The Church and Cemetery in Dron

We are housesitting in the Manse and, of course, immediately next door is the church and cemetery. the weather finally got to be good enough that we no longer had an excuse to put off a visit.

Scone Palace

On a wet and blustery day we made our way to Scone Palace just outside Perth to check out the grounds (a little) and visit the shop (more so).

Dron Treescape Again

A short walk from where we are staying is this tree at the edge of a very soggy field. As you can see in the distance, the sky is getting darker. About 5 minutes after this image was taken, I was forced to retreat when the rain started in earnest.

This is the state of things here: one minute it is fine weather, the next it is raining or snowing or both.

I like these UK trees silhouetted against the sky.

St. Madoes Cemetery

The village of St. Madoes stands along the north bank of the river Tay not far from the A90. Here, at the edge of town, we find the church and cemetery.

Abernethy Tower

A visit to the nearby town of Abernethy reveals a real treasure - the Abernethy Round Tower. I quote from the Wikipedia article:

The Abernethy Round Tower is a stone-built Irish-style round tower which stands at the edge of the cemetery in Abernethy, Perth and Kinross, Scotland.

I don't know exactly what the symbols on the Pictish stone at the base of the tower represent but I can guess. A hatchet with a handle and one without, what appears to be a sword in a stone and a rose are seem to be symbols of power and loyalty.

Moreover, this tower stands where...

 ...Malcolm III of Scotland paid homage to William the Conqueror some six years after the Battle of Hastings.

 Pretty cool, eh?

Along the Road to Dron

We are staying in a house in the small settlement of Dron. On the way to our current slice of paradise, we pass between these two trees every day. Today, we had a bit of sun so I jumped out of the car for a quick photo.

While you can tell that the ground is wet and there is some water alongside the road, what you cannot tell is that the non-paved parts are really soggy. All the rain in these parts is really being felt.

Also note the width of the road compared to the size of the car you see in the distance.

St. Martin's

The cemetery that surrounds St. martin's church is a fascinating one. There are many stones with a thick covering of moss such as the one above.

Rait

It is clear why sportsmen (and women) hunt pheasants. Not only are they tasty (pheasant-under-glass anyone?) but they are very skittish birds and difficult to get near. Pheasants are hard to hunt and there's the challenge. When I get out of the car with my camera, they all start running and then flying away...all, except this one.

Easter Rhynd Cemetery

Even though Thomas Baird is a relatively recent addition to this village of the dead, he has one of the more remarkable stones. This is lying on its back looking at the sky. I cannot tell if the ship means he was a sailor but if he was, he's in a good position now...always watching the sky.

Abernyte Churchyard

Now that storm Dennis has mostly passed and all we have left is some wind (mild compared to Isle of Man), we headed out for a look about. Our first stop on this outing is the churchyard at Abernyte. This is a pretty old church having been rebuilt in 1672 and 1736. Unfortunately, my interior photos basically suck (really dark inside), so you won't see them. Here is the interesting stuff from the cemetery around the church.

Welcome to Perth

We've arrived in a tiny settlement just outside a small town not far from Perth. We are surrounded by farmland. Right now, very muddy farmland. After Ciara passed through, things are pretty well soggy. These images were made in a break in the weather on the eve of the arrival of Dennis.

Styles of Living

I found an interesting way to compare living styles - Google Map. Consider the section of Staunton, VA. This is a suburb that those of you in Virginia may well recognize.

Perth

While we were on the hill in Kings Park overlooking the city, I thought it time to take a few photos of the city.

War Memorial

King's Park in Perth is locating on a hill with a commanding view of the confluence of the Swan and Canning Rivers. Located on the bluff overlooking the Swan is the memorial to those lost in war.

The eternal flame burning above this reflection pool was lit in 2000 by Queen Elizabeth.

The Tawny Frogmouth

While in the King's Park, a fellow was all excited, he'd found a Tawny Frogmouth. Now, this is something to get excited about. This is a nocturnal bird related to the nightjar. In fact, he'd found three of them!

Above you see the backside of one of them sitting in the crotch of a tree. But it gets better.

Kings Park and Botanic Gardens

As our long-time readers know, pretty much every town in Australia seems to have a botanical garden. We visited one of the more amazing ones here in Perth.

Aquarium of Western Australia

Out of Victoria Quay in the Hillarys suburb of Perth is the Aquarium of Western Australia (AQWA). We decided to visit to see what we could learn about the western sea life.

On the way in we saw this young fellow on the quay trying to catch a fish. He's not quite a excerpt from Norman Rockwell, but he does seem to capture the essence of being young in Australia.