Two friends, each with their heart and sense alive to the world around them, words travelling in the air between them. Happy reading indeed.

Croft, Coast and Hill: From unfurling green tips to cuckoos and nightjars, Spring reasserts itself on Kirsteen Bell and @annieworsley.bsky.social’s respective crofts www.caughtbytheriver.net/2026/05/crof...

The latest in the series of letters with Lochaber crofter Kirsteen Bell for @caughtbytheriver.bsky.social's Coast, Croft & Hill: letters from the NW Highlands. In April & May we talked about nightjars, spinning, cuckoos and wildflowers.  Happy reading 🤗 www.caughtbytheriver.net/2026/05/crof...

Yesterday, almost sunset, mountains the colours of lavender and rosemary flowers and the first heath orchid seen on the croft. View to Beinn Alligin in the Torridon mountains at 21.58.

I'm over the moon to share that on the new moon (last Friday) my latest essay was published by @humansandnature.bsky.social. Inspired by Heaney, I dug with my pen. Read 'Root Vegetable,' thoughts on the potato, my Irish heritage, and food security here: 🥔🍠✨🇮🇪 humansandnature.org/root-vegetab...

Great fly past by a (huge) female golden eagle on the croft this morning. Closest I've ever been to one, closest and lowest flyby I've ever experienced. Bit shocked tbh 😱 She was HUGE! Sadly, no pictures. Too slow. Dram (the dog) wasn't bothered. He just sighed as I got excited.

Winter is back. Happy weekend everyone. View upriver from the croft to Beinn Alligin, Torridon mountains, Wester Ross.

I was privileged to receive an early copy of this extraordinary book for review. It is exceptional, a brilliant exploration of landscapes, geographies & wildernesses both of the mind and of place. The Savage Landscape by @calflyn.bsky.social published by @wmcollinsbooks.bsky.social is simply superb

Oo hello. Incoming. View northeast over the bog just now.

A wild, cold, bright morning ... followed by squalls galore, oh yes 💙💛

No Mow May and hopes for Let it Bloom June in today's floriferous @theguardian.com country diary by @jensoilandpen.bsky.social. #naturewriting #countrydiary

Written in 2020, at the height of COVID confinement, a repost of a wee blog about one of the most colourful springs of recent years and the delightful determination of dandelions. notesfromasmallcroftbythesea.wordpress.com/2020/05/05/t... #naturewriting

Suggested by @holnicotenh.bsky.social that the cuckoos are "calling at night to attract a mate. When the female eventually lays her egg, it will likely be in a meadow pipit nest during daylight hours." Thanks Nigel. It's a cuckoo rave then... 😉

Good morning bluesky birders. We've cuckoos singing through the night here in our valley (South Erradale, coastal NW Highlands). Can anyone tell me which bird species they're hoping to make use of at night? Crofts+environs have plenty of small birds, eg meadow pipits, active during the day. Thanks 🤗

Late to the spring party as usual, at last the blooming of wildflowers has begun. A new post for early May: notesfromasmallcroftbythesea.wordpress.com/2026/05/05/a...

This is beautiful 🥰

Flower (almost) Full Moon, Beltane Eve, rising over Tom na Gruagaich, one of the summits of Beinn Alligin. View east from home, upriver to the Torridon mountains, at sunset, 21.10.

Sunset beyond the Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides.

So much peace, tranquility and solace in the profound and glorious blues of a spring day. Happy weekend from Wester Ross, Highlands of Scotland. #FridayFeeling #PrayingforPeace

118 angels soar aloft in the hammerbeam roof of a Fenland church—their carved feathers echoing the wings of the Marsh Harriers who once lived in this region in abundance. I made a Radio 4 programme about the entanglements of ornithology & theology, raptors & raptures. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

After sunset, and the vast dome of sky shimmers. There's a sliver of moon. Slowly, stars begin to pop open. In a small hollow on the cliff I find shelter from the cold east wind, watch the snakeskin sea flex, and soak up the scent of myrtle which has overwritten even the tang of salt and stone.

A beautiful but chilly evening. Bats flying, birds singing, the scent of bog myrtle … View 1: across the croft and over the sea to the Quiraing, Isle of Skye View 2: from the old post at the top of the Seaweed Road (as described in Windswept) over the sea to Skye

The wee road to a mighty mountain. Liathach, Torridon, Wester Ross, NW Highlands of Scotland.

The wee road to a mighty mountain. Liathach, Torridon, Wester Ross, NW Highlands of Scotland.

Yesterday, I was layered up because it was still winter. Today, I'm in my shirt sleeves. It was gorgeous on the beach this morning. Warm winds, rainbow-topped waves, happy meetings with lovely wanderers. View from the (original) sea-log-seat which is described in my wee book, #Windswept.

Happy Easter one and all. I hope the sun is shining wherever you are 🌞 "Daffodils", painted by granddaughter Alice, aged 2 and a half.

How lovely, and really quite astonishing. Book tourism in action. Recent visitors to my neighbour's BnB came to stay because they'd read Windswept! And others stopped her on the road to ask about it. Thank you to everyone who has bought, gifted, recommended & written about this wee book.

"Each birth tethered the next generation to the same land. Did you know there’s no word for hefting in Gaelic? Only a chur an eòlas an àite, sowing the knowledge of a place."

A glimmer of Easter brightness before the big storm rolls in. Beinn Alligin, Torridon mountains. View from our windswept garden. Wishing you all a peaceful weekend.

A short blog post on March, memories and wandering. notesfromasmallcroftbythesea.wordpress.com/2026/03/30/m...

A short blog post on March, memories and wandering. notesfromasmallcroftbythesea.wordpress.com/2026/03/30/m...

Croft, Coast and Hill: As Easter approaches, Kirsteen Bell and @annieworsley.bsky.social find sweet grass, sweeter herbs, and thin wobbles of lambs www.caughtbytheriver.net/2026/03/crof...

I love writing these letters to Kirsteen. Happy reading everyone 🤗

I went south to England. Scotland followed. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Late afternoon squall over South Erradale. A rainbowed snow veil hiding the mountains, filling the river, and stinging my eyes. Spring, Wester Ross, Highlands of Scotland.

Snow, still.

A bridal veil of blackthorn blossom.

A bridal veil of blackthorn blossom.

If you have enjoyed any of the Wild Women Writers salons (as I have) then you might like this one: Coming soon Salon #22!l Where the Wild Things Grow. Each one is a joy to participate in or listen to. Join Vik and these wonderful writers on March 26th 💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐💐

Through salt-laden air, the windswept mountains of Wester Ross. View from the wee road home...

Read books whenever you can. Read as many as you can because what's on your phone, bleeping in from one social media platform or another, is mostly ********. Happy #worldbookday 🤗 View from the writing desk in an attic bursting with books including some of my granny's childhood favourites.

If you need time out from the awful news of war, death and destruction around the world... here's a gentle wash of hopeful golden sunset light for you. View: over the sea to Skye.

Beautiful light this morning. Down by the sea it was all sunshine and blue skies but in the mountains, a dusting of snow. View of South Erradale & Baosbheinn.

‘News of bombs falling in Iran, retaliatory strikes and mayhem found me at the sea-log-seat as I watched plovers whirl about the sands. But just as my spirit quailed, the most joyful sound rose up from the dunes and crofts. Skylarks! Heralding spring.’

An antidote to news of war perhaps. A short post/read on light and the arrival of spring: notesfromasmallcroftbythesea.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/f...

An antidote to news of war perhaps. A short post/read on light and the arrival of spring: notesfromasmallcroftbythesea.wordpress.com/2026/03/01/f...

Skylarks!!! Above the bubbling songs of shore birds... SKYLARKS!!

High light, deep cold, sharp wind, gentle birdsong. What a splendid South Erradale morning. Views from the old post at the top of the "Seaweed Road". Readers of #Windswept will know this place 💙 Happy weekend everyone 🤗

Snow squalls running down The Minch, a beach reconfigured, a faithful dog waiting patiently to play… Spring is coming! The oystercatchers said so 😊

If you need some peace & solace, some time out from the relentlessly febrile news feed, here's the sea near my home, about 15 mins after sunset on a day when the world was still & all I could hear was my own breathing. (Today it's pouring down & the wind is rattling the roof 🤣)