A Crofter Dies edit 0.0001abu

[ChristopherSea]

Thank you abu,
You should come here far more often, even though I humbly disagree with you comma comment....though you reasoning is spot on I hoped that by using brackets I could introduce the concept explained to ella, that this was how I "heard" the tale around the open fire. Sequoias are the imported giants of the western highlands but I admit to stretching things a bit. I looked at the "likes" after your crit and noticed I had caps after semicolons in the last stanza. Corrected. Credited.
Best,
tectak

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Hi chris,
No,not morbid at all A celebration of all that life is until it is not.
The tale was told and the toast was made. All seemed to know or know of Donald...or if not Donald some other lonely life sycophant who finally had enough and planned an end.
This old boy had counted down the weeks since Christmas and was found 100yds from his croft, stone cold...but he did not die in his bed...except metaphorically.
Best,
tectak

I may be of the Dylan Thomas school on dying, as voiced in his Villanelle:

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light...

Oh,and Chris, I forgot to mention (re your artistic endeavour), rhododendrons are the single most serious invasive life form in north west Scotland -apart from the English- costing millions in attempted eradication. Felling these monster shrubs leaves tons of logs awaiting disposal. I brought two chunks backs with me for a friend to carve. Each piece about 6inch. diam by 3 feet long weighs over 60 lbs. The wood is extremely hard and dense and to me, irresistable. I wish I could have brought back some larger pieces as it gets up to 12 inches diameter and more.

Indeed, I just looked it up: Invasive species: Some species (e.g. Rhododendron ponticum in Ireland and the United Kingdom) are invasive as introduced plants, spreading in woodland areas replacing the natural understory. R. ponticum is difficult to eradicate, as its roots can make new shoots.
Lovely invaders, but as usual man is the interloper, moving plant and animal species about with no concern for ecological balance. Perhaps a rhodo-wood industry would help to resolve the problem and pay for eradication. What are you doing with that wood? You cam IM me to avoid cluttering this thread.