But Nature has its own way of preservation and beautification.
Originally, the home of the Earls of Marischal, Dunnottar Castle played pivotal roles in the history of Scotland, including the rescuing of the Scottish Regalia from the destructive clutches of Oliver Cromwell. The "Honours of Scotland" are on view today in Edinburgh Castle only because they were securely hidden, then spirited away from this fortress location.
The last Earl was convicted of treason for his part in the Jacobite uprising of 1715 (was he hung, drawn and quartered at the Tower of London?) The Castle was seized by the government and thereafter neglected until 1925 when the 1st Viscountess Cowdray embarked on a systematic "repair."
However, it is clear that Nature still rules.
However, it is clear that Nature still rules.
19 comments:
Beautiful pictures Ivy. It's almost like being there and I don't have to worry about my fear of heights. It will have to do for now and thanks for sharing them.
And girrrl, I don't think not being able to go on your umteenth vacation this year actually qualifies as a staycation. That is for those of us who have to vacation in our back yards. I'm not complaining though, my back yard is a vacation.
I did get my grass at the house mowed yesterday. I was proud of myself. I listened to the Saints game on a little portable radio with earphones while I mowed and they kicked some Buffalo Bill's ass yesterday.
I got to continue my vacation last night by watching that National Parks documentary on PBS. Beautiful scenery. There are a lot of places I've got to see when I retire.
While mowing yesterday, there was this huge, beautiful butterfly following me around the yard. I had my camera in my truck but didn't want to stop and go get it. When I finished mowing I went to get it but couldn't find hide nor hair of the butterfly. I wondered if it was an hallucination. Nahh.
And please make sure that your comment goes through before you hit anything. I lose many comments also when I forget to check. It often takes, at least, hitting post twice for the comment to go through.
And Chloe, please be careful on the ladder. We don't bounce so well as we age. My slam dunk last year wasn't even that far and I'll never be the same again.
Maybe you can make a little pulley. Use heavy duty fishing line so it's not so easily seen. But then you may have little hummer's closelining themselves.
Thanks, Carol. I was still tinkering with this one until right this minute, so your eyes may not be deceiving you. Luckily, I have not experienced any lost comments, but I did lose some of the original text that I wrote for this thread. I refuse to get frustrated about it, and tell myself it was God's way of telling me that sucked, and He wants a rewrite.
The Natural Parks show was very inspirational. Having this year witnessed much natural beauty in this nation and beyond, I can relate to the awesome reverence the vistas inspired in the discoverers. Each time we see it ourselves for the first time, we become discoverers.
Carol,
Those hummers can see amazingly, I'm convinced. When Charlotte had her web set up directly in the flyway, not a one of them hit it, they flew around it every time. I was astonished to see that.
Jan, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. And I love teaching also but we do it with every nursing job. It's a significant part of my job now.
I just love that saying...."you can give a man a fish and he can feed his family for a day but teach a man to fish and he can feed his family for a lifetime" Don't know where that saying came from but I love it. I first read it when it was posted on one of those signs in front of a church. It caught my eye because it mentioned fishing.
One of the posting features I always use is "Preview" before I hit "Post Comment." Is that what you all do?
Ivy, I didn't see your were up. Good morning. My play time is up and now it's time to hit the shower and start my work week. Have a great day and I'm happy you are sharing your vac with us. Catch you all this evening.
Have a good day, Carol. Those guys and gals appreciate what you do for them even though their way of showing it is upside-down and inside-out.
I don't think of my trips as "vacations." I think of them as "pilgrimages."
Ivy, thank you so much for posting your wonderful pics of the castles. They are amazing. I can't wait to get home from work this evening to blow up the pics and look at them more closely. Now, I want to go to Scotland.
Carol, I agree, teaching is what we all do as nurses. I bet you do more teaching than I do. Sometimes the men you work with are not as interested in learning how to take care of their health as you would like them to do, but at some time in their lives, that information is there for them to use.
You're quite welcome, Jan. This one's for you. I'm still "tinkering" with the text, so check back again.
Ivy, I have never seen such green grass. When I enlarge the pictures of the castles, the detail in the stones of the buildings is amazing. You did take some great pictures. Thank you so much.
I did see Bravehart and the way they put someone to death - drawn and quartered- is horrendous. It took me a long time to get the end of that movie out of my head.
Jan,
Stones are everywhere in Aberdeenshire. Rock walls, stone cottages, etc. Ordinary rocks, but also amazing granite of multi-hues in shades of gray. The city of Aberdeen is called The Granite City.
"Aberdeen's architecture is known for its principal use during the Victorian era of granite, which has led to its local nickname of the Granite City or more romantically the less commonly used name the Silver City, since the quartz in the stone sparkles in the sun.
The hard grey stone is one of the most durable materials available and helps to explain why the city's buildings look brand-new when they have been newly cleaned and the cement has been pointed. Unlike other Scottish cities where sandstone has been used the buildings are not weathering and need very little structural maintenance on their masonry."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aberdeen
Ivy, thanks for the great info on the rock/granite/stone in the walls. I really love buildings made out of rock. We had a lot of natural rocks in Ok when I was growing up. I remember a house my grandad built, with his own hands, out of rocks that were on his 80 acre piece of land (that is where I rode my little horse, Dolly). His hand-built house is still standing It was a most interesting hourse. It was one story but had 3 gables. I must remember to take a pic of it next time I am in OK. He also built a rock wall about 4-5 feet high around some of his property. I think of all the work he put into building all that. He died when I was about 9-10 years old, but I remember him. Jan
"The site on which the Castle sits has been inhabited since Pictish times (5000 BC to 700 AD) although an exact date is not known.
The importance of the site to the Picts stems from their religion, believed to be akin to Druidism, and which worshiped masculinity, femininity and nature spirits. The site of the Castle and the surrounding area has a strong feminine nature and symbology, which at Dunnottar takes the form of the 'green lady'. The spirit of the green lady has been seen in the brewery at the Castle. She is said to be looking for her 'lost children' who are the Picts who converted from her religion to Christianity around the 5th Century AD."
Green Lady at Dunnottar Castle
http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/history.cfm
Jan,
Every time Hubs has an "issue" to work through, he finds rocks and builds a stone wall.
Let me just give a strong endorsement of that car park and new information sign. It is the vantage of the breath-stopping first view of the long-range vista of the castle. Also, a most welcome sight after climbing up the long and steep stairway back from the site. They don't have "parking lots" there either...it's "car park."
Car Park View
http://www.dunnottarcastle.co.uk/news.cfm
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