We are winding down. Two more nights and one more (rainy, although they haven’t gotten that prediction right in ten days) day, and a twenty-plus hour trip back to the Southwest corner. Over.

We shall make the most out of the rest of it i’m sure. i will not write or post too many more photos until we are in the air Thursday, but this one was at the end of our hike Saturday around, up, and down near Columba. The last quarter mile or so was on the side of the road, the narrow, two-lane road.

So they didn’t want us to get hit:

We are not through yet.

It is Monday night, Inverness time. We have two more full days before we head west, well west. i will never be able to capture and relay my feelings about these two weeks. i will try, but there is just too much there to capture.

Todd, Carla, and Maureen were perfect to join us. After all, they are our husband and wives. i remarked earlier to Maureen how i marvel how the relationships between each couple seems perfect, seems to fit.

Today, Carla took a photo (Todd did as well) in Nairn, in a grassy park. She sent it tonight as we were preparing for bed.

i saw it and responded to the email, “i think i’m going to cry.” i did. After all, the other two here are my brother and sister. i love them and consider myself lucky to be their brother and therefore kin to Todd and Carla, and course, Maureen, who is my better half.

This trip has been far more than i expected. It ain’t over yet, but it has been a rode well traveled.

More to come.

Another short post for my life is filled with family, peace, and awe right now.

This morning we took a walk. Actually this really was a hike with the hilly paths we took. Over only three kilometers, just a couple of steps over two miles, it can be a challenge for the uninitiated hiker with the path ascending from the sea to the path’s peak and back to the sea.

The ancestral home of Clan MacNeacail, about 130 acres was reacquired by The Nicolsons (part of that clan) of Scorrybreac who forged and maintain the trail.

History is deep here, and i kept finding myself thinking of the ancestors. The hike provides a glimpse of life on this island world of Scots, a panoramic view from the life of the sea, the life of the farms, and the life of the city.

At the outset, there is a viewpoint on a grassy knoll. An older gentleman sat on a stone wall adjacent to the memorial for the Clan MacNeacail where their chief’s home used to stand. The man’s beagle clasped a green ball in his mouth, wagging his tail furiously, and continuously winding under the man’s leg, begging for a game of fetch. The gentleman refused, sitting stoically until he rose and proceeded on his walk with the beagle bounding  round him and tail still wagging.

The world seemed right, balanced.

As we started the ascent, i thought of my friend Cy Fraser and his brother Walt, thinking it would be nice to walk their ancestral lands in this northern land with them one day.

i find i can stop amidst my brother, sister, and our spouses talking, laughing, and sharing, take a breathe remaining quiet, and achieve a feeling of fulfillment, almost meditative in this land.

Some views on the walk:

There are many more, but not for here today. Time is getting on toward supper with a brisk walk to town proceeding.

Can you tell i’m having a wonderful time?

It was in Edinburgh (photos and post or posts to follow). We had stopped to buy something one of us forgot to pack. It was on the first floor, second floor to us Americans, of Harvey Nichols, a high end store.

While waiting, i wandered through the men’s department and there i stumbled upon this display:

The item on the top shelf right is a pair of gym shorts. The item on the top shelf left is a gym tee shirt. The item on the lower shelf right is a pair of sweatpants. The item on the lower shelf left is a hoodie. Those are two  ball caps with different style logos on the back of the top shelf. They are all Givenchy merchandise.

Their price?

Shorts: £350 = $444.15
Tee shirt: £350 = $444.15
Sweat pants: £650 = $824.99
Hoodie: £650 = $824.99
Cap (assuming you would only buy one), each: £325 = $412.44

Soooo, the ensemble to work out and sweat would run you £2325 = $2,970.72.

I’m guessing your shoes would run about $1,000 and socks would be around $200.

And i’m thinking who would pay that for something to wear while working out? i wear my oldest sweat stained gym shorts and torn tee shirt.

So i guess i will have to buy these as a present for my friend Henry Harding. i’m sure he would appreciate them.

This should be a poem. Today, it is a short post.

i’ve been gathering my photos in an organized fashion, a new thing for me. i will make several posts, i’m sure when i am in the mood. For the last five days, i have not been in the mood for several reasons.

Today, we took a hike in the Linn of  Tummel. Linn in Scotland means pool at the bottom of a waterfall. The park or hiking area around where the Tummel River falls into its confluence with the Gerry River is also called the “Linn.”

It was in the midst of on again, off again light rain. i wouldn’t have it any other way. Maureen took the photos. i left my picture-taking phone in the car. Glad i did for i had several thoughts about the hike i would not have had had i been focusing on taking photos.

The first thought i had was i wish Peter and Sandra Thomas were joining us. Peter, one of the best folks i know, married this beautiful Scottish lass a number of years ago. Even though we see them only occasionally, we consider them some of our best friends. This place, even if it hadn’t been in Scotland would have given me thoughts of Peter.

It is a quiet walk. With the exception of three couples coming upon on us from the opposite direction and the half-dozen guides and tourists we went by as they were doing an inner tube ride…er, fall down a short section of small waterfalls, we were alone.

i thought of Camp Ocoee about forty miles east of Cleveland, Tennessee where i went around eleven years old and canoed the Ocoee River through rapids and camped in the rain.

i thought of my dog Cass, the lab with unbounded joy of woods and water and how much i would have loved to have him by my side.

i thought of how my parents would be smiling to see their three children and their spouses walking through the green, green together.

i thought of the five people with me,  the two closest to me in so many ways, sister Martha and brother Joe, and their spouses Todd and Carla, who are just about perfect for matches. i thought about how this trip has exceeded my expectations of sharing our time together.

i thought of many things i would like to convey to my friends. i’m sure i will forget most of those thoughts before i put them here.

i didn’t think about many things.  Those were the negative thoughts. They did not enter my mind.

In fact, i thought how all of you should just once hike the Linn of Tummel. i believe you would find peace as i did.