Snow on the Eildons like a dusty dog
The otter was on the cauld today in the end of the snow hunting for
packages in overlooked thaw larders
Found the stoat trail again in the snow this morning and it spiralled
round and round – maybe dancing, maybe charming a rabbit
Mouse motorways uncovered in Bessie Reid field – snow has melted to
show intricate grass bobsleigh run forms sculpted writhing; rodent roadmap.
Burn edge thick with little birds: wren (alone, territorial), later
goldfinch, chaffinches…all searching for granular fast unfrozen food.
Gang of Scandinavian blackbirds have taken over the garden
all puffed out against the cold as if on steroids
Obliged to wear the long johns of an adolescent boy
Rolled and slid home an armchair scavenged from the dump
– at last the snowy weather is good for something
*Bridget Khursheed is a British Australian poet and geek. Bad on towers. Good on mountains.