Well red
August 22, 2023, 7:29 am , by Richard Lutz
…in which Richard Lutz wanders through the hips and haws
It’s late summer, a last burst of heat and a tinge, just a red hint, of autumn. There are haws, the fruit of the spikey hawthorn:
And there are hips, the red buds from wild roses:
But let’s not confuse them with another red fruit….
…and that’s the berries from the rowan tree, aka the mountain ash, which dot the Scottish hills and seem to nestle next to hillside streams and burns. It was also planted near gates to ward off evil.
Walking in The Dumfrieshire hills, we see all three. They line ancient footpaths and the sinuous long distance Southern Upland Way.
It’s raining buckets as we slop through St John’s Town of Dalry along the Water of Ken. But then it dries out as we walk out of the valley and it’s only a pushy wind that makes the nine mile rolling walk a bit tough over back country. We follow old hill routes and stone walls.
The high moorlands dry out in the bluster of the summer wind. A wooden stile helps you get over any obstacle. Two big Galloway hills rise to the north like sleeping animals; they are Cairnsmore of Carsphairn and, to the right, Beninner.
By the way, the hips, the haws and the rowan berries are not poisonous. Though they can be tricky if improperly prepared. But if you pine for poison, I refer you, instead, to the front cover of the British magazine Private Eye which one or two of you may have already seen:
Now, that’s poison. Yes, the ex president faces 91 charges and the alleged crimes will be coming to a tv screen near you very soon. Just in time, I would think, for the next US elections. What a happy place are the States these days.
Maybe Mr Trump should just go incognito as seen by this disguise sent in this week by an unnamed source:
Alas, no, he went for Mr Grumpy instead:
…as he performed for his Atlanta jailhouse mugshot.
I have to say the grim grimace was not an accident. I get the feeling Don spent hours practising That Look. Kind of like when we all wasted too much time facing a mirror before a teenaged night out.
But enough of the upside down world of American politics, a world that hopefully will not burst into violence. A world that hopefully will reject Mr Grumpy for The White House. A world near insanity.
Better to spend a bit more time deep in Dumfriesshire, peering over hips and haws and looking to horizons of serried ridges that make up its quiet Galloway Hills, studded with intriguing names such as The Dungeon Hills, Clatteringshaws Loch, The Rhinns of Kells, Meikle Millyea and, yes, the unignorable Range of the Awful Hand
+ some of the photos credited to Geograph.org.uk and other sources
share this post!
Joel/ Jennifer
We were actually wondering about them & whether they were edible, it always makes me think about the process of trial & error a starving humankind must have gone through to try & stay alive,.
Anon
Should be interesting to see your US reader response to the Private Eye cover.
Bill Brown
Sounds like a great walk you’re a blessed relief from the news about Trump.
GB
Regarding hill-names, don’t forget The Rig of the Jarkness (apparently adopted as the name of a Norwegian death metal band).
Mary Yuang
Now that Boris has fled to count his money, Trump does at least make intriguing viewing.
Len Slye
Why is everyone so nasty to that innocuous Mr Grump?
Joel Mantel
Yes, glad to see that Trump is being at least charged for a few of his many crimes, but what amazes me is how many of his supporters seem to not only forgive these but find in them further evidence to support him.
Subscribe to new posts.