Ice Storm 2013 (and yes, I'm back... :) )

Coming Home to The Derrybeg B&B in Pitlochrie

This is the Breakfast in a Scottish Bed and Breakfast!  No blood pudding or haggis on this our first day.  Good thing.  We might have hied home!

We feasted on toast with Scottish marmalade, but that was just the beginning.  Yogurt, fruit, granola, stewed prunes, cereal, eggs, bacon, sausage and more...  And the coffee was filtered not instant.

Going back for more.

Scottish Hillsides

Sheep are on every hillside.  The scene may be pastoral and utterly sublime but be very careful. Watch where you step!  :)



Shepherd's Croft

On the Way to Pitlochry - First High Land

Kirkliston Churchyard

Creaky iron gates led to a creepy old cemetery...

The church at Kirkliston, within ten miles of Edinburgh and very close to the Forth Bridge...  It dates to the 12th century.

One of these headstones, dated 1706, reads:

"If ye would live & die in peace

then love God mercy & justice.

And keep from guilt your conscience clear

as strove this man who lyeth here."

Skull and crossbones...  Is a pirate buried here?  No, a little research on Wikipedia taught us that the symbol belonged first to the Knights Templar... a religious political force before and during the Crusades...  Originally endorsed by Rome, they eventually became too powerful and fell into disfavour.  When the Holy Land was lost, so went the popularity of the Knights Templar and their secret initiation ceremonies...  The Jolly Roger symbol of skull and crossbones had its roots in the Knights Templar as early pirates were sometimes associated with the order... 

Not sure what these symbols mean...    We could have stayed here and taken photos all day....

Kirk at Kirkliston

Scottish Windows

Blanket

Closed for the Winter

Sky Lace

From Hardwood Trail Summit

Snowcap

Poking Through

Slippery Slope

Icy Repose

Brittle Windchime

Stuck in the Snow

Leftover

Deer Tracks

Winter Green