Splash splash to the power 5

It was a chilly and windy five degrees this morning as I headed out on my regular run through Mugdock and in a loop past the foot of Dumgoyne; the path a mix of contiguous puddle, trickling burn and squelchy mud, densely covered with speckled sycamore leaves, oak, beech and the odd patch of burnished larch needles and smatterings of recent treefall. Heading up through the oak woodland on the way up to Mugdock Castle the sun shone briefly, and I ran energised upwards into a sparkling green and gold landscape - a product of the low angle of light and drenched autumnal foliage, and all the more vivid because of the preceding dullness - but it was rapidly replaced by a menacing gloom that soon delivered as I crossed through the forestry plantation beyond the park and descended into Strathblane. That squally front blew through and a muted partial rainbow rose in the distance out in the direction of Ben Lomond as I contoured along the foot of the Campsies. Changeability a feature of the day, that brightening was soon extinguished by a forboding mirk that lead to a cold and heavy slanting rain for the remander of the aquatic run home. Splash splash to the power 5. Still beautiful though and less busy than usual. My red hands particularly tingled painfully in the heat of the shower.

The Allander that had been high as I dropped Ellen off at school, was close to bursting its banks along Clober Road as i headed back in toward 3pm to pick her up. A dipper perched on a fallen branch to the edge of the river contemplated the rapid deep flow and did not enter the water whilst i walked along. It seemed a sensible decision. With more heavy rain this evening it wouldn't surprise me if it flooded the grass field down there at the iron bridge.

I've just been out to feed the hedgehog. Food dissappears every night so i don't think it is hibernating yet. Tonight i could just make out his two nostrils poking out from the leaf litter in the hedgehog box. To see the hedgehog curled up snug and dry on these colder and very wet nights is really heart-warming. Its meant to turn even colder as a mix of lows draws airdown from the North on Friday. I wonder if that will be the trigger for hibernation.