O/T Things that leave you in awe....

[Rod Paradise]

Was down at my folk's house the other weekend & took the dog a walk along a river about 2 miles from the house (the Euchan), got to the falls & sat watching them (it's a seriously beautiful place) & then the salmon started jumping... sat enthralled for ages until the dog got bored & started pestering me to carry on walking.

I've seen the salmon at the Euchan Falls many times, but every time I'm gobsmacked to the extent that I don't even think about trying to poach one (I have been known to poach the odd salmon/trout/pheasant in my time ).

Other things that have amazed me (all within about 5 miles of my parents place) include:

Seeing a stoat 'dance' to a rabbit (they whirl about, chasing their tail, jumping in the air etc, all the while getting closer and closer to the rabbit which is mesmerised - then go for the throat).

Seeing a sparrowhawk take a swallow out of the air, about 6 feet in front of me.

And the best one, my Dad suggested we go for a walk down the Vennel (a steep gully near us), into Kirkconnel, have a couple of beers then get Mum to come get us. We used to do this walk a lot when I was living at home, it's one of our favorites. We came over the brow of the hill & were walking along the top of the gully when I saw jackdaws, crows, rooks, ravens, a couple of kestrels & a buzzard, all swooping down at something downhill from us that we couldn't see.

I thought we'd find a couped sheep (when they've not been sheared, but it's getting near shearing time they can roll onto their backs trying to scratch & the weight of the fleece can trap them, then the birds attack their eyes & start eating them while they're alive). So we were heading towards whatever they were swooping at when, about 100 feet below us, up flew a golden eagle. My dad says he'd not seen a look like I had on my face since I was a little kid. I'm not religious, in fact I'm anti-religious, but moments like that I certainly do feel a religious awe. We watched it fly off, right across the valley.

My dad told me later that he'd heard there was a juvenille eagle that had wandered over to our area from Galloway. I'd seen one from a distance in the Highlands, but never that close & on 'my own turf'. He hadn't told me because he wanted it to be a surprise. I bought the drinks that day.

[Karabiner]

Lovely stuff Rod, thanks for sharing that.

It sure is a breathtakingly beautiful part of the world up there, and you've just made me yearn for another visit.

[Trace]

Wow Rob - fantastic! 


I remember walking downstairs one morning and looking out of my kitchen window, there is a wooded area at the back of my house, and at that time I didn't have a fence separating my garden from the wood, this particular morning I looked out to see two deer staring back at me.  I just stood there with my jaw dropping.

I don't live out in the country as such, my house is surrounded by fields, but I am literally a 1 minute drive from the A583.  I never in my life dreamed that one day I would find deer on the edge of my back garden.

Used to have a resident sparrowhawk when I moved in, but after the previous owners told me it sat on the fence by the dining room window eating a catch one morning, I discouraged other birds from coming into the garden by not feeding them.  Nature can be beautiful, but it can also be VERY cruel.  And that isn't a sight I wish to see whilst eating at the table!

[ACE2M]

Memories memories.

I grew up in the new forest and remember being blisfully happy exploring all the time. Now i live in stoke, booo.

[Robert HM]

Rod, a wonderful post. Thanks for giving us that. I had to take a moment out to consider what I have seen recently that is awe inspiring and came up with driving through the Drakensberg range in Natal on Chritmas day, two years ago. It makes you feel somewhat insignificant in the grand scheme.

TraceT, yes nature is cruel. Last week I had 7 ornamental chickens in the back garden, a fox took one then, obviously liked it, and took the remaining 6 last night.

[TightEnd]

I had an incredible experience only two weekends ago

I was taking the kids for a walk down a footpath in the countryside...the kids were chattering away and being rumbustious, the weather was unseasonally warm and all was right with the world

Suddenly, Ryan, my 8 year old, whispers "Dad, Dad, come here!"

I walk over as he puts his finger to his lips and there I see, about 25 feet away, emerging from some undergrowth up a bank a large cat like animal with a rabbit in it's mouth....

we crouched down, a little bit scared and not wanting to be spotted...the animal wandered right across our line of vision and then looked right at us....


I did the "I'm a strong Dad" act and whispered to the kids to be completely still...it held our gaze for about 30 seconds and moved off

When we got home Ryan and I got straight onto the internet and discovered that the animal was in all likelihood a Lynx, though I could find no suggestion of them being present in this country

Since then, try getting Ryan off the Natural history books and televison channels...



p.s Rod...a great post

p.p.s Rhm Two years ago I stayed in the Injasuti area of the Drakensberg ..coincidence, and you are right, sensational place

[Rod Paradise]

Trace It does add something special to see nature from your own home doesn't it. My parent's house is above the town, and we have an old quarry over the back from us. They get a pair of kestrels every year nesting in the quarry & one year we were lucky enough to see the young fly the nest, the noise they made was incredible (I always thought the youngsters were jumping out of the nest going "SHHHHIIIIIITTTTTT!!!!"  ).

There's also a pair of buzzards around regularly, and this year they brought 2 fledgelings with them, my Dad & I sat at the kitchen window watching a pair of swallows bully one of the youngsters into landing, they were smaller than its head - but were so fast & intimidated it.

There used to be a merlin hawk about, but we've not seen one for about 5 years now.

Lastly, about a couple of months back I was sleeping in my old room (converted attic), when I was woken by the incredibly loud screeching, and noises of things scraping on the slates. It proved to be a young barn owl, that had landed on the roof & was screeching for mum to feed it. I love nature, and bird of prey in particular, but I was seriously thinking about getting the air-gun out that night

[Rod Paradise]

Rhm, I'd love to see the Drakensberg, actually there's lots of Africa I dream of seeing. I loved Bryce Courtenay's Peekay series & he writes a lot about the Drakensberg in the first one (The Power of One - my favorite book ever).

I also love Wilbur Smith's books so Africa is a place I long to see.

2 main dreams about Africa,

1 Doing the Safari School - 6 weeks where you learn to be a safari guide... even if I never went back I think that would be worth any money.

2 Riding an african elephant through the Okavango delta... there's a guy does this with captice elephants that he brings back to Africa & works with. That would be somethig I'd bore poeple about for the rest of my days.

Tighty, brilliant story - I'd kill to have seen that. Lynx were native to Britain ut were killed off along with wolves, bears boar & beaver.

They are talking about reintroducing the European beaver & possibly even the wolf into Scotland - I'd love to see that.

Also according to european law, as the lynx is a native species & endangered, the govt should now be making your area a sanctuary & doing all they can to help the lynx, to the extent of releasing a mate - but I doubt people would be too keen on it

[tikay]

Wow, what an INCREDIBLE thread, thank you Rod.

At the risk of incurring the wrath of a few, I'm gonna sticky this for 24 hours. Can one of the Mods remember to unsticky it on Saturday please.

AWESOME. How lucky are we on blonde to have peeps like Rod to share these things with us, & Members who appreciate them.

In the fullness of time, this thread will go into "Best of blonde".

[mikkyT]

Awesome Rod, where abouts do your parents live? I'm not to hot with other areas of Scotland, but it sounds like a lovely place. I'm still impressed when I see a fox scavenging around an urban area, so things like this are just too pretty for words.

[Rod Paradise]

It's a place called Sanquhar - claim to fame is it has the oldest Post Office in Britain.

It's in Dumfriesshire, just over the Strathclyde/Dumfriesshire border. The town's always been a high unemployment area & unfortunately the  drug dealers etc have moved in, but I still love to go back have a few beers in a real villiage pub (where everyone not only knows your name, but they can usually tell you your familly tree back at least 4 generations).

I'll get my mum to send me some pictures if I remember.

[RED-DOG]

The miracle of birth does it for me, I have been present for the birth of all of my children and I've played midwife to horses and dogs etc loads of times, it's still thrilling and emotional

Don't call girls the weaker sex until you've witnessed it guys

Great post Rod

[ifm]

childbirth is a strange one, i too was present for my childrens births though it was not the greatest experience overall for me.
To see a loved one in such tremendous pain, no agony, was hard to handle, the birth itself was exhillarating and a never to be missed experience, truly wonderful.
The last birth i was smashed on gas 'n' air though

[The Dundonian]

Sitting on a beer crate in the Cameroonian jungle in a mud hut with a warm beer and a 360 degree lightening storm crackling away for over an hour. Absolutely dumbstruck!

[Teacake]

Quick call security David Attenborough has hacked into Rods account