Poetic musings beside Loch Kinord

Welcome to today's double header - a special post combining the LLB Gang's Nature Friday blog hop and YAM-aunty's Final Friday Feature. 

  The WFT and the Water Lilies

Pictured here, a terrier beside a loch,

A scene at once so tranquil and so not!

The lily dappled watery scene beguiles,

The WFT's brim full of wiry wiles.

What better time to plot some devilry,

Than when one's human's lost in reverie?

Reflecting on reflections, she neglects

To pay attention to her naughty pet...

Don't be deceived by such a pert wee rear,

Such pretty markings, cute and flappy ears.

He's thinking up some new and rascally moves

While she's distracted by the pure white blooms.

Will he escape into the trees to hide?

Perhaps locate a muddy ditch, and dive,

Emerging filthy and malodorous,

Then spy her angry face and wonder what's the fuss. 

One scene, experienced in different ways,

A lesson for us all, for all our days. 

How dull life would be, were it otherwise.

What joy to see things through another's eyes! 

The Nobby and Agatha Show

It was, as ever, lovely to meet up with my fox terrier chums at Castle Fraser on Sunday morning.

Eight dogs were present, Merin, Rupert, Agatha, Daisy, Jinx, Peanut, Snowflake and of course my good self.

But I'll be honest, there's only one pup for me, and that's wee Agatha, fellow mudlark and, well basically, the most fun foxy ever, by far! 

That's her, back left, with me in the middle, looking on admiringly.

See Agatha play! 

Not the highlight?

You would think, wouldn't you, that meeting a wire-haired fox terrier called Nobby would easily be the highlight of any animal loving visitor's stay in Scotland.  

But apparently not.

It seems that for Gail's friend Helen, up here for the past week, I come a poor second best behind the puffins perched precariously on the cliffs at the RSPB's Fowlsheugh Nature reserve, the golden eagle spotted soaring over the Applecross peninsula, the otter swimming near the southern shore of inner Loch Torridon, the pine marten who scampered across the road just up from Gail's cottage, and the playful dolphins showing off to spectators at the harbour mouth in Aberdeen.

I want you to know that I waited patiently and quietly while Gail and her young friend trained their binoculars on the cliffs and Gail tried - with limited success - to take pictures of the puffins on Saturday morning. 

To my mind, these puffins are anyway over-rated in the cuteness department, and have much to learn when it comes to sitting still and posing nicely for the camera...

A taste for the maritime

My exciting sea voyage earlier in the week has inspired a maritime-themed Nature Friday post today.

On Tuesday, before the boat trip, I went with Gail and her friend Helen to the delightful Highland village of Plockton. Did you know that Plockton is one of the few places on the west coast of Scotland with a harbour facing east?

What a tranquil spot. Plockton is sheltered from the westerly winds and - also in part thanks to the Gulf Stream - palm trees flourish here along the waters edge. 

A short walk from Plockton takes you down to a secluded 'coral' beach*.

While I tried to run away to sea, Gail was taking pictures of the pretty little shells and coral fragments.

Oh and I caught a rather fine crab, but a certain spoilsport was less than impressed and would not let me bring it home for dinner....

Happy Nature Friday friends. Do you have a yearning for the salt air? 

*Strictly speaking, the fragments on the beach are not coral, but calcified algae, also known as 'maerl'.

The Skye Boat Dog

Speed bonnie boat like a bird on the wing,

Onward the sailors cry,

Carry the dog that is born to be king

Over the sea to Skye.*

*Readers well-versed in Scottish culture will recognise this lyric as a variation on the well-known 'Skye Boat Song'.

Were the 'Young Pretender' Bonnie Prince Charlie escaping from the King's men in 2023 and not 1746 he would not have needed a boat, as these days a bridge links the mainland to the Isle of Skye. But that would not have made for such a memorable legend and song.

Yesterday Gail and I went with our visitor Helen for a two-hour boat trip on the Kyle of Lochalsh-based Seaprobe Atlantis. The boat took us under the Skye Bridge - see the last of the photos.

I was a Good Quiet Boy throughout the excursion, despite not being allowed downstairs to the underwater viewing area of the vessel. I did not bark at the seals, even though, with just their heads peeping out of the water, they could have been mistaken for Labradors out for a swim.

Early morning fetch

We have another visitor this week. (Who knew Gail was so popular?)

This one is called Helen and I have been teaching her the rules for playing 'early morning fetch' in our back garden.

1. This game is best played before breakfast and it is allowed for the human to be wearing their pyjamas.

2. Prior to engaging in the game, the human must of course have grabbed a handful of tasty treats as well as a suitably fetchable toy.

3. The human throws the toy across the garden while saying 'fetch'.

4. I chase after the toy, maybe pick it up, put it down again and then run back to the human demanding my treat.

5. It is to be hoped that the visitor does not insist in playing the game according to Gail's rules, which require that I actually carry the toy back to human before being given the treat. That version of the game is boring. The human should do their share of the fetching.

Helen is staying with us for a week, and I am hoping to teach her some more games before we are through. 

A choice of blooms in Duthie Park

Do you prefer your summer flowers big, bold, bright?

Perhaps you favour a less showy bloom? 

Or rock plants, here a delicate delight?

We love them all, and hope that you do too! 

Happy Nature Friday, and thanks once again to the ever wonderful LLB Gang for hosting this our favourite blog hop.

Ooops, I did it again...

It's totally not my fault.

So Gail takes me on a walk in the woods on a hot for Scotland (27ºC!) afternoon.

She ignores me, focussing instead on the pretty summer flowers.

Germander Speedwell

Twinflower

Mouse-ear Hawkweed

I would like to have cooled off in a nice clear stream, but all I can find is a muddy ditch. 

You would, I think, have done the same.

PS from Gail: I had hoped Nobby's ditch crawling exploits were a thing of the past, but the recent warm weather seems to have prompted an unwanted revival of this behaviour...

Keeping Scotland tidy

I expect I am not the only pup to live in a part of the world where signs exhorting humans to 'please pick up after your dog' are common. Fines are often threatened for those who fail to comply.

Walking around litter-strewn streets in certain parts of Aberdeen, it occurs to me that humans are not that great at picking up after themselves. As I am a public-spirited sort of a chap, I feel it's my mission to set them a good example.

Sometimes, if I drop my precious cargo close to a waste bin, Gail even gives me a treat. 

Have you done anything to clean up your environment recently?

Letter to DB (Kelpie), Tacoma, Washington

Dear DB, 

I hope you don't mind me writing to you out of the blue like this but, having had your lovely owner Marse staying with us here in Scotland for the past two weeks, and having heard much about your, er, 'activities', I feel I now know you rather well despite us not having met. 

First of all, I feel must apologise for a terrible error I made a few weeks ago on this blog, when I posted a photo which I thought was of you but turns out not to be. The fault is entirely Gail's. To rectify this error, I have posted a genuine, Marse-certified image of your handsome self at the top of this post. 

Well DB, I must say you lucked out when you were adopted by Marse. This lady gives mighty fine back massages and belly rubs and plays a mean tug-of-war, as I am sure you are well aware. I have a suspicion that, had Gail not been in the habit of intervening with spoilsport statements like "please don't wind him up any further" our playtime could have been even more exciting...

I have noticed that Marse, like Gail, is an enthusiastic hill walker, and this of course is much to be commended. On this topic DB, and with all due respect to a dog who is my senior by about a year, may I be so bold as to offer a word of advice?

When Gail was driving us to the start of our hikes in Torridon, I overheard Marse comment favourably, perhaps even a tad incredulously, about how quiet and well-behaved I was in the back of the car. I think the implication here is that car rides in your presence are not quite so peaceful. So my suggestion is that you could consider toning down the backseat barking a few decibels, as then you would be a more welcome passenger and might get to go on even more adventures in your beautiful home state of Washington. 

It certainly works for me in Scotland.

Well that's about all for now. I do believe that Marse and her friend Nikki are flying back across the Pond today. How sorry I shall be to see them go, although I am sure you, DB, will be pleased to have your owner home safe and sound. Oh and if she tries to tell you any bad things about me and my ball-stealing exploits in the park, I feel I can trust you to adhere to the canine honour code and pretend you did not hear...

Toodle-oo!

Nobby.

Torridon equations

One swim in the loch,

Plus one coastal hike,

Plus one café stop,

Plus a two-lap cuddle,

Plus one last look at the hills before bed,

Equals one very happy wire-haired fox terrier.

But one exciting venture into the bog.*...

...Equals one not so happy owner.

*Gail says: With a remarkable recent run of warm and rain-free weather in the Torridon area, the ground  is drier now than I've seen it in the twenty years I've been coming here. But Nobby still manages to locate a deep bog and dive right in!