It was so good! His work is like yours, in that I wish I had more time to simply start back at the beginning and read every little phrase, sit for a time with each word and thought. One day!
As you say; one day, not this day though, or this week… but I have holidays beginning Saturday and although the first week I doubt I will see the days passing the second I am planning rest and time for writing and reading… No doubt my family have other plans but I may just say NO!
I do hope the worst of these storms are missing you Alex? We are mid storm here but for now nothing too worrying… 🤞🏽
Say NO! Ha, as if we can ever do that?! I will be on my lonesome next week, as Ailsa is on her holidays with Aurélie’s mum, and Aurélie is in Lyon for training—I’m planning on trying my very hardest to catch up with things… ask me again in a week whether that happened, however!!!
I completely lose track of time reading your diaries Alex… this was no exception! But now I’m running late so a very quick note to say thanks as always for taking us with you, albeit vicariously, on your adventure…
I have tried to thatch with Heather - on a much smaller scale (a chicken coop) and all I can say is kudos my friend! I shamefully admit I ended with a wound that took two months to heal and a coop that looked like a child had built a bonfire! The chicken loves it though….
Thank you! I absolutely get that loss of time when reading, it happens to me too, although not as often as I would like these days, I suppose! To become involved in something in this manner is what we all want to hear, that our words and story engage readers deeply, make them forget that ticking clock for a time. That’s a powerful magic.
As for heather—I’m not sure I’d want to do that again!!! I too had several cuts which were deep and didn’t want to heal quickly at all, that stuff is sharp! And, as long as the chicken liked it, I think that is all that really matters. When I started thatching the shelter with heather, had I known how much I would need, and how long it would take (and how much work), I might not have bothered…
We have another day of rain here, with big thunderstorms predicted this evening and tonight. It is certainly the wettest year I’ve known here—the river is remarkable, how it has rewoven its path completely, now three times as wide in one spot, too!
I should have read this first… stay safe Alex, I agree re the rainfall this year and yet reports say the water tables are still below the norm! im wondering just how much more water the hill can take before sliding away in to the valley?
Our river is incredible at the moment, it is ripping apart the floodplain, removing tonnes of alluvial matter, giant boulders and whole stands of trees. Remarkable, really.
How was I not following you???? I haven’t really got the hang of this following business… huge apologies Alex. It does explain why I see so few of your Notes though. Remedied now.
I try not to be a voyeur to natural disasters, I listen to France INFO in the car to and from classes and that is usually as much sadness as I can stomach but I have been drawn to watching the rivers as they swell and overflow. The carnage of the countryside and all life therein left in the wake of such rain is devastating, more so than the average person can begin imagine. Not only does everything living suffer, or worse, perish completely but the lie of the land, the course of the rivers, the ancient trees that are uprooted… all are irrevocably changed. It breaks my heart. Stay safe, I think the worst is over, for now….
There is something deeply mesmeric about watching a river swell like this. It is something I used to find hypnotic about living in Scotland, those mountain, Highland rivers which would grow wild, seemingly within minutes. The danger of such things cannot be underestimated, but neither can the fascination and beauty.
As for the following thing, my feed has been a mess lately, what with all the experiments being run at the moment, I barely see anything I’d like to. :( Then there are the people I was sure I was following who, somehow, I am not (see also, subscribing). It is strange.
I always run down the hill to see the river at the bottom of the valley after heavy rain, there is something about the sheer power it holds... I agree Alex, a swollen river is hypnotic. It shouldn't be beautiful but it is...
I think Notes is only for people with plenty of time on their hands, (I wish) otherwise its just scrolling, and for me not daring to click on a link because I know I don't have time to read the contents even when I would really love to!
The follower/subscriber thing... a mind in its own right I think! Mine change daily, and I never see the same ones in Notes, apart from those I've liked or commented on before. It is strange...
Many thanks for this, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this note, and I am delighted you are enjoying it—especially as the environment is so similar to that you yourself know. Scottish temperate rainforest is such a remarkable little world, and to keep sharing discussion about the many wonders it contains can only be a good thing, hopefully helping to ensure that little world becomes a bigger one.
Ah I am so loving following along with this adventure!! Thank you for sharing it with us. I have found a few Loki's candles here, but my most perplexing find was an amorphous blob of flesh about the size of a dog. Absolutely no idea what it was or came from, but it sort of looked like blubber. It was perfectly spherical.
Ooh, I do love a good blobby, globster mystery! There are so many weird things in the oceans (I actually spotted a story about a similarly weird and as yet undetermined blob the other day). I do really miss walking along the shore, especially after a good storm.
Thank you for following along and leaving this comment, that makes me happy, I’m really glad you are enjoying it.
Beautiful photos, writing, and life adventures Alexander. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Many thanks Matthew, I’m really glad you are along for the adventure and enjoying it.
PS I loved Jonathan’s ‘Venture further into the forest’
It was so good! His work is like yours, in that I wish I had more time to simply start back at the beginning and read every little phrase, sit for a time with each word and thought. One day!
As you say; one day, not this day though, or this week… but I have holidays beginning Saturday and although the first week I doubt I will see the days passing the second I am planning rest and time for writing and reading… No doubt my family have other plans but I may just say NO!
I do hope the worst of these storms are missing you Alex? We are mid storm here but for now nothing too worrying… 🤞🏽
Say NO! Ha, as if we can ever do that?! I will be on my lonesome next week, as Ailsa is on her holidays with Aurélie’s mum, and Aurélie is in Lyon for training—I’m planning on trying my very hardest to catch up with things… ask me again in a week whether that happened, however!!!
Haha, I know well how that goes… good luck!
I completely lose track of time reading your diaries Alex… this was no exception! But now I’m running late so a very quick note to say thanks as always for taking us with you, albeit vicariously, on your adventure…
I have tried to thatch with Heather - on a much smaller scale (a chicken coop) and all I can say is kudos my friend! I shamefully admit I ended with a wound that took two months to heal and a coop that looked like a child had built a bonfire! The chicken loves it though….
Stay safe - we’ve another storm coming I hear!
Thank you! I absolutely get that loss of time when reading, it happens to me too, although not as often as I would like these days, I suppose! To become involved in something in this manner is what we all want to hear, that our words and story engage readers deeply, make them forget that ticking clock for a time. That’s a powerful magic.
As for heather—I’m not sure I’d want to do that again!!! I too had several cuts which were deep and didn’t want to heal quickly at all, that stuff is sharp! And, as long as the chicken liked it, I think that is all that really matters. When I started thatching the shelter with heather, had I known how much I would need, and how long it would take (and how much work), I might not have bothered…
We have another day of rain here, with big thunderstorms predicted this evening and tonight. It is certainly the wettest year I’ve known here—the river is remarkable, how it has rewoven its path completely, now three times as wide in one spot, too!
I should have read this first… stay safe Alex, I agree re the rainfall this year and yet reports say the water tables are still below the norm! im wondering just how much more water the hill can take before sliding away in to the valley?
Our river is incredible at the moment, it is ripping apart the floodplain, removing tonnes of alluvial matter, giant boulders and whole stands of trees. Remarkable, really.
https://substack.com/@alexandermcrow/note/c-73102531
I wanted to tag you in that, but for some reason my tag function seems to be acting up!
How was I not following you???? I haven’t really got the hang of this following business… huge apologies Alex. It does explain why I see so few of your Notes though. Remedied now.
I try not to be a voyeur to natural disasters, I listen to France INFO in the car to and from classes and that is usually as much sadness as I can stomach but I have been drawn to watching the rivers as they swell and overflow. The carnage of the countryside and all life therein left in the wake of such rain is devastating, more so than the average person can begin imagine. Not only does everything living suffer, or worse, perish completely but the lie of the land, the course of the rivers, the ancient trees that are uprooted… all are irrevocably changed. It breaks my heart. Stay safe, I think the worst is over, for now….
There is something deeply mesmeric about watching a river swell like this. It is something I used to find hypnotic about living in Scotland, those mountain, Highland rivers which would grow wild, seemingly within minutes. The danger of such things cannot be underestimated, but neither can the fascination and beauty.
As for the following thing, my feed has been a mess lately, what with all the experiments being run at the moment, I barely see anything I’d like to. :( Then there are the people I was sure I was following who, somehow, I am not (see also, subscribing). It is strange.
I always run down the hill to see the river at the bottom of the valley after heavy rain, there is something about the sheer power it holds... I agree Alex, a swollen river is hypnotic. It shouldn't be beautiful but it is...
I think Notes is only for people with plenty of time on their hands, (I wish) otherwise its just scrolling, and for me not daring to click on a link because I know I don't have time to read the contents even when I would really love to!
The follower/subscriber thing... a mind in its own right I think! Mine change daily, and I never see the same ones in Notes, apart from those I've liked or commented on before. It is strange...
I love this adventure, the photos are beautiful, and this is just the best way to start a day, reading about being at peace with nature.
Many thanks for this, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave this note, and I am delighted you are enjoying it—especially as the environment is so similar to that you yourself know. Scottish temperate rainforest is such a remarkable little world, and to keep sharing discussion about the many wonders it contains can only be a good thing, hopefully helping to ensure that little world becomes a bigger one.
Ah I am so loving following along with this adventure!! Thank you for sharing it with us. I have found a few Loki's candles here, but my most perplexing find was an amorphous blob of flesh about the size of a dog. Absolutely no idea what it was or came from, but it sort of looked like blubber. It was perfectly spherical.
Ooh, I do love a good blobby, globster mystery! There are so many weird things in the oceans (I actually spotted a story about a similarly weird and as yet undetermined blob the other day). I do really miss walking along the shore, especially after a good storm.
Thank you for following along and leaving this comment, that makes me happy, I’m really glad you are enjoying it.
(Found a link to that story!)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-mysterious-white-blobs-washing-up-in-newfoundland-have-government/