Pearl on snow-covered path
Eivor on the beach
Eivor and Pearl playing ball in the snow
Eivor and Pearl running on the snow
Snuggled up by the fire
Winter wonderland
Pearl stepping onto a frozen lagoon
Snowy beach
Beach zoomies
Pearl shaking a wet ball
A cormorant and seals on the bar
As we near the end of 2018 we are reflecting on a very special year, both in terms of gratitude for the people we have known and lost, and in gratitude for the love of those who are still with us.
The first months of the year were colder than normal and even the beaches saw ice and snow. Eivor and Pearl enjoyed running in the snow and were happy to snuggle up in front of the fire when we returned home.
On a relatively mild day near the end of January I wrote ‘When Nature Gives us Poems‘, a poem that became the most popular post created on this blog during 2018. An edited version of the poem appears in our book, ‘Sharing Our Horizon‘, alongside the photograph of the cormorant and seals you can see in the collage above.
Eivor and Pearl on the beach
Eivor and Pearl playing
Eivor
Lochan Deo
Pearl
Loch an Eilein seen from the hills above
Our Spring was warm, in so many ways. It was lovely to walk in the hills and mountains again, breathe in the scent of pine. The beaches were still empty, with plenty of time to run and play or pause to meditate, enjoy the silence.
‘Happy Place‘ became our most popular post in the Spring. Little did I know when I created the post, what a happy place it turned out to be. The cold Winter had just left us and the long-lasting heatwave of Summer was still a month or so away.
Pearl catching a ball with Eivor
Cove Bay
Eivor and Pearl playing on the tidal sands
Pearl splashing through a tidal lagoon
Eivor leaping across the tidal pool
a blue damselfly
Pearl running down a forest trail
Leaping salmon
The River Shin in Summer
Leaping Eivor
Our Summer was the hottest we have ever experienced since moving to the Highlands. The heatwave saw wide open beaches with a sea that was retreating further and further away. The rivers were running low, some of the lochs ran dry. There were many forest fires. We found our shade in the forests of the North, a few rivers still sparkling with water. We saw salmon leap. We saw Eivor leap. ‘Toys‘ became one of the most popular posts in the Summer.
Eivor and Pearl in Autumn forest
The Light that guides us
Eivor in awe of the autumn colours
Eivor and the Bear
Pearl among autumn leaves
Lochan Mor in Autumn
Hunter’s Moon 2018
Moonscape on the beach
Balblair Woods in Autumn
Autumn at Lochan Mor
Sunset on the beach
Dancing whippets
Eivor
Eivor and Pearl in the mountains
Front Cover of Sharing Our Horizon
We were blessed with the most beautiful Autumn colours along the shores, in the forests and in the mountains. Early October also saw the publication of ‘Sharing Our Horizon‘, our first collection of poems and photographs especially created to help raise funds for animal rehoming shelters. Our post ‘Our Book is Here‘ was the most popular post we created during the Autumn months and the second most popular post created on our blog during 2018. A very big thank you to everyone who helped to share the news, bought the book and posted a review.
Autumn also saw a very powerful Hunter’s Moon, sparkling in a clear night sky. When we walked towards the beach the following morning it looked like a ‘Moonscape‘.
Our new Winter has just begun. We enjoyed a mild Christmas with family and friends and look forward to what the new year has in store.
A big thank you to all our followers and blogging friends for your love and support during the year.
May your New Year be filled with peace and blessings.
Meeting of minds
Towards a new horizon
With love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
For our first annual review on our sister blog Tranature please click here.
Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #25: Reflections
Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #26: Photographic Review of 2018
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