Euan Semple's Blog, page 13

Upstanding?

“As a vertical animal, man was to get into the habit of looking ahead, not only in space but in time as well. To which wretched origins we may trace the Future!”

– E.M Cioran

May we raise children who love the unloved things.

May we raise children who love the unloved things – the dandelion, the worms and spiderlings.

Children who sense the rose needs the thorn

& run into rainswept days the same way they turn towards sun…

And when they’re grown & someone has to speak for those who have no voice

may they draw upon that wilder bond, those days of tending tender things

and be the ones.

By Nicolette Sowder

Blogging advice…

…that I all too often forget.

“The best work that anybody ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing him, always.”

Arthur Miller

Red sky in the morning

Just a sparrow

“The infant sees a sparrow dancing on his window ledge and he’s all full of wonder and awe. The infant is brimming with excitement and he rushes to tell his mummy about the little wonder dancing and singing on his window sill and mummy tells him it’s just a sparrow. Next day the sparrow comes back and is spotted by the infant’s playmate who’s likewise infected with awe, but the rapidly maturing child now points out to his friend, that it’s just a sparrow. This time as a child he doesn’t see something magical and wonderful he just sees another sparrow. The infant is now a child. He now has a name for the wonderful sight, a label and suddenly a step is taken, and the child is removed from reality. The magic slips away word by word, label by label. The label becomes the child’s reality.”

James Capra – The Way Within

Moel Siabod

Third time up this cracking little mountain in Snowdonia.

Pretty steady rain on the way up. Scrambles on the ridge, which when I’d done them in the past in the dry seemed a doddle but took on a whole different character in the wet. High winds, driving hail on the top. Nice steady walkout. Doesn’t get much better. Ash’s first hill so a good introduction.

Moel Siabod from our campsite Beside a very full Afon Llugwy at the start of the walk. View from the top.

Old Harry Rocks

Longer walk today from Studland Village to Swanage and back past Old Harry Rocks. As I took the photos I was very mindful of an episode of Saving Lives At Sea in which the RNLI rescued someone who’d fallen the full height of the cliffs. Amazingly he was a bit misshapen but lived.

Breathing space

Looking after Dad in Dorset for a couple of days and so took the chance to clear my head with a bimble round Lulworth Cove and Durdle Door.

Getting there

One day, I hope not to measure my days in minutes or hours, but in miles walked and pages read.

Patrick Rhone

Elf

Every year we watch Elf.

Every year I cry at the end.

This year I started earlier in the film than usual.

Maybe I am getting soft in my old age.