Sunday's Meanderings

Scotland blessed me with sunshine today. Very cool air (long johns, jeans, fleece, more fleece and coat), but sweet, welcoming sunshine. I followed the banks of River Ness though/over the Ness Islands and over to the Caledonian Canal.

After having passed the Tomnahurich Cemetery yesterday on the way to Loch Ness and hearing the fairy story the driver told about the hill. And after sighting the cemetery today and being so very, very close to THE HILL and having looked at it everday and wanting to be on top of it, my canal hike was quickly aborted. I love cemeteries. This one was one of the most beautiful I have visited. Forest paths lead up and up and up to the top.

Here is the fairy story about Tomnahurich Hill .

Here is a picture I took yesterday of a war memorial. I passed it again today. What struck me was the number of panels with the letters Mac at the top. The three shown here were not all of them. The other panels indicated A-C, C-E, etc. But the Mac's commanded five panels or more panels. I knew Mc's and Macs were indiginous to Scotland, but I did not realise the true concentration or sheer volume. Even at work, 1/3 of my trainees fall into that category. The rest, fall into most of the names I found very prevelent in the cemetery. See why I like cemeteries?

Pretty things:

Ice in the mud at the cemetery.

Snowdrops in the cemetery.

One other note about today. As I was walking past the castle, I noticed somthing sitting on the grass. There is a very steep slope from the castle grounds, down to the "Ladies Walk" running along the River Ness. It was a rabbit. A very BIG rabbit. Looking closer, there were about a half dozen (6) very big rabbits. By big, I mean Destiny-sized rabbits. We're talking 20 lb. bunnies.

I notice a lot of the wildlife here is BIG. The seagulls are HUGE! The doves-pigeon combination bird I saw in the park today was HUGE! Obviously the location suits them.

And for my mystery English reader - pictures! Enjoy - I have a busy week ahead.