Category Archives: Nature

Feet of clay

Posted on April 8, 2016 by Jamie Jauncey

Last night I finished reading H is for Hawk, Helen MacDonald’s extraordinary and much-fêted memoir about how she worked through her grief at her father’s death by training a goshawk. I loved the book for the luminosity of the writing, … Continue reading →

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Altchroskie

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Jamie Jauncey

I first met my friend Pete Clark almost 25 years ago, shortly after we had moved into our house in Strathardle, one of Perthshire’s least known and prettiest glens. The house was called Altchroskie (‘alt’ means stream or burn in … Continue reading →

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Lost in the fog

Posted on November 6, 2015 by Jamie Jauncey

From to time fighter planes come roaring over our village on their way to Lossiemouth, or heading off to do whatever they do over the emptiness of the Highlands. Dunkeld sits in the cleft of the Tay valley, at the … Continue reading →

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Sonnet with Indian

Posted on July 3, 2015 by Jamie Jauncey

Perhaps one is more aware of it as one gets older and looks more and more for meaning in things, but serendipity seems to me to strike with increasing frequency and impact. At our recent Dark Angels gathering we asked … Continue reading →

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Flower appreciation

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Jamie Jauncey

There is nothing quite so wonderful as one’s children’s success. I’m still glowing from Thursday’s evening’s The Flower Appreciation Society book launch. Dalston Eastern Curve Garden is a jewel, hidden away from busy Dalston Lane behind a high wooden palisade. … Continue reading →

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Elmo’s fire

Posted on March 27, 2015 by Jamie Jauncey

On the days when I’m not out at meetings I have a routine. I work in the house until around 11.00 and then walk the couple of hundred yards to Birnam Arts, the arts centre that sits at the heart … Continue reading →

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Winter spell

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Jamie Jauncey

The last four days have felt like real winter. The thermometer has hardly risen above zero since I arrived here. The cold bites my cheeks as soon as I step outside and the snow crunches underfoot. Through the picture windows … Continue reading →

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Three tales

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Jamie Jauncey

Here are three tales. The first: I’m currently reading Robert Macfarlane’s best-seller, The Old Ways. It’s a hard book to describe but essentially it sets out his thoughts on how we shape landscape and it shapes us, as he follows … Continue reading →

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Wayfaring strangers

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Jamie Jauncey

When I got home at lunchtime today there was a large and magnificent-looking book sitting on my kitchen table. It was warmly inscribed to me by its author, my close neighbour, Fiona Ritchie. Fiona is the presenter of The Thistle … Continue reading →

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Wild geese

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Jamie Jauncey

On Monday I returned from a week’s holiday in Mallorca to a different season. The trees are turning, the first dusting of snow has been sighted on the tops of the Munros, and the greylag are on the move. It’s … Continue reading →

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