Spring in Scotland

February and March have come and gone. We braced ourselves for bad weather but winter’s performance lacked luster. We had one or two snow showers but the snow melted within a few hours.

While waiting for Spring, Austen and I visited the winter gardens at Duthie Park to see the daffodils before they were bold enough to make their appearance outside the hothouse walls.



Sierra and Austen and I visited a bonnie site (I can say “bonnie” because I live in Scotland) called Burn of Vat with my friend Victoria and her daughter Beth.



On our excursion, we happened upon a fun place called the Deeside Activity Center complete with climbing wall, bouncy castle, and year round sled hill.





(Sierra is a climbing fiend! She has taken to climbing doorframes when she can’t climb a proper climbing wall!)



Since then, fair weather has come and with it, Spring. First came the crocuses – white, and purple. Then bloomed the daffodils.



At the same time, the trees blossomed sending down showers of pink and white with each brisk breeze. Very pretty!



Day is pushing out the night. The sun rises at 5:30 am now and sets at 8:45 pm. It’s hard to go to bed when the day still holds so much promise!

The arrival of Spring coincided with Sierra’s term break, so fine weather graced us on our trip to the Western Isles of Scotland the first week of April. We visited the Isles of Mull and Skye. Iona Abbey impressed us most. St. Columba founded it in 583 A.D. and the oldest intact ruins date to the 9th century. Austen and Sierra stood on the base of a cross, St. Marten’s cross, which has stood where it is unchanged except by the elements since the 9th century.



We stayed in hostels and crossed various channels on ferries – definitely one of the highlights for the kids! We even got to see a seal begging for fish from a fishing boat tied up alongside the ferry! As you can see, his behavior was rewarded!



Oh, while driving through Scotland, we were reminded always to always pay careful heed to the signs. Wouldn’t want to miss that one!



I’ve glossed over most of our trip, but another impressive sight was the Fairie Pools. They were really beautiful. As you can imagine, they captured Sierra’s imagination!



Before we left, we entertained Sierra’s friends with an Easter egg decorating party and hunt. It was her friend, Aditi’s, first opportunity to enjoy Easter festivities. She just moved here from India.



After the trip, we celebrated Easter Sunday at church and then joined in the races at the local park. Sierra, Austen, and Aditi competed in the egg rolling contest, but they missed the egg and spoon race.





They were busy playing



and listening to the bagpipes.



Sierra was too tired to walk home, but Austen was really worn out!



Before Sierra’s term break ended, we got to join my friend, Carrie, and her boys Matthew and Adam at a sheep farm that friends of theirs own. What an informative experience! I learned, for example, that you cannot keep sheep merely for their wool. On the market, the wool will only recover what it costs to sheer them. The kids learned, much to their dismay, that hungry lambs will try to nurse anything. Here is their friend, Matthew. He was brave enough to get near the lambs. But after all, a cape will make any boy bold, won’t it!?



Recently, the fine weather induced me to buy a bike trailer. Sierra is almost too big for it but not quite. The kids and I have been venturing out in it with my friend Carrie pulling her boys Matthew and Adam in tow. We love it! (Sorry, no pic yet.)

Sierra is back in school now. She is doing well, so she was confused when her teacher reported her homework was “satisfactory.” She wanted to know why Mrs. Tyres thought her work was “sad-as-a-factory!” Playing is her favorite subject in school. She also likes doing sums in her yellow notebook. She is still taking swimming lessons and a drama class but reports she would rather do gymnastics than anything else. We will look into that.

Austen is at playgroup and Bible Study Fellowship three mornings of the week. On the other days, we work on learning numbers and the letters in his name. At present, he has minimal interest in academics. His principle pleasures are riding his scooter very fast downhill and playing with Dad.

Dad, for his part continues to work diligently on his PhD. As for me, I turned 36 on Easter Day and am enjoying this season of my life.

Cheers to you! Thank you for visiting. We hope to hear from you too.