Your words feel so resonant and powerful for me this morning. The land around our village is being steadily ploughed and ripped up by a family who own and are buying more of the farms in the area. They farm strawberries, and fill the vast acres they now own with tunnels and blank soil, populated by hundreds of rows of plants, fertilized with chemicals. They have installed sonic cannons, to keep away the birds, everywhere, and we hear what sounds like gunshots several times a minute all through the day. My heart breaks to see the bare ground, once filled with communities of clover, vetch, grasses and little animals - bees, buck, small wild cats. In spite of this, I agree with you that beauty is a stubborn and persistent presence, and sometimes the most important creative work we can do is to reflect that. My small garden is full of birds, many new ones that are perhaps fleeing the destruction of their homes. And that is a blessing.
Oh Carri, that's so heartbreaking. Our gardens need to be like Noah's Ark, a refuge in a rising flood of agri-business and the steady industrialisation of the rural landscape. Even here in Orkney we feel it.
A poignant and profound piece today Samantha. Just when I’m feeling the dark weight of all the hideous things we can do to each other pressing down on me you’ve illuminated the darkness with a fine blue light. Thank you.
I love this exploration. And what a profound ending! “In complete darkness we are blind. The Sun’s unfiltered light would blind us too. Our blue planet tilts between the two, holding both darkness and light in an ever-shifting balance. And we must do the same.” 🙏
Sam, what a lovely description of your walk and the brawling wind and blue, blue sea and horizon. I was with you in spirit and envious not to be there.
Once walking on Iona on a sunny day with a friend we crested a small rise to reveal before us a white beach and the most brilliant, beautiful blue sea he or I had ever seen. The northern Scottish light must be extra-packed with those photons you mentioned. I noticed the same brilliance once when travelling in Sweden, it was if you had turned the colour definition up on the TV. Thanks, your words uplifted my morning and brought happy memories back.
I think I might have done that very same walk, over the hill from the ferry to the other side of the hill and down to the beaches that Peploe and Cadell painted. Those colours! Iona is a little jewel. Yes, the light here is often silvery, crisp. Clear, sunny, cold winter days are the best.
Blue blue blue, the word is like a praise poem in itself. How astonishing not to have a word that means "blue"! True it is a shifting creature of depths and textures that cannot be pinned down, but there are some natural blues that do not perform that magical disappearing act, such as bluebell and cornflower (I guess blue feathers do not count because we are told they are not ACTUALLY blue, which seems beside the point since they appear to be blue), and of course there are some quite beautiful blue eyes in the world. x
I made the mistake of listening to the ai reading, when I should have simply read the text. It’s a long piece to record ,but your lovely voice brings such pleasure and adds so much to your writing. I won’t listen to the ai reading again. I have learned my lesson!
Your words feel so resonant and powerful for me this morning. The land around our village is being steadily ploughed and ripped up by a family who own and are buying more of the farms in the area. They farm strawberries, and fill the vast acres they now own with tunnels and blank soil, populated by hundreds of rows of plants, fertilized with chemicals. They have installed sonic cannons, to keep away the birds, everywhere, and we hear what sounds like gunshots several times a minute all through the day. My heart breaks to see the bare ground, once filled with communities of clover, vetch, grasses and little animals - bees, buck, small wild cats. In spite of this, I agree with you that beauty is a stubborn and persistent presence, and sometimes the most important creative work we can do is to reflect that. My small garden is full of birds, many new ones that are perhaps fleeing the destruction of their homes. And that is a blessing.
Oh Carri, that's so heartbreaking. Our gardens need to be like Noah's Ark, a refuge in a rising flood of agri-business and the steady industrialisation of the rural landscape. Even here in Orkney we feel it.
Thank you, Samantha. I love the thought of our gardens as Noah's Arks.
A poignant and profound piece today Samantha. Just when I’m feeling the dark weight of all the hideous things we can do to each other pressing down on me you’ve illuminated the darkness with a fine blue light. Thank you.
I love this exploration. And what a profound ending! “In complete darkness we are blind. The Sun’s unfiltered light would blind us too. Our blue planet tilts between the two, holding both darkness and light in an ever-shifting balance. And we must do the same.” 🙏
Thanks so much Kimberly!
Sam, what a lovely description of your walk and the brawling wind and blue, blue sea and horizon. I was with you in spirit and envious not to be there.
Once walking on Iona on a sunny day with a friend we crested a small rise to reveal before us a white beach and the most brilliant, beautiful blue sea he or I had ever seen. The northern Scottish light must be extra-packed with those photons you mentioned. I noticed the same brilliance once when travelling in Sweden, it was if you had turned the colour definition up on the TV. Thanks, your words uplifted my morning and brought happy memories back.
I think I might have done that very same walk, over the hill from the ferry to the other side of the hill and down to the beaches that Peploe and Cadell painted. Those colours! Iona is a little jewel. Yes, the light here is often silvery, crisp. Clear, sunny, cold winter days are the best.
Blue blue blue, the word is like a praise poem in itself. How astonishing not to have a word that means "blue"! True it is a shifting creature of depths and textures that cannot be pinned down, but there are some natural blues that do not perform that magical disappearing act, such as bluebell and cornflower (I guess blue feathers do not count because we are told they are not ACTUALLY blue, which seems beside the point since they appear to be blue), and of course there are some quite beautiful blue eyes in the world. x
True indeed, although I'd say that bluebells and cornflowers lean very much towards violet than true blue. But yes, a pair of blue eyes.....dreamy.
A marvellous piece. Thank you Sam.
Stepping out into the vast shining blue spaces.
Walking the thin blue line.
This was a beautiful read, thank you.
Thank you Claudia.
I never knew that the ancient Greeks had no word for blue...
Thanks for a thoughtful and thought-provoking post, Sam.
As always your words are made rich by your photographs and lovely artwork.
Thank you Yasmin!
Your words are a balm and an inspiration, and so very profound. Thank you, thank you for sharing your thoughts so eloquently.
I made the mistake of listening to the ai reading, when I should have simply read the text. It’s a long piece to record ,but your lovely voice brings such pleasure and adds so much to your writing. I won’t listen to the ai reading again. I have learned my lesson!
beautiful blue...