Today we headed up a mysterious green lane near to our house. We’ve been passing it ever since we arrived here saying, “We really must explore what’s up that lane.” It’s a thin strip of grass between two dry stone walls and it heads enticingly up the hill and out of sight. The air today was full of thin rain, which was joined by an easterly wind as we reached the top. Spread out below us was an array of autumn colour. Beech trees in full copper blaze. Larches golden against the deep green of the surrounding pines. We stopped for a picnic in Shining Pool Wood but couldn’t find any pool let alone a shining one. According to our OS map the remains of a settlement were to be found on the edge of the wood. Heavily disturbed by quarrying we could still make out the ramparts of a Roman hill fort. It’s one of the things I love about the Scottish borders: the way history is marked out in the landscape. It’s like a giant illustration drawn out in the soil.
Here is Little Owl dressed as Mog the cat from the Meg and Mog books. The children at her nursery were asked to dress up as their favourite character from a book. When I told my friends at college they were very envious. They’d give a lot to be able to come to college as their favourite characters.
