Haiku: Beltane

a smiling brindle whippet in a red jacket walking on a grassy cliff top

Beltane –
a fresh smell of grass
by the water

© Xenia Tran

partially submerged rocks on the incoming tide

Wishing you all a happy Monday and for those of you who celebrate, a happy Beltane festival too.

With love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Enliven

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #173

Tanka: One by One

a smiling brindle whippet in a black jacket climbing over a bank of shingle

one by one
they re-appear
sand bars
every day is earth day
for seals who catch the sun

© Xenia Tran

Take 5ive, 2023 Earth Day

seals sunning on a sand bar near the mouth of the river

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 Weekend Challenge: Frolic

Sunday Stills: Adoration of the Earth

Tanka: Calm Wind

close up of a brindle whippet in a yellow jacket in a snowy forest

calm wind
the sun fills the forest
with snow stars
how sweet their lives overlap
a moment with ours

© Xenia Tran

snow resting on spruce and pine in the forest

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.

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Content

Tanka: Radiant Day

a brindle whippet in a yellow jacket looking towards a sandbar with hundreds of seals

a radiant day
rises from the mist
our hearts leap
as we walk towards the sound
of seals barking

© Xenia Tran

hundreds of seals basking in the sun on the opposite shore where the river flows into the sea

Wishing you all a happy Monday and peaceful new week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Walking

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #165

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Radiate

Tanka: First Greens

a brindle whippet in a yellow jacket running up a bank in the forest

first green shoots
between the last brown leaves
how smooth
your beautiful otherness
changes with the season

© Xenia Tran

leafless birch lit up by the winter sun

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.

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge: Change

Haiku: Catching the Light

close up of a smiling brindle whippet in a yellow jacket walking on a forest trail

catching the light
in your eyes
a deep lochan

© Xenia Tran

young pine growing between withered heather

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 Weekend Challenge: Treasure

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #237: Bringing Softness

Haibun: Return to Inshriach

Today, we traveled south and east towards Glenfeshie. The scent of scots pine, rowan, birch, juniper and aspen fills the air. The trail is covered in pine needles and scattered cones. Among sleeping heather, young trees have found the space and light to grow, with a granny tree watching over her descendants.

We meet a group of walkers on the way, who make a fuss of Misty. An older lady herself, her enthusiasm for discovering new places is as fresh as ever.

high on the hill –
the pitter patter of
melting snow

© Xenia Tran

young scots pine growing between heather and older trees below the mountains

Wishing you all a happy Monday and peaceful new week,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Old

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #236: East Meets West, North Meets South

Tanka: Imbolc

Cairngorms National Park

a smiling brindle whippet in a yellow jacket on a forest trail

Imbolc –
the waters of
our heart
awaken in the glen we walk
a deep sense of belonging

© Xenia Tran

a mountain stream flowing through the forest and glen

Imbolc is a Celtic holiday that honours the halfway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, celebrated in Neolithic Ireland and Scotland.

To celebrate we are delighted to share the video below featuring Am Monadh Ruadh by the Calum Stewart Quartet:

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

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Wednesday Challenge: Belonging

Haiku: Sheltered Wood

a smiling brindle whippet in a yellow jacket on a forest trail in winter

sheltered wood
from the bend a glimpse
of snow falling

© Xenia Tran

haikuKATHA, Issue 16, February 2023

view across brown heather and golden grass towards mount cairngorm

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 Weekend Challenge: Bend

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #233: One Lens Walk

A Blessed Christmas

The holidays are coming up and whether you want to walk in the snow before it melts away, looking for rabbits …

a brindle whippet snoozing under a warm fleece blanket

… or take it easy, snoozing under a warm fleece blanket, dreaming of rabbits …

a window filled with Christmas decorations and an ornamental Christmas tree

… we wish all of you who celebrate a blessed Christmas and magical holidays.

a brindle whippet lounging in front of a woodburning stove

We will return here on Thursday 29 December with a special post, where we look back at 2022 with gratitude and love.

a candle arch and Christmas decorations in the window with snow outside

A happy Monday to you all and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Misty and Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Weekly Prompts Weekend Challenge: Wish

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #230: Last Chance