The rest of the time...

Well, spring break came after the halfway point of the semester. That timing meant that this last part of the semester has been even more of a whirlwind. 

The day before classes resumed was Mothering Sunday here in Britain, the equivalent of our Mother’s Day. Despite that it was supposed to be a day all about mothers, we paid homage to a father, the father of modern geology. We walked along the trail at Siccar Point, the spot where James Hutton found proof for this Theory of the Earth (published in the late 1700s). Just the name itself sounds pretty daunting and all-encompassing. Hutton proposed that geological processes occur over millions of years, not thousands. Siccar Point juts into the North Sea, its jagged rocks clearly composed during different time periods millions of years ago.

Siccar Point

Unconformity at Siccar Point

Djanko at Siccar Point

Siccar Point isn't just for geologists. Rock climbers use the cave, as you can see by the hanging carabiners.

The ruins of Twizell Castle, a spot we found after leaving Siccar Point.

Twizell Castle in England, near the border of Scotland

Once we were back into the swing of school, Ahmyn, Seryahna, Djanko, and I went for a walk with some friends on the north side of the Firth of Forth from Kinghorn to Kirkcaldy. Our friends chose this walk along the shore because there are fossils to be found. We found plenty of fossils, sifting through the sand, rocks, and shells finding hints of unimaginable years that have passed. We also were thrilled at discovering more recent remnants, such as beach glass and beach pottery. The walk was such a treasure trove that Ahmyn and the kids took my sister's family there when they visited.

Izzy, Djanko, and Seryahna collecting fossils near Kinghorn

Just another day at the beach...

With the students, we explored other echoes of days long past on a field trip to the Borders area. First we stopped at the ruins of Melrose Abbey, founded in 1136, almost completely destroyed during the 1500s. Walking among the ruins renewed my amazement at how small we truly are, what a tiny speck in time. Thinking about masons who built this beautiful abbey almost 900 years ago and what their lives were like built a bridge for me to the past. I also chuckled thinking about structures that we build today, wondering whether any parts of them would last for 900 years and whether we would even want them to have that type of endurance.

Melrose Abbey

Melrose Abbey

A gravestone at Melrose Abbey

A Celtic cross in the cemetery at Melrose

From Melrose Abbey, we traveled about 11 miles and hundreds of years to Bowhill House, which was built over two centuries after the last monk of Melrose Abbey died. Bowhill House is one of the homes of the Duke of Buccleuch, the owner of Dalkeith House (aka, my current landlord). Although I find Dalkeith House impressive enough, Bowhill is a showpiece. The house is home to quite of collection of miniature portraits, full-size paintings, fine pottery, books, baroque furniture, hand-painted Chinese wallpaper, and more. Unfortunately, photographs were not allowed in most of the house. For more information, view the website at http://www.bowhillhouse.co.uk/.

Copper pots in the Bowhill kitchen, each one numbered according to size

Dutch is fixing the mannequin's hair while Ahmyn reads about the pillar of sugar.

Renee, Seryahna, & Djanko check out the various kitchen equipment.

Next, we stopped at Abbotsford, the home of famous writer Sir Walter Scott, a kinsman and friend of the Montagu Douglas and Scotts (the family names of the Duke of Buccleuch and his ancestors. His home was grand, too, but in a very different way. Sir Walter Scott was also a keen collector, but not of fine ceramics and portraits. He collected battle armor, weapons, grotesques (gargoyles without an opening for the mouth), statues, and various trinkets tinged with legend and lore. Building the home bankrupted Scott, but he was able to pay off his debts by writing, writing, and writing.

Abbotsford

Abbotsford, home of Sir Walter Scott

In the entrance

Int the entrance

Armor in the entrance

Sir Walter Scott, himself

Hand-painted Chinese wallpaper

One of the grotesques adorning the home

Abbotsford

Part of Scott's weapons collection

All of the stops on the field trip and many of the adventures that my family and I have embarked upon have impressed upon me a broader sense of history and time. I will admit, I am not a lover of dates of wars and kings and other important events. However, I do appreciate history at my fingertips. I literally can touch time. I can sit on a stone that was hewn before Europeans settled in the United States, or I can see the kitchen where servants cooked in Stirling Castle hundreds of years before Rice Lake was founded. Plus, I have had wonderful geology lessons here. Yes, I know that I could get a sense of some of these things back at home, but I have found hands-on opportunities on an almost daily basis. After all, I am in a house where Queen Victoria has slept. 

Statues outside of Stirling Castle

Stirling Castle kitchens

Tour guide in Stirling Castle with my family that visited

My time here is fleeting. We are leaving in a matter of days. However, my memories from here will last my lifetime. That lifetime, though, is but a drop in the ocean of time.