graveyard of the kings

From “The Graveyards of Scotland…”

This is one place I cannot wait to visit. Not long now…

Graveyards of Scotland

If ever there was holy ground, it surely is to be found on a small island of striking beauty and breathtaking light in the Ross of Mull: Iona, burial-place of the kings.

To many Iona is an overcoming experience. It was here that Christianity made its way into Scotland. Irish monasteries have existed for centuries on this small, rocky Hebridean island. The Irish Saint Columba, monk and religious legend, is assumed to have founded the first in 563. He sent his fellow monks to other places in Scotland, where they founded other monasteries and the Christian faith slowly replaced the old customs and ideologies of the Picts. Iona always remained the centre of the Christian monastic system in Scotland, the spiritual centre of a Nation.

In the 8^th century a vast number of Celtic high crosses have been carved on Iona: Beautiful pieces of art and intricate symbols of…

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“Milking” Summer

Nick's Nature Pics

Seems like yesterday that I was photographing nests, babies and nurturing parents. Now, a stroll through rural landscapes provides ample evidence of the changing seasons and cycle of life. I always feel a sense of urgency at this time of year: finish projects, prepare for winter and, above all else, capture the moment!

Bird populations and foraging activities are are at or near peak levels. Songbirds like cedar waxwings, catbirds and song sparrows are swarming open habitats in search of nutritious bugs and berries.

A close look at milkweed colonies in neglected fields and along fence rows and forest edges reveals brilliantly colored monarch caterpillars, eating voraciously in advance of metamorphosis and a red-eye flight to the mountains of Mexico.

Farm fields are full of surprises. In one, a small herd of historic American Aberdeen Angus cattle graze peacefully, as though choreographed. In another, a good whitetail buck is feeding…

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Sunset over mountain, Norway

Day is done, beautiful image from the pages of Vova Zinger’s pages.

Vova Zinger's Photoblog

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Wasp…

“Say I feel all sad and self-indulgent, then get stung by a wasp, my misery feels quite abstract and I long just to be in spiritual pain once more – ‘damn you tiny assassin, clad in yellow and black, how I crave my former innocence where melancholy was my only trial’.” 

― Russell Brand, Articles of Faith

It’s That Time Again….. — Travels with a Kilt

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival – My Approach It’s the event that humbles all others. A city-wide carnival that sprawls itself over an entire month and generates laughs, screams and gasps throughout. Always with an indefatigable and relentless dynamism that seems to somehow increase year-on-year. A riot of creativity and passion, forever with a vibrancy and…

via It’s That Time Again….. — Travels with a Kilt

Heaps of great information on this blog…my sis and I are checking and re-checking plans for our trip to Scotland in September, well clear of the peak tourist season. That was by design because I want my first vision of Scotland to happen in the autumn 🍂…my favourite season.  Let the countdown begin! 😁

St Brigid’s Cross, Tully…

…Pictured at the cottage near Tully Castle

 

“I would like an abundance of peace. I would like full vessels of charity. I would like rich treasures of mercy. I would like cheerfulness to preside over all.”

– St. Brigid of Kildare (451 – 523)

 

 

Image © Copyright Kenneth Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.