A Stroll Through the Ochil Hills and Other Things

The last month of my semester abroad has begun. I am glad that I came, but am ready to soon be home.
This weekend has been quite an eventful one. On April 29, someone or other important got married; I happened to be watching the news when their wedding came on. On an unrelated note, here's a picture of an odd flowerbed in town:

Anyway, on Sunday I was fortunate enough to be convinced by my friends to attend a Ceilidh in St. Andrews Castle. I have little aptitude for dancing, but this, I can say, was genuinely fun. I suppose that I understand things like square dances now: if you're an expert, fine, but if not, that's good too.

And today, three of us embarked on an hour and a half long bus ride to the village of Tillicoultry in order to hike to Ben Cleuch, tallest of the Ochil Hills. It is possible that 'hill' is an understatement, but they don't quite have the stature of mountains. At any rate, our hike, while not unsuccessful, did send us wandering among various paths amongst the hills probably used solely by sheep and shepherds. We never did come upon our intended route, although the four hours we spent walking were pleasant and the hills were beautiful. The day was clear and blue; the temperature almost just right. And a splendid day it was. Enjoy these pictures!

Sheep upon the hills! 

An old, broken down stone wall.

These rocks marked the top of the hill which we ascended.

It's hard to see here, but these rocks were in a horseshoe around that large tree, creating a perfect fort. Ultra-cool.

 The moss on these rocks was rather remarkably thick.

I'm unsure of what this yellow-flowered crop is, but there was an awful lot of it along the road that our bus took.

Sunlight and a Blustery Day

One comes to cherish the sunlight when most days are overcast. After a succession of cloudy, drizzly days, there is something truly exhilarating about throwing open the curtains to let beams of sun pour into the room.
Today was windy and almost warm. I doffed my sweater and Smart Wool socks in favor of a t-shirt, windbreaker, and plain old white socks (I had almost forgotten how those feel!). Some Texans may call 56 degrees Fahrenheit cold (though Minnesotans might call it warm), but it sure felt like spring to me. The daffodil and crocus blooms were spread wide as though embracing the very sunlight.
As is often the case, however, in the middle of the joy and beauty, ran the small, still note of sadness. I have good friends here, but not all of my friends. I wonder what my parents and sister and Minnesotan friends are doing now and how things are with the rest of my fellows at Baylor. I think that they would have liked to have seen this too.
But I suppose these pictures will do for now.

The view outside of my window this morning. A blessed sight to see.

A view from the West Sands out to sea. This is the beach upon which they filmed that famous scene from Chariots of Fire. Unfortunately, the soundtrack for the movie is not playing at all times, or else I might have run myself.

Landward of the dunes looking toward St Andrews. That tall tower is the steeple of St. Salvatore's, the university chapel (I think I might have mistakenly told some of you otherwise earlier this semester).

Looking down the road running next to the Old Course. You can see the mountains far off in the background.

A little path to the beach through the dunes. I rather like pictures of roads, if you haven't already guessed.

This obelisk is a monument to the Reformation martyrs of St. Andrews. The initials of the first, Patrick Hamilton, appear amongst the cobblestones near the entrance to St. Salvatore's chapel, marking the spot where he was burned at the stake. After the names and dates, this epigraph appears at the bottom of the inscription: "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance".

In a few days I shall be on the road to London, where our entire group will spend a week. Following that, some of us are travelling to Paris and  then to Florence before heading back to St. Andrews the day before classes start. My next post is likely to appear at the end of those two weeks, detailing our adventures with photographic evidence.