Why does nobody believe me when I tell them what beautiful weather we are having this autumn at Knockderry House? Granted it’s a wee bit late and we can never guarantee it but it just makes the gift of the late autumnal sun all the more precious. The most sceptical are often expatriate Scots, brothers and sisters, friends and ex-colleagues grinding away ‘down south’ to the sound of passing traffic, who chortle doubtfully when I tell them of the stunning blue skies and golden hues that are delighting us at the moment.
So we learn to make jokes about our weather as we try to answer with humour the perennial questions, “Does it ever stop raining?” “Does the mist ever rise?” “How do you cope during the winter with all the snow?”, but in reality – when the clouds part and the rain drifts away – we are left with the most beautiful countryside imaginable. And the rain? Well we have it to thank for the hundreds of thousands of acres of lush verdant woodland, our rivers and burns, cascading waterfalls and fertile glens feeding contented, fattened cattle.
The rain will come – but for now, the colours are spectacular everywhere you look. So as I look out across the deep blue of Loch Long to the hills of Arrochar and beyond, the richness and variety of the colours of so many different trees turning a myriad of autumnal shades, I give thanks for the rain that has passed and look forward to the year to come.