The weather birds had been predicting a change, and sure enough, on Friday the air began to feel rather milder… and a great deal wetter. For in the wild west Highlands of Scotland, milder weather almost always meant that Atlantic systems were sweeping in from the south-west, bringing plenty of rain from the ocean together with a generous helping of wind and murky Scotch mist.
Algy could see that it was therefore quite definitely an umbrella day, but there was just one wee technical problem – a problem which so often cropped up under these particular conditions: the wind meant that it was necessary to find a genuinely sheltered spot if he wanted his umbrella to remain stationary and protect him from the rain, instead of flying around the garden indulging itself in aerial antics and getting tangled up in the bushes and trees as a result.
So, keeping a firm hold on the handle, Algy tested one or two likely spots, but with little success – although at least without losing his umbrella – until he eventually decided to perch beside the wee garden pond again, as it was generally more sheltered there than in other areas.
Settling on a damp, mossy stone by the water's edge, Algy looked down into the pond and a big smile spread across his face: the rain was letting up (though no doubt only for a while), and as a result the wet, sunless day was now not only brightened by his own special permanent rainbow – as intended when the umbrella had been given to him on the occasion of his birthday last year – but also by the reflection of its colours in the water, proving that even on what seemed to be a dull, dreich day, serendipity might come to the rescue… 😀 🌈
