Beauty in emptiness

Recent adventures took me to western North Dakota where i found beautiful country.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Badlands. Wild, open restless country.

"It was a land of vast silent spaces." - Theodore RooseveltLayers of orange clay. It fell off in chunks, like giant Lego's laying on the ground.



Prairie Dog central! It was totally cute, little rodents noshing on vegetation and racing about.



Bison herd. You can't smell the stink from this distance.


This place is amazing. It seems empty and desolate, but the huge blue sky is the perfect cover for a vibrant and rich space, brimming with life. You can breathe in and feel the bigness.

Sky Painting

It takes a true artist to paint an entire sky.

The view from my back yard one night.

The sun as God's lazer pointer.


Streaks of pink. I love that the water reflects the pink.

They are here

The Blueberries are here. Above: A blueberry in a spoon

A blueberry attempting to watch TV. Note: I hid the remote. TV is not good for the blueberries.

This piano playing blueberry enjoys Mozart, Bach and any sharp notes.

The blueberry choir is quite good. They sing all my favorite hymns and manage to sound somewhat like the Chipmunks while they do it. Adorable.

This blueberry was the loner of the bunch. Always looking out the window trying to hitch a ride on a hummingbird.

The final resting place of the blueberries. My belly.

Scotland. Another place to love.

The vast open space and the biting of the cold wind both fight to take away your breath. The beauty of snow capped mountains, and silent moors are outdoor cathedrals begging you to worship their Creator.

I love hairy cows.

Edinburgh is stellar.However it is not just the current Scotland that captivates. It is the history intertwined with today that makes Scotland so magical. The fight for independence, the survival in the most stark conditions, the deep roots in a rocky landscape.

Tales of monsters in deep mountain lakes.
The heroes like William Wallace and commandos from 'round the world.

Castles (Monty Python filmed much of Holy Grail in Scotland!)And of course, my favorite... stunning sunsets.

Hay and onward

We spent the morning poking around bookshops. We found the bookshop that began the book frenzy in Hay-on-Wye. We found a store devoted entirely to poetry. We also found a shop full of travel books.

A reading lovers paradise.

And then...the trek to Scotland!!!!

Wales, Castles and Books

Wales

I love Wales. Whales too, but mostly Wales.

We spent the day exploring abbeys and castles. Many castles. Hidden castles, wrecks all, ruins of a former home, a former haven.

Ruins at Abergaveney

Raglan Castle. AMAZING!

Stairs inside of Ragland. A rare find...a staircase that goes somewhere

The river was flooding and flowed into Skenfirth Castle.

We ended the day at Hay-onWye, the used book capital of the world. Easily one of the best towns i have ever visited. Quaint, filled with wonders, surrounded by lush Welsh hills. This was our cute home for the night.

No Pirates on Day 3

We began our day sleeping in the comfy room over The Dolphin Tavern. From our window we could see St. Michael's Mount and were very excited to eat a great breakfast in the pub and head out to see the church.

Breakfast in the UK is not like what we have here. And I liked it significantly more i think. Potatoes, tomatoes, baked beans and toast and sometimes mushrooms. YUM! And coffee strong enough to put pep in any step.

Amanda and I left the cozy confines of the tavern for rain and the bliss of seeing St. Michael's Mount. St. Michael's Mount is a small island off the southern coast of England that has a church and tiny community that is accessible by road only when the tide is out and by boat at all other times. Except, it seems, Saturdays. We waited for the Ferry to come. It never did. So we called.

The entire island was shut down. Who closes an island???? England does.

Ironic that the church was closed on Sabbath:)So we tucked ourselves back into the car and headed to Lands End and Minack Theater.

Lands End is the further point west on the English Coast. They now charge you to 'see' it. We turned around not having 'seen' the theme park that is now the end of england. We could however see the ocean and that was enough for us. And it was free to see.

Minack Theater came recommended to us by our chef at breakfast. AMAZING! Built into the cliffs over the ocean by one woman and two of her friends BY HAND, this theater balances over swells of the most beautiful greeny-blue water ever. During World War II razor wire kept the coast safe, but Ms. Minack would crawl under the wire to trim the grass. And shows have been acted out on the stage since the 1930's. Today an active theater community presents a yearly spectacle to audiences every summer.

All of my pictures of Penzance and St. Michael's Mount were destroyed along with the majority of shots from Minack Theater... Here are the survivors.The Greeny-Blue Water


The Minack Theater
from the top looking to the stage

Amanda showing us how it's done