Whippet Wisdom – a Highland Journey
A journey through the seasons with two adopted whippets, a poet and a camera
ah the bliss
when we come to this place
late summer
the chiming of cones falling
stays with us every year
© Xenia Tran
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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 …
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)
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
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
at one
with the wind
a dog smiles
in the glen’s deep spaces
her light can always be seen
© 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.
Tanka Thursday: Always
Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge: Outdoor Fun
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
shifting clouds –
everywhere we look
yellow flowers
© Xenia Tran
Wishing you all a happy Monday and a peaceful new week,
with love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
Weekly Prompts Weekend Colour Challenge: Mellow Yellow
Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Shift
east to west
in the warm wind
driftwood
filled with song from places
where a quiet bird listens
© Xenia Tran
The willow trees and shorter pieces we saw on the beach reminded me of ‘Willow’ from Spell Songs, so here is some music for you today too:
Wishing you all a blessed Monday and a peaceful new week,
with love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Pitch
Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Short
Cairngorms National Park
Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,
with love from Eivor, Pearl and Xenia xxx
Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.
Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge: Dog Walking
Whippet Wisdom - a Highland Journey 
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