Charles Harper

I hold the humanist view of relationship with the land….as a shared home etc. I like MacCaig’s own description of himself as a ‘Zen Calvinist’.

Days left to act: Ban cruel cages for hens Right now we have a unique opportunity to stop this industrial-scale torture: The UK government has proposed ending the use of cages for hens, and they have launched an official consultation to ask th...

Can you do me a quick favour today? ✍️

The government is finally asking if they should ban cages for hens in the UK. 🐔🐔 Lobbyists are trying to block it, so we need huge numbers to show them that the public wants this ban NOW: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/en...

A photograph taken as a close-up of my fingers. It resembles a painting by Mark Rothko. It is in shades of actual flesh and blood.

#DailyRothko
Read the ALT for an explanation…

Half of our agricultural land is used for beef that provides 3% of our calories. Nobody likes it when I bang my spoon on my high chair about this but eventually we need to grapple with it.

The low winter sun casts long shadows in the woods near Dunvegan. The water of the river reflects the sunlight. This place of calm, peaceful mood is not far from a busy car park.

If you go down to the woods today….

You might find a tranquil vale.

This photograph was taken near our home here on the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. * Landscape: The foreground consists of typical moorland vegetation, including tussocks and rushes, leading down to a coastal bay on Loch Bracadale * Background: Rolling hills and distant coastal cliffs of Idrigill Point are visible under a dramatic, cloudy sky. * Environment: The scene is characteristic of the rural, rugged terrain found in the Scottish Islands but the colours have been adjusted slightly to be a little more vibrant.

“Who owns this landscape?
Has owning anything to do with love?
At least I know who possesses this landscape —
the man who loves it.”

from Norman MacCaig's
‘A Man In Assynt’

Norman MacCaig (1910-1996) was born in Edinburgh and was educated at the Royal High School, and the University of Edinburgh

The photograph captures the place at ‘The Lump’, a hill on a rocky promontory in Portree here on the Isle of Skye where we got married. The background is the view across Loch Portree towards the snow-capped Cuillin mountains. 
The scene is shaped by dramatic lighting, silhouetting the trees in the foreground against the bright sky and distant mountains. The day was cold but dry and sunny. If ever you come to Skye and make it to Portree this place is a short walk up from the town.

We got married last week. We chose this place where the combination of big sky, water, Scots pine trees and green grass made for an idyllic setting.

So just us, our celebrant, two witnesses and a photographer. Much love in the air! We laughed and cried and it couldn’t have been a better day!

The photograph is a shot looking across the caldera of an extinct volcano to the hills in the distance. On the slopes and inside the rim grapes are being cultivated in circular pits with semicircular low walls to stop the wind and allow water to collect overnight. There is a flourishing wine industry using these labour intensive methods. I made a few adjustments to the depth of colour and the contrast. The colours were all there, I simply turned them up a few notches..

“Wilhelmina Barns-Graham was one of Britain’s best 20th century artists. Scottish born, she was a sublime painter, draughtswoman, printmaker and a brilliant colourist.”

I was on Lanzarote last week. ‘Willy’ came here 5 times. Her work inspired me to make photographs of the landscape. This is one:

Located in the centre of the island of Lanzarote, the Caldera Blanca route crosses an area of ​​volcanic badlands rich in lava forms that are the product of eruptions that occurred between 1730 and 1736. Its two central elements, Caldereta and Caldera Blanca, come from two ancient cones generated by previous eruptions. Caldera Blanca is one of the main peaks of the volcanic chains in the centre of the island. The caldera is 1.2 km across.

I’m on a walking holiday in the Canary Isles:

“Las Montañas del Fuego are the unusual result of the eruptions in the south of  Lanzarote in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 
It is part of the Timanfaya National Park.”

#lanzarote

Kemi Badenoch promising to cut immigration if you vote Tory again, immediately after the Tories allowed record levels of immigration during 14 years in power.

She thinks you hate foreigners so much you developed amnesia.

Now THIS is a very thorough starter pack.

Highly recommend that you hit “follow all” on this lot. 👍

go.bsky.app/FpbsVro

“The snow had begun in the gloaming, And busily all the night Had been heaping field and highway With a silence deep and white. Every pine and fir and hemlock Wore ermine too dear for an earl, And the poorest twig on the elm-tree Was ridged inch deep with pearl.” From ‘First Snow’ by Mary Oliver. Not quite so deeply heaped here but still and soft and lovely.

First snow of the winter. Always a thrill, even more so when the sun shines from a blue sky.

#November #firstsnow #LochBracadale #IsleofSkye #Scotland

What it is to be on an elevated position overlooking your home village….The weather up there is always different and very often our ascent is met by high, bracing winds just as we reach the top. The wider view can stretch as far the Small Isles of Rum and Canna and from a few steps away the hills of the Outer Hebrides. There are misty distances despite the bight sunshine and the sparkling waters of Loch Dunvegan.

Brodie the red fox Labrador Retriever is a bringer of much joy. He needs a daily walk and one of our favourites is to climb this hill overlooking Dunvegan and the Loch. We go up there in all weathers.

#IsleofSkye #Scotland #LabradorRetriever #dailywalk #uplifting #joy

One of the most widespread themes for European Lantern Parades was the celebration of Saint Martin, who was buried on November 11, in 397. To this day, many towns celebrate his life on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. Some start their celebrations at exactly 11 minutes past 11 in the morning. Originating in France, the custom spread to Germany, Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Today, St. Martin’s Day is celebrated in countries around the world. In the most popular St. Martin legend, he cut his cloak in half to share with a freezing beggar at Amiens. This is a picture of a calm sundown on the 11th of November. It was just about 16:15.hrs.

Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours on the 11th November.
Martinmas In Scotland was one of the half yearly quarter days when landlords’ rents were paid, and new hands were hired.
#sunset #scotland #isleofskye

The vibrant hues of a sunset can be incredibly calming. They act as a visual cue to slow down and unwind, lowering your heart rate and easing muscle tension. The warm colours associated with sunsets have been linked to feelings of happiness and optimism. Think yellows, oranges, pinks, and purples – these evoke joy and a sense of peace. Sunsets and sunrises also trigger the release of dopamine, a feel-good chemical in the brain. This view from my neighbour’s garden was short lived but potent.

The soothing colours at sunset bring out feelings if peace…
Another day, another sunset…the world turns and day turns to night, night turns to day. Then there’s the cycle of the year. The seasons are marked with celebrations and light is very often featured. We are well into that season now…