds its own trail
in unexpected ways

© Xenia Tran

mountains with heather in bloom under a cloudy sky

With warm thanks to Steph, a dedicated volunteer for Give a Greyhound a Home, who sent Misty this lovely rain-proof jacket from her Canine Lane store.

Wishing you all a happy Monday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Tanka Thursday: Trail

Jez Braithwaithe’s Water Water Everywhere #140

Supporting GAGAH

Give a Greyhound a Home

We are delighted we were able to make a donation of £105 to Give a Greyhound a Home (GAGAH) earlier this week with funds raised from the sale of Sharing Our Horizon during the 2021-2022 tax year.

Since we are currently caring for Misty as our Forever Foster on behalf of GAGAH and Misty’s family, it seemed a natural choice.

GAGAH was established in 1999 to raise awareness about ex-racing greyhounds and ex-working lurchers and to rehome as many of these wonderful hounds as possible throughout Scotland.

They are a non-profit organisation, run by a dedicated team of volunteers who give their time and effort for free.

If you are interested in supporting GAGAH directly through donations, fostering, adopting or buying goodies for your hound from their Happy Hound Store, please visit their website where you can find out how to make a positive difference.

donation certificate for GAGAH

A very big thank you to all of you who have bought a copy of Sharing Our Horizon, left a review and helped spread the word.

Warm-hearted thanks also to the Authors’ Licencing and Collecting Society (ALCS) and The Society of Authors (SoA) for launching Author Share, their Re-use Royalty Initiative for Writers where authors receive a royalty share when their books are sold second-hand through World of Books and Bookbarn International.

Every penny helps and more royalties received means more money to help hounds in need.

Sharing Our Horizon is the first book we published featuring poems and photographs from our blog, inspired by the walks with our beloved whippets Eivor and Pearl in the Scottish Highlands.

If the blog or book are new to you please click on the icon below for a peek inside …

book to look widget cover for Sharing Our Horizon by Xenia Tran

Wishing you all a happy Thursday and a peaceful rest of the week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

CMMC: Pick a Topic from my Photo (blue, waterscape, words)

Haibun: They Walk Beside Us

Cairngorms National Park

a memorial plaque placed on the stump of a pine tree

The sky is grey above the hills and we set off with raincoats wrapped around our waists. We walked this trail so many times the last twelve years, in all weathers. With Seamus weaving through the trees, sniffing moss and lichen and Ruby, always by my side in rhythm with my stride. With Eivor, leaping across streams and puddles to keep his paws dry, and Pearl, walking into the same streams to cool her legs and have a drink. Their smiles still linger here, their paw prints are embedded in the soil.

Here we are with Misty, who is as wide-eyed and enchanted by the glen as all the others were. For a while it feels as if we are walking with them, including those who Misty knew.

forest trail
changed forever
we greet the sun

© Xenia Tran

the ruins of Castle Eilein in the loch

We saw this beautiful memorial plaque on the stump of an ancient pine and can imagine the young man’s spirit and his loved ones finding peace here too.

Wishing you all a blessed Monday and a peaceful new week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Mirror

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #139

dVerse Poets: Open Link Live #322 August Edition