Visiting sheep, cattle , an owl and Kristen

I write tonight from Orkney, an island on the far north coast of Scotland. We arrived Thursday traveling from Dalkeith outside Edinburgh. First a very early morning bus to avoid the traffic jams of the Pope’s visit that morning. Then several trains to the coast, a ferry ride from Thurso across to Stromness (quite rough- walked like a complete drunkard!) and a walk in a gale to the car hire to pick up a car. Then the real adventure began. Because it was already dark the proprietor led us out of town and pointed us in the right direction to find our B&B across the island near where my student was staying. Kev did a great job but by time we came close to the “neighborhood” the winds were in full force all the way from Nova Scotia! We could not find the place, so after about an hour we tried rousing someone at houses along the road. I had some success with a kind man who led us in his car to the right place along the country roads-whew! I had not been in winds like that in some time- there is nothing between New Foundland and the coast we are on, so the winds, rain, waves and weather sweep in dramatically from the sea. We experienced a windy day and calm day there- both pretty wonderful.

We spent a wonderful day exploring parts of the island with Kristen who is doing great here. She doing photo essays on traditional crafts on the Orkneys and had just spent a week with Andrew Appleby. She is reflective and enjoys the quiet of the rural setting. We visited with Andrew, a ceramicist doing wonderful pottery but also very valuable applied archeological research on early Neolithic pottery on the island. He is making very valuable contributions to understanding the early methods of working with clay here and I find so many similarities to what we discovered in China and I know happens in Africa… our human communities are not so dissimilar in our ingenuity and community needs as creatures on this planet.

Though sadly,Skara Brae was closed due to the weather (an early Neolithic village site older than the Egyptian pyramids) we did get to wander among the standing rocks in the Ring of Brodgar. I found it amazing to be able to touch them, stand beside them- I even took my self portrait reflected on a standing stone. These monoliths just speak to time, ritual and perhaps endurance. The archeology here is so close to the surface, literally. Farmers just have burial mounds, early churches, and prehistoric footprints sitting on their land. The Orkadians seem to take it all in stride and respect the past so much an aspect of their present.



Nature is wonderful here- the beautiful pastoral landscape without the interruption of trees, the sheep and cattle, many sea birds- we even saw an owl that nests on the ground and hunts by day- he moved away too fast to catch a photo but the vision of the sight on the post looking right at us next to the car remains vivid.

Several hikes with Kristen were so interesting- especially one along the shore on cliffs rising behind the B & B we stayed at. The top was like a bog and springy to the step. The colors in the waves and foam were clear aqua’s and blues- lovely and surprising. Our proprietor gave us many insights into the area’s history and a look at the landscape he experiences through his eyes- Stewart Toy is a painter and his work embellished the house. He is also an avid fly fisherman. They stock the lochs with trout by harvesting eggs at spawning time and helping the fish grow in nurseries to ensure against pollution and weather impacting the trout population. One morning we had fresh fruit, yogurt and granola and the most wonderful Brown Trout fillet and lightly fried potatoes. A delicious end to our stay on Orkney!