Gamboling and Swanning around

Today is Sunday and we went for an early morning walk in the park. Holyrood Park is attractive at any time, but when Arthur's seat and the Salisbury crags are bathed in early morning light, and the park is more or less uninhabited, its wild beauty is difficult to describe. We did meet a dog with a bright pink ball in its mouth, along with its owner. The dog laid the ball hopefully at Richard's feet and was not disappointed in the result. I think Richard threw the ball a little further than the owner usually does, so the dog was confused for a moment, but then caught on. While we were standing chatting (with the owner) for a minute or two, a bunch of swans flew overhead. At first I thought they must be large geese, but then they turned and we could see their looong necks stretched out. Obviously swans can fly; but we had never before seen them aloft. They seemed to be doing pretty much what we were doing, a little early morning exercise just for the joy of it, and after some swoops and circles they settled back towards St Margaret's loch. By the time we reached the loch they, or some other swans that looked just like them, were gliding serenely through the water.

We came back to the flat and baked the bread which I had mixed and put on to rise before our walk. We had planned on my baking bread sometime this weekend, but the timing changed when we realised that we had no bread in the house for the sister to whom we take sacrament each Sunday. Of course we could always have cadged some at church, but this way was more fun, and leaves us with bread, to boot. We have enjoyed trying various brands of commercial bread, some of which are rather good, but are getting tired of it and are thoroughly ready to return to homemade.

To return to the beginning of the tale of our weekend, we planned a trip to Aberdeen. We would leave at about 6 am Saturday, and might or might not sleep over in that city. Our motivation was largely to visit the hometown (and churchyard) of some of my (Louise's) ancestors. When, however, I checked the genealogy, I saw that only one generation was born in Old Machar (the parish I wanted to visit) and probably only one individual died there. The towns where others were born or married are about an hour's drive from Aberdeen in different directions, so we decided to plan this trip a little better and do something else with our P-day.

New Lanark Forest Trail

We went to New Lanark instead, about an hour's drive from Edinburgh.  It is a tiny village, most of which is a World Heritage Site, the site of a mill complex on the River Clyde, developed in the nineteenth century by Robert Owen, a very forward-thinking social reformer and entrepreneur. We arrived about ten minutes before they opened, so decided to explore the trail to the waterfall on the Clyde while we waited.

We strolled along the forest trail, and along the boardwalk through the marsh, enjoying the flowers We walked to the waterfall and then turned back.

Clyde River at the Mlil

The boardwalk through the marsh

Millpond

The trail to the waterfall was a delight. The river itself was as pleasant as rivers usually are. One section was as smooth as the proverbial millpond, and seeing as it actually was a millpond, this seemed strangely appropriate.

Fallen tree, overgrown

Part of the walk consisted of a boardwalk running right next to the river, with an alternate, much higher route just in case the river happened to be in flood. Many wild flowers were in bloom, and the whole experience was enhanced by little placards with the names and photographs of various wild flowers, and a brief history of their name and uses, medicinal and otherwise. We were delighted to see dandelions on one of the placards. According to the note, dandelions bloom from March to November in Scotland. They do not, however enjoy protected status (unlike the bluebells) so apparently you are welcome to yank out any uninvited ones that invade your yard.

Cora Linn Falls

Marsh Marigolds. Used to remove warts

More Daffodils

Hydro Power pipes

We were reminded that the river was a working one. Not only to spin the mill wheel in the last century, but currently used to generate hydro-electric power.

Two hours later and thoroughly tired out, we returned from the river to the mill area, had lunch in their cafe, including some of their very good ice cream, and decided to head home and put off exploring the mill for another day.

We were feeling pretty relaxed on our drive home and stopped several times to take photographs. We saw dozens of fields dotted with dozens of sheep and their dear little offspring. And yes, some of the lambs were gamboling, just for the sheer joy of life. One field full of sheep was particularly picturesque, so we stopped the car. Instantly several of the sheep raised their heads to stare at us. Richard opened the car door. One of the sheep took fright and started running away. By the time Richard got out of the car (a matter of a couple of seconds) the others were behaving like a bunch of sheep and running too. By the time he was ready to take the shot all we could see was a bunch of sheep bottoms disappearing over the hill.

Lambs with a watchful ewe

Lamb unafraid

Less than a mile later we saw a bunch of lambs playing in the corner of a field, right next to the fence next to the road. We stopped again. This time the ewe who appeared to be keeping an eye on all the young 'uns glared at us most meaningfully and actually stepped towards us while Richard took some photos of the lambs. Her bravery was rewarded. Our kidnapping attempt was foiled and all we got away with was some photos.  Those lambs were remarkably cute, but honestly, we weren't even tempted. Still we are happy for her to think that she won.

Oh, just before ending off--this afternoon, after church we went for a walk along the beachfront. The tide was high and there were waves! Real breakers, at least 10 inches high. There were also children wearing coats and scarves, with their pant legs rolled up, paddling in the water, dancing in and out of the waves and squealing joyfully.

Sometimes, life is just plain delightful.