Orchid Days in November

It has been such a dreamy day in Edinburgh, thinking about orchid, snow and history.

Well, it all started last night with the snow. I was hanging out with Tom after class and as we walked to the Old Town the snow started. It was beautiful against the trees outlined in with Christmas lights.

Today I took a moment to visit the farmers' market and take a walk through the city. It was a bit unnerving that 1 p.m. looked like 4 p.m., but the golden light on the old buildings was worth it. The streets were full of tourists visiting for the Christmas celebrations and the farmers' market was full of tasty meats and produce from local farmers and artisans. Lots of great spoils from the day, thanks to the wonderful ladies and gentlemen there who helped me get some great deals (including a pack of local striped bacon and three pounds of local Aberdeen Angus for 12 pounds). I was even fortunate to catch a glimpse of snow on the hills north of here as I walked home. Stunning.

The view from the kitchen window this afternoon, about 2:30 p.m.

Anyway, the night was complete with a surprise Christmas fireworks show right outside of Patrick Geddes Hall and homemade hot chocolate I made to celebrate the chilly occasion. A busy, productive day.

It's a bit of a stretch, but this is a fitting way to end a great week!

Dracula bella, an orchid that is pollinated by fungus gnats, which you can understand if you give the mushroom-like lip a sniff.

Click here for more photos from orchid classes.

We've turned toward conservation issues and focused on orchids this Thursday and Friday. Of course I was beside myself most of the time, because orchids are my favorite plants (among many)! We had a lecture about orchids Thursday morning, followed by a practical in the afternoon, where we drew flowers, talked about morphology, and scents. Friday morning we were in another practical on basic pollination biology. It was nice to get back to the plants again.

In honor of this occasion I'd like to finally share my photos from my afternoon in the orchid greenhouse at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. While what you'll see at the link below might just seem like a stream of photos, it can also contribute to a body of work on the phenology of orchids, or the studying of timing of natural cycles in plants (and animals). Even so, they're just so cool!!

I would like to leave you with the final thought Kerry left us with after his orchid lecture:

'Man's mastery of the Earth pays him greatest tribute when he achieves the humility to leave some of it alone.' -Unknown

Click here for photos of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh's Orchid Collection.

Rhynchostylis? of some kind.

A glimpse of Edinburgh

 

Click here for more photos

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. There are so many posts in the works, so many photos of beautiful things, but I have to be realistic: I'm still in graduate school and I can't forget that!

It was a beautiful weekend though, and this afternoon, despite it getting almost completely dark by 4 p.m., was stunning. Time to share some photos while I can. You can read more about each photo at the link above.

Class is going well and we only have a couple of weeks left of actual class. We'll have some time to breathe, but it will still be filled with studying and preparing for our 12-day trip to Belize in January. In the mean time there will be an American Thanksgiving dinner and a British Christmas dinner.

The New Digs: Patrick Geddes Hall in Mylne's Court

I had to wait more than two weeks, but I finally was able to move into Patrick Geddes Hall of Mylne's Court. It was such a relief to unpack my suitcases after more than a month of traveling. What I didn't anticipate was the incredible location of my flat and the beautiful views I would get. I honestly have the best room in the flat because my window looks out to a quiet courtyard and I don't get sound or light glare from the street. I can visit the street view in the kitchen and then retreat. Pleasant.

Patrick Geddes Hall is the block over from the top of the Royal Mile, so I am literally around the corner from Edinburgh Castle. I go to the top of the street and there it is. I haven't been yet, but I plan on going very soon!

It's quite a bit a ways from the grocery stores and seas of tourists flood the streets when you try to walk up the road with your shopping; the thing that make it all okay, despite the annoyance of someone walking in front of you stopping suddenly to take a picture, is that you can walk by that thing they can only see that once every day. Then it's all okay.

Click the photo of the skyline for the rest of the details (sorry for those of you who were trying to follow the absurdly-paced slideshow)!

September Pilgrimage to the Isle of Mull

Yikes.....this is way overdue!! So, back in September....

I really wanted to do some adventuring outside of Edinburgh before I started at university, and a pilgrimage to the Isle of Mull seemed most appropriate. I hadn't been since 2003 and I'd always remembered it fondly. I'd vowed to return and go hiking, and now was the time.

A quick four-hour train trip through the beautiful Scottish Highlands brought me to Oban, a popular European resort town, and where the CalMac ferry to Islands sets out from.

Duart Castle, the seat of the Clan McLean, as you approach Craignure on the Isle of Mull.

 Click HERE for more photos

From the train straight to the ferry for a beautiful, albeit windy, day scoping out the island and visiting Duart Castle, the seat of the Clan McLean, and my heritage. I took the bus from the ferry to the castle, but walked the three miles back so I could admire the scenery and see if I could find a hidden path up the mountain.

The next day I was on the morning ferry, but after missing the only bus and a miscalculation about a bike, I ended up just walking up the road out of Craignure to see how far I could get to Salen. Well, fate was looking out for me because I discovered a hiking trail at Scallastle, a Scottish Forestry Commission property. The weather wasn't great, with the clouds shrouding the mountain tops and shifting rain eventually drenching me through, but the views when the clouds would clear and the enchanting plants were well worth another trek in the rain.

It was an incredible, but sadly brief trip. But I'll be back soon!

Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh- the first glimpse

The first book I opened in the library at the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh was:

“It is a piece of weakness and folly merely to value things because their distance from the place where we are born: thus men have traveled far enough in the search of foreign plants and animals, and yet continue strangers to those produced in their own natural climate.” – Martin Martin, 1698, A Late Voyage to the St. Kilda

The old, but poignantly relevant, quote struck a painful cord in my homesick heart. Second thoughts were rife in my mind as I tried to struggle with why I’d decided to travel so far from home.

And then I saw the familiar form of a Metasequoia glyptostroboides, dawn redwood, marking the entrance to the garden and my heart skipped. This was why I was there.

The menagerie of plants I saw in the Scottish Heath Garden, Rock Garden and the other areas I could reach in my brief breaks showed me I still had tons of plants to learn and that was why I was there. I had a purpose and I had time to devote myself to it.

Arthur’s Seat, the royal backdrop of Holyrood Park

One of the remedies for homesickness is hiking and Arthur’s Seat was calling. Holyrood Park is visible from most places in the city, even from the coast of Granton. I’d already resolved to hike it more than ten years ago when I first saw it. Finally, I had a chance to!

After running errands though the bustling streets of the Edinburgh Sunday, I was released to the base of the ancient volcanic hills. Some of them look like old slices of earth that were pushed up millions of years ago. They don’t seem that high, until you see the tiny people climbing all over them.

I assessed how and where I wanted to explore. People had made paths all up the sides of the hills, for better or for worse, besides the main path that lead around the sides of the hills. There was a steep path that quickly ascended the top that was perfect to get to walk along the rim of the rocks and see the city sooner.

It was rigorous, but every brief break was full of breathtaking views of the city. The higher I went the more I could see in the horizon. When I reached the top, I realized I hadn’t reached the top I thought I had. There was a larger mountain, the actual Arthur’s Seat, beyond. A golden valley stretched down below me, so vast the people were even smaller. I saw more hills beyond and more to explore. Yes!

The plants were mostly grasses and flowering herbs on the first hill. Only when I got to the base of Arthur’s Seat did I see trees, and even then they weren’t very tall. Gorse and other shrubs dominated, really. When I rounded the northeastern side of the Seat there were patches of heather all over. Ahh!

I chose another steep path to the top of Arthur’s Sear through a patch of heather. The air smelled like honey and the fuzzy white-bottomed bumblebees were hard at work. Both the climb and the views were dramatic and a couple times I had to remind myself to stop to look at the plants because the way down was straight to the bottom. I took a few breaks to take in the views of the valley below and the land beyond. I was taken aback each time I tried to understand how wide the valley was below. It was like nothing I’d ever seen; so beautiful.

I clambered over the last few rocks and found a path to the top of the mount. The rocks were smooth and slippery from the thousands of people who’d walked over them. I found a seat on the edge looking to the north so I could see over the city to the Highlands. The cold wind ripped over the top, but I was still happy to be on top of the world. I was really here.

I am really here.

Left, left, left….but look right: settling into Edinburgh

“Left, left, left….” My cousin and I chanted, as my grandfather pulled out of the rental car place in Glasgow in 2003. That was my first time in Scotland and it was an unforgettable trip.

As I rode the bus from Granton, my nerves were on end as the double decker drove through the narrow streets. On the wrong side of the road. Of which I was reminded of after getting on the bus going the wrong way because I was standing on the wrong side of the road. Again.

And then there was crossing the street. We’ve been told since we were little to look both ways to cross the street. Okay, I’ve got that. But, what I didn’t realize is that in the United States we look left then right, because the traffic is coming from the left. Well, here it isn’t.

There are thousands of people from all over Europe and Asia here for the festivals, so it’s been hard to gauge the normal Edinburgh society. Throngs of tourists have flooded the streets and tourist shops are everywhere in the Old and New Towns. I’m not a native, but even I am tired after a few days. And these poor folks have had to deal with the festivals for the past month. Yuck.

There is a lot of Mediterranean, Turkish and American food and the traditional Scottish food is faded in the background (although there is plenty of fish and chips to be had). And then there’s plenty of whisky to be had too. It’s its own food group anyway. Thinking now though, this is a major metropolitan area, and just like in the U.S., the “traditional” foods of the region aren’t really front and center and readily available to visitors (or are only known by the locals, of which I’m working on). The backbone of the society is dictated by “The Council” and social programs are pretty well-organized, you just have to figure them out! Things are certainly more expensive here and it will be nice to be able to cook for myself.

So, in a way, it’s very much like being in Charlotte: the weather’s similar, the people look similar, there’s a smattering of immigrants, and there is are a lot of options shopping/food-wise; except…..the accents are definitely not the same and it’s in Scotland.

But, traffic and people aside, Edinburgh has been amazing. It is set in a beautiful place, full of beautiful, ancient buildings. Thankfully they thought to save many of them in the 60s and 70s. The view from Holyrood Park is incredible and you can see north to the Highlands and far into the Firth of Forth. I’ve been able to learn the city by walking around and looking around from the tops of the buses.

As an American, I think I can appreciate the architecture more than most of the native folks. Just the other day I went to an art show that was part of the Fringe Festival and it was held in the courtyard of an old, stone abbey and Edinburgh Castle filled the skyline behind it. The Londoner, Irishman and lady from Spain couldn’t understand why I was so excited. Everywhere you look there is history. Even as the bustle of modern society fills in most of the available space around me, and the skillfully crammed buildings of the streets of Edinburgh, I can still appreciate that I am in one of the most beautiful places in the Western world.