3 Wild Daffodils= English Spring is Here!

 Here in the countryside we've got signs of Spring.

First the snowdrops peep out along the stone walls,

then the crocuses appear in gardens and open greenspaces,

then daffodils explode everywhere.  

They line the lanes, they cluster at corners, and they parade down paths.

(yeah, like that alliteration?!)

I love them.

It helps that my favorite color is green,

and my second favorite is a bright, blinding yellow.

Plus, I always get excited remembering that 2nd grade experiment with daffodils and food coloring.

While we've got some daffodils near us (they are literally everywhere), we headed back towards our old village, Birstwith, because the next village over, Hampsthwaite, has some of the most beautiful areas of blooming daffodils.

 Hampsthwaite church has what is probably the most pleasing small cemetery I've ever seen.  In the Spring the flowers are allowed to bloom unhindered, giving it a beautiful, untamed look.  

 I don't know G.H. Ness, but his stark grave marker made me take note.  Clearly he died in WWI, called the Great War over here, but there's no description of his service beyond rank.  Without a birthdate I've no clue if he was a teen-soldier or an older family man, but I do wonder why a Yorkshire lad buried in Hampsthwaite would have served with the Northumberland Fusiliers... 

Yeah, I manage to people-watch even in cemeteries.

 This horse lives across the lane from the church.  I talked to him for a minute, of course!

 There are pictures of these cherry trees in the post I link to above with Hampsthwaite church, but I just love this corner in the spring! 

 Just for good measure, here's what we've got in front of our house.  The front only has some raised beds, but we've got more blooming in the back garden, just like at our old house.  I haven't planted any of them, but I sure enjoy them blooming!

This bed is on the other side of our gate- it was hard to get a good view of all of it together!

Wild tulips bloom next- I can't wait!

2 St. Michael's Church, Kirkby Malham

(That's right, I'm planning ahead for boring days!)

We stopped at St. Michael's Church, the medieval church in Kirkby Malham, on our way home from Malham Cove.

It was later in the day, and the church was closed, but I walked around the grounds to see the exterior.  

A fairly standard medieval church, the current building was constructed in the 1400s, although it is thought a church existed on this site as much as 700 years earlier.

I googled "St. Michael fish" to find out about this door, and apparently fish is served at St. Michael's feast- so I guess it's his symbol/token food?

I can never decide if I would like my house to overlook a cemetery or not.  I am not a fan of burial/cemeteries, although I do enjoy the peace and solitude at an older one (and no, I don't advocate digging up current residents).  I also like to read the old gravestones and make up stories of the lives led.

Stained glass just isn't as lovely from the outside, is it?

One interesting fact that makes St. Michael's stand apart:

in 1655 Oliver Cromwell signed two different records kept in the church- once as a witness to a marriage!

0 Edinburgh

 We skipped Edinburgh on our Grand Tour of Scotland since we knew we'd head there for a festival at some point- Edinburgh is rich with festivals, and the Military Tattoo was high on our list of things to do while living here.  When the Tattoo tickets came up for sale in December I bought ours and before we knew it August was upon us! 

We decided to drive up, since train tickets to Edinburgh during the festival season are really, really expensive.  I love windmills and wind farms- this one actually spans both sides of the motorway, and I loved it!

 My first stop in Edinburgh (and Paul's, by default of being with me) was to see Greyfriar's Bobby.    In the Greyfriar's cemetery is this fascinating marker.

And Bobby's grave marker.  Known as one of history's most faithful dogs, his story isn't quite as tear-inducing as Hachiko, but it still gets my heart!  In case you're disinclined to click the link, here's a synopsis:  A local policeman name Auld Jock had a Skye Terrier named Bobby.  When Auld Jock died, Bobby sat vigil over his grave for the next fourteen years.  Locals tried to bring him home, but he always made his way back to the graveyard (Greyfriar's).  Before long people, specifically the local pub owner, just made sure he had food and that he was cared for on cold nights. 

The pub just outside of Greyfriar's Cemetery.  

Just off the Royal Mile.

We had a great time in Edinburgh, although I will say I prefer Inverness and Stirling.  Edinburgh is overflowing with history and culture, and being there during the festivals was great- the Tattoo, the Fringe Festival, the Art Festival, and the Book Festival were all going on.  We went to the Tattoo and were able to catch one Fringe show- a ghost stories/tour which was quite interesting.  The Fringe spills over into the streets with street performers and flocks of performers passing out flyers for their shows.

Part of the throngs of tourists and Fringe people.

A Charlie Chaplin street performer. 

A statue street performer.  He was even out during the driving rain!

 Edinburgh Castle is quite famous, and has, of course, an extensive history.  It houses the Honors of Scotland and is the home of the One O'Clock Gun.  Photography is not allowed in the interiors, unfortunately, but their website is comprehensive, so I'd recommend a look.  The castle's got a great view of the whole town and port, of course!

 I am lacking in my pictures of the castle, but the Tattoo takes place in front of it- so there's a few more there!

0 Liverpool ships and graves

 This is the Yellow Duckmarine, an "amphibious tour of Liverpool".  We didn't get a chance to go on it, but we did enjoy watching several of the boats? cars? pull out of the water!

 Tugboats on the Mersey.

 Houseboats and canal houseboats in the marina.

 Full time marina residents.

 This is St. James Park and Cemetery, just outside of the Cathedral. It's a beautiful area secluded by a steep incline on all sides.

 The grave slabs are lined up along the paths in the park, and Paul and I moseyed along reading  them.  These are from the orphan asylums.

 This is the entrance to Liverpool Cathedral, a modern building (completed in 1978) that is astonishingly true to classic cathedral structures and architecture.  I found it rather fascinating because of this unique balance.

0 Scotland Trip; Necropolis and Glasgow Cathedral, October 20-21

 Glasgow's Necropolis, while not entirely unique, is amazingly beautiful.

Designed in the mid-19th century, it provides the final home to about 50,000 bodies.  The hill sits next to the Cathedral and overlooks the city, making it an enviable plot of real estate.

Glasgow Cathedral, as seen from the Necropolis (next two images as well).

Glasgow Cathedral, like other cathedrals, is a fantastically ornate Gothic masterpiece.  It's greatest distinction in history is that it is the only medieval cathedral on the Scottish mainland to remain intact and roofed after the Reformation.   It is, in fact, still a working place of worship, although now it houses the Church of Scotland, so is not technically a working cathedral. 

 Stained glass windows from the nave, choir, and presbytery.

That's right, we're ending the Scotland trip with yet another crest of the unicorn and lion!  Sláinte!