Tag: trees

Wintering

Life has felt fairly hectic lately and I’ve felt out of sync with the natural world that is only just starting to emerge from hibernation. A little bit of light has crept into our mornings and evenings, and snowdrops and crocuses have pushed up through the ground bringing some much needed colour to these dreary, grey winter days.

Over the last few weeks, my husband and I’ve been trying to get fitter, he recently invested in an exercise bike so we’ve both enjoyed cycling virtually through downtown Tokyo and Kyoto (where we spent our honeymoon almost a decade ago), and we’ve been doing yoga together most evenings before bed. I’ve joined a weekly fitness class at our local gym, which has been a fun way to increase my activity. It’s been tricky finding time to exercise between work and parenting, but we want to get a bit fitter if only to keep up with our two young, energetic daughters.

I’ve struggled a bit with the winter blues but I’m finding such comfort in little glimmers like building elaborate train tracks and magnetic tile towns on the living room floor with the girls or family games of pop up pirate, hungry hippos, dobble and bingo, lots of messy kinetic sand and play dough fun too. This month there have been parties for our oldest daughter’s fifth birthday, and my mother in law’s too. My husband has also gone full-time self employed for the first time, we’re still adjusting to the new rhythm of his work but will hopefully be less stressful and more flexible than his previous role.

We’ve been getting on with little jobs in the garden too, mostly tidying up but also planting a silver birch and pear tree. Winter hasn’t quite surrendered to Spring here yet, it’s still pretty cold, dark, wet and wild, but the first little daffodils in our border have flowered. Have a lovely week. X

An Enchanted Weekend in Pitlochry

EnchantedForest3

One of the events I look forward to every October is our annual trip to the Enchanted Forest in Pitlochry. This was the sixth year that my husband and I visited, but the first year that schedules allowed us to visit the forest with a couple of good friends, and it was lovely to be able to share the experience together.

We have always been lucky with the weather, and although the path was a bit muddy in places, it was a mild and dry evening with a waning gibbous moon just visible above the tips of the tallest trees. The Enchanted Forest follows a path around Loch Dunmore in Faskally Woods using the bridge across the loch to create a figure of eight circuit. It is only a couple of kilometres long but there is always so much to see that we can easily spend an hour or so meandering through the forest savouring all the different sights and sounds of the show, and we always wander around more than once.

The theme changes every year, but the designers often draw their inspiration from nature; this year the show was called Oir An Uisge meaning Edge of the Water in Gaelic, and both weather and water were recurring motifs. I’m often guilty of viewing life through a lens and it’s especially challenging to remember to lower my camera and actually experience the Enchanted Forest because it’s all so wonderful and I want to capture it all.

We have stayed in a few different hotels and guest houses in and around Pitlochry over the years, but this year we returned to the Atholl Villa for a third time as the rooms are clean and comfortable, the staff are friendly and helpful, and it is conveniently located just a five minute walk from where the shuttle buses collect and drop off visitors to the Enchanted Forest. The following morning, we took a wander around Pitlochry itself, which is a pretty town full of boutiques, gift shops and cafes, and although I don’t really start getting excited about Christmas until after Guy Fawkes night, I can’t resist a quick look in the Christmas Emporium whenever we visit Pitlochry.

This was the first time we’d left our cat Mara alone overnight since moving into our new house, and she gave us a very warm welcome when we returned from our little adventure. It’s lovely to be cosy at home again after an enchanted weekend away with friends. Have a lovely week.