Whippet Wisdom – a Highland Journey
A journey through the seasons with two adopted whippets, a poet and a camera
island autumn
bird song and water
wash over the stones
© Xenia Tran
Wishing you all a happy Monday,
with love from Misty and Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #219: Treasure Hunt
Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #146
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 and more
this autumn
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
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
ferns and trees
the first of many dreams
that speak
© Xenia Tran
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
Cairngorms National Park
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
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
Cairngorms National Park
sun and wind
sweeping away the clouds
an invitation
© Xenia Tran
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 #138
Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Meander
Cairngorms National Park
moved by trees
who are moved by him
a piper plays
© Xenia Tran
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 #137
white sands
as far as eyes can see
a smile follows
© Xenia Tran
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 #136
Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Sheer
Word of the Day Challenge: Display
cooling
as we run towards it
the turquoise sea
© 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.
Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #135
CFFC: Would Make a Friend Happy
Misty’s family came over for a visit this weekend and it was lovely to see them again. After a walk on the beach we went back to our house and they gave us this beautiful picture of Misty as a puppy that had been hanging on her late owner’s wall.
Misty is still very playful. She loves flinging her toys around the room as well as my slippers. Showing her the picture, she sniffs it and looks thoughtfully at her younger self. Then she turns towards the wall with pictures of our other dogs, where she is happy for us to hang it.
fruits of summer –
between blackcurrant bushes
forget-me-nots bloom
© Xenia Tran
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.
CFFC: Symbolizes an Act of Kindness
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Twin
dVerse Poets: It’s OLN Live
Cairngorms National Park
back in nature
a pleasant wind leans
across the loch
© Xenia Tran
Wishing you all a happy Monday and a peaceful new week,
with love from Misty and Xenia xxx
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Focus
Whippet Wisdom - a Highland Journey 
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