Choices

I took a picture of an iconic sunset over Loch Na Keal. Mrs M took one on her phone and it looks better. I took a picture of an otter; it looks like Nessie with a hangover. If you want an otter with attitude, take a look at Treshnish today (or even take a look at the Strictly dance-off - no pictures, but Ardnamurchan otters got a mention)

I took a picture of a tree - a Sitka - badly disfigured recently by a flail cutter. There are a lot of issues wrapped in that picture. There are many hundreds of metres of flailed trees, flanking a ride that is already very wide; why was it necessary at all? If it was necessary, did it have to be so carelessly brutal; was a flail the only option? This ride is part of one of the most widely published leisure walks on the island, in all the guide books, great for otter spotting; did anyone talk to the PR department (is there one?), did anyone talk to the tourism office, does anyone care about forestry showing its best face to the tree-loving public? But I'm out of my depth on the social, environmental and economic aspects of forestry here, and anyway it's an ugly picture for a Sunday night

So I took this, which would be a perfect subject for a caption, or short-story, competition. In a gangster movie, the box would contain a body; in a psychological thriller it would be the only way of contacting someone off-island about the strange things going on here; in Local Hero, the phone would be ringing. Maybe it's an art installation with a not-so-subtle message about how all communication is now subject to control

I can't help but think about the bureaucratic processes that have created this outcome. Who decided what? Who wrote what email and how many hands did it pass through before someone came here with yellow ties and wound them around this specific box? How did it make them feel? Did they make a last call before they did it - for auld lang syne?