Keep Repeating "It's the Berries"

I felt that your glimpse at the rowan berries in Sunday's blog wasn't quite enough to show you how vibrant they are so here is a closeup. When the afternoon sun with its golden light strikes the trees (as it was doing when I took this photo) the clusters of berries fairly glow.

The birds love these and all other berries, so they have been eating them as fast as they can. In a few cases, they have managed to chew around the stem holding a cluster on until the sheer weight of the berries has pulled the cluster right off the tree. So there are a few clumps of berries on the ground.

Yesterday afternoon Don and I went to the Heather Centre down the road from us (not even a mile away) and bought 29 heather plants (at less than a pound each). We spent so much time deciding how many and which ones to plant where, that we only managed to get 6 of them actually planted before another rain shower came along and drove us inside. We do now have them placed where they belong so once the hot sun moves away from that part of the garden, we'll finish the planting.

We had a few rain showers yesterday but for the most part, it was quite lovely and warm. It rained again last night just as we went to bed. When we got up this morning, it looked as though it had rained more during the night but not a lot as there was no standing water. Today's forecast is back to that pattern of "today it will be cloudy and the next 4 days it will rain." Why do we even look at it? [Sigh] My guess it I'll have to resume watering every day, but it was good to have a wee break from that.

Don is playing golf with Gordon and Iain this morning. It's nice having him home on Sunday mornings now that he and Gordon have switched to playing Monday and Thursday mornings.

Today I must complete work on the flyer I'm putting together for my art quilt workshop in October so the 19 or so women taking the workshop can get their supplies. It isn't as quick or easy to obtain fabric and other supplies here in rural Scotland as it is in most U.S. towns or cities.

How about another excerpt from the 1942 guide to Britain for American soldiers?

The British have theaters and movies (which they call "cinemas") as we do. But the great place of recreation is the "pub." A pub, or public house, is what we could call a bar or tavern. The usual drink is beer, which is not an imitation of German beer as our beer is, but ale. (But they usually call it beer or "bitter.") Not much whiskey is now being drunk. War-time taxes have shot the price of a bottle up to about $4.50. The British are beer-drinkers--and can hold it. The beer is now below peacetime strength, but can still make a man's tongue wag at both ends.

You will be welcome in the British pubs as long as you remember one thing. The pub is the "poor man's club," the neighborhood or village gathering place, where the men have come to see their friends, not strangers. If you want to join a darts game, let them ask you first (as they probably will). And if you are beaten it is the custom to stand aside and let someone else play....

You will naturally be interested in getting to know your opposite number, the British soldier. You can understand that two actions on your part will slow up the friendship--swiping his girl, and not appreciating what his army has been up against. Yes, and rubbing it in that you are better paid than he is....

In the pubs you will hear a lot of Britons openly criticizing their government and the conduct of war. That isn't an occasion for you to put in your two-cents worth. It's their business, not yours. You sometimes criticize members of your own family--but just let an outsider start doing the same, and you know how you feel!

[In an earlier passage, the author made reference to the beer being served "warm," but I think it would be more accurate to say that ale is served "at room temperature." When the weather is more or less normal, i.e., when we're not having a heatwave, "room temperature" in an old traditional stone building pub (with 24"-thick walls) can be anywhere from 45 to 65 degrees. While that is not icy cold as beer is served in the States, it isn't actually warm.]