The iconic Caledonian Forest of Glen Affric, Inverness-shire, Scotland.

Poem.

 

Is it the proud, bottle-green stands of Scots Pine in the Caledonian Forest, stretching back over many ice-ages, ten, fifty, a hundred thousand years?

Is it the light-green, tumbledown moss and heather-covered ground-canopy?

Is it the blue patchwork of loch, river, waterfall, rapid or burn?

Is it the shrill call of Siskin, Bullfinch, Crested Tit or Crossbill?

Is it the bewildering fragrance of bog myrtle, heather, pine-resin and Mountain-Ash?

Is it the late evening hollow echo of a Woodcock or Short-Eared Owl?

Is it the regal swoop and glide or high-pitched shriek of the magnificent Golden Eagle, on the wing?

Is it the dominant moan of a Red Deer stag to re-state its mating rights?

Is it the vibrant golden Gorse or bright yellow Broom contrasting with the greens and blues of the fringing snow-capped mountains?

 

No!!!

 

It is the mercurial combination of all these elements into a

rich, interwoven, living tapestry that makes this place

the most amazing that I have ever seen.

It lifts my spirit.

It bemuses my mind.

I have felt the glory of paradise, here on Earth.

All the treasures this Earth can afford

are here encapsulated in

one view, one place, one moment.

I am rich indeed, to have been here……

and here, God willing, I shall return!!!

 

Done