Before the coming of the light we walked, up the green lane to the top of the hill then over the hill and far away.
In places pockets of hoar frost still hung on the winter leaves. The great muckle cow had frozen tears of ice. The world was hushed. Only the sound of birds' wings and a waiting.
We walked to the ruins of the village where old cold stones stood and the ghosts of cats long gone prowled. Now the only bright flame in the chimney fawr was the ginger fur of me. Once cats curled and people sat, talking and whittling at Welsh love spoons, gifts for Christmas at a time when the feast would be sparce, for all but the cats whose work it was to keep rats from the winter food stores.
On top of the hill the wild ponies were curious.
Home again. It had been a walk of winter birds. Snipe and woodcock that flew from thefeet almost at the moment you stepped on them. Ravens corkscrewing the air on ragged black wings. Only the memory of larksong. Wren and linnet, lapwing and curlew, mounrful.
Back home, fire lit, time now to curl and dream and run with the ghost cats by their cold ghost fires in the winter stone walls of Maes y Mynydd.
beautiful photos, so wonderful that your cat walks with you.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful walk, back into the past as well as high onto the cold cliff tops.
ReplyDeleteLovely to greet the day with you, Elmo! You live in a magical place -- thank you for sharing a bit of it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely morning walk. I've been following your adventures for awhile now, and it still boggles my mind that cats go for leisurely strolls with their humans. My Brooklyn wards are very envious.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your magical world. Amazing photographs. Karmen
ReplyDeleteI love to read your blog... so much poetry. :) Have a beautiful day.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised the cats follow you on your walk. My white one follows me from room to room. He is my wing man, zooming ahead to make sure there are no boogies lurking, his white fur beaconing me safely through the darkened rooms.
ReplyDeleteMAGICAL!
ReplyDeleteElmo really does light up the landscape with his bright fur. Hope you are keeping warm and don't have too much snow.
ReplyDeleteA walk, early or late, is made better with the company of cats.
ReplyDeleteGosh, that must have been cold on the paws! Still looks a fabulous walk what with muckle cows and ponies and the old ruin of a once home. Especially to be able to do the walk with a ginger companion.
ReplyDeleteI have missed your walks-was delighted to share your late day journey with you both!!
ReplyDeleteI am crying, this touched me so. I adore the posts about your walks, as they are always perfect but never the same. Today, thank you for showing the muckle cow and wild ponies. And the Ginger one shining bright on the path.
ReplyDeleteMy ginger-and-white boy, Bleecker, has been gone now for four years. The small potted pine tree that we decorated with one strand of white lights and placed next to his bed the final weeks ahead of Christmas (I did not expect him to make it to Christmas and he did not) is planted in the back yard and is now about three feet tall. It has three strands of white lights on it. On the anniversary of Bleecker's death I went out at night and touched the branches that he may have nuzzled and just spoke to him. Later that night our fat gray cat, Shiva, went over to our tree inside where the bell for the cats is hung on the lowest branch (much loved and rung by Bleecker and his predecessor Cirrus). She began ringing the bell, and then flopped over on her back and kicked the bell with her hind feet so that it rang and rang...
I need to live where there are muckle cows and ginger cats...your blog never fails to delight.
ReplyDeleteI loved the story of the cat and her huge friend! Lovely photos BTW!
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