Wonderland - My Happy Place

I’m privileged to be in my happy place in this season of Winter Wonderland and witness again the splendour of the Dumfries and Galloway countryside. An ice-cream in August by the Solway Firth seems like a million moons ago to me now. Lush green has given way to shades of copper and rust in hedgerows and woodland and every view is simply stunning. It is nature at its best.

I was nine years old when my family and I moved into our pub on south promenade. During that first summer of settling in and exploring, we went to the Pleasure Beach. Candyfloss, rock, hot-dogs, fried onions, burgers and seafood. Imagine all these strong scents mingled together and this is the all-round smell I grew up with, including beer and tobacco closer to home, but this was my first impression of the Pleasure Beach. I remember going on the Alice in Wonderland ride and being scared. It was the falling down the rabbit hole bit. Very effective nearly sixty years ago and I can’t say if any changes have been made as I haven’t returned. In those days, there was no charge to walk round the Pleasure Beach and no such thing as wristbands. Rides were paid for individually. The current way of doing things and the costs prevent me from taking my grandchildren any time soon.

Snug in a cosy lodge, outside white with frost, I’ll make the most of the rest of our stay. I’ll top up the bird-feeders every day and enjoy watching them being emptied. Red kites are fascinating and entertaining, gracefully circling, looking for prey. This unspoilt simple life is my chosen wonderland.

My Haiku

Surrounded by trees,
A cosy and peaceful lodge
Is my wonderland.

Beyond evergreens,
Rhododendrons, firs and pines,
Acres of farmland

Glisten in the frost
Of early winter morning,
Waiting for the sun

To rise above hills.
Gentle clouds streak a blue sky.
Beautiful daybreak.

Admiring red kites,
Gracefully soaring above,
A roost of hundreds

Watching and waiting
Whistling their high pitched shrill call,
Then swooping to feed.

A short drive away,
The quiet of the forest
Brings tranquillity.

PMW 2023

Thanks for reading, Pam x

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Tanka - Just A Few



I'm away at the moment, yes, again. I know I've only just returned home long enough to do the laundry and re-pack the case, but here I am, in the wonderful Dumfries & Galloway countryside, comfortable in a hidden-away lodge that I've already written so much about.

This week's theme being Tanka - five line poem based on a 5-7-5-7-7 syllable, I've had a try.

Not only have I managed to write a few Tankas, I've found a wifi connection. One of the attractions about being here was the seclusion, no signal, etc., but hey ho, things move with the times and we don't have to use what we don't want. Anyway, to my own advantage today, so here goes. They are written randomly.

Lonely roads so dark,
Driving back from Kilwinning.
Two hour journey
On the A seven-one-three
And it's creepy and scary.

List'ning to John Lodge
On his live 'B Yond' cd
Some old tunes remixed
And some new ones blended in,
Salute the Moody Blues man.

Watching the robins
Bossing round the bird feeders.
Claiming ownership,
Puffing out a proud red breast
Homing in on the fat balls.

A drive to the hills
Then all stops for 'Popmaster'
Wherever we are.
Some questions are too modern
And correct answers are few.


Thanks for reading, Pam x

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Fat-balls - Feed the Birds

Spending time in Dumfries & Galloway is always intended to be restful and peaceful and that’s exactly what we find at the lodges where we choose to stay. A favourite pastime is watching the birds feasting on the fat-balls and seeds that we provide. We feed the birds at home, but hardly get chance to enjoy the results of constant topping up. It’s different when we’re away. A morning consists of relaxing after breakfast with a coffee on the veranda, or inside if it’s chilly, reading yesterday’s paper or a Kindle. Reading material is soon cast aside as bird watching takes over. Depending on the time of year, we may repeat this in the late afternoon. The lodges are surrounded by evergreen trees and huge rhododendrons offering plenty of branches to hang an assortment of feeders.  

We were there in November for a much needed break. My father-in-law had passed away the week before and the funeral arranged for our return.  We looked forward to the family gathering that was always a highlight of our visits. I had started to be ill in the days prior to our trip and hoped the Scottish countryside air and time to rest would help me pick up. It wasn’t to be, but we still enjoyed our stay.

Health permitting, our spring time visit will go ahead. It’s a good time to watch the red kites at their feeding and conservation station nearby or at Galloway Forest. What I’d really like to do, more than anything, is fill seed feeders and fat-ball holders, hang them up and wait.

As we’re in his domain and it’s nearly Burns Night, I chose this poem,

 

 

O stay, sweet warbling woodlark stay,

                                      Nor quit for me the trembling spray,

 

                                       A hapless lover courts thy lay,

 

                                       Thy soothing, fond complaining.

 

 

Again, again that tender part,

                                      That I may catch thy melting art;

 

                                      For surely that wad touch her heart

 

                                       Wha kills me wi' disdaining.

 

 

Say, was thy little mate unkind,

                                      And heard thee as the careless wind?

 

                                      Oh, nocht but love and sorrow join'd,

 

                                      Sic notes o' woe could wauken!

 

 

Thou tells o' never-ending care;

O'speechless grief, and dark despair:

                                      For pity's sake, sweet bird, nae mair!

 

                                      Or my poor heart is broken!

 

 

                                                                  Robert Burns  1759-1796

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading, Pam x 

 

 

 

 

 

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