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Ron & Cody |
I returned to Colorado a few days before Liz delivered Julianna, her third child, and my 5th grandchild. She arrived right on schedule on May 29. Unfortunately, on May 28 the alpaca shearers arrived two weeks early. Although Liz was already having labor pains, they were very mild, so we took the alpacas anyway. None of the people at the shearing actually seemed to believe she was in labor, but she went directly from there to the hospital, and the next day Julianna arrived. She was kind enough to wait until I had taken Cody and April to school and day care, so I was able to be present for the birth. The first time ever for me (watching someone else) . Beckman's Colorado Home |
April & Julianna |
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Colorado Mountains |
The next couple of months I spent in Colorado. Florence is a tiny Western town on the eastern edge of the Rockies. It is distinguished by it's antique shops. To the West and South are mountains, to the North Pike's Peak, and to the East the prairies. The weather was very hot in the day time, but due to the altitude cools down at night. The stars are enormous at night, and the thunderstorms spectacular. I really enjoyed driving the ramshackle truck to buy hay, feeding the animals, watching the cat deliver her kittens, helping out with the baby, and buying and practicing driving the rig (RV). I had had in mind for a long time driving around the country, with the dual motive of renewing acquaintance with old friends and relatives and camping out in the wilderness. |
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Jamie George |
But before getting started on that, I had booked myself onto a tour of Scotland with R J Stewart and Jamie George. I had attended a number of seminars with R J, and got a great deal out of his many books, especially "Underworld Initiation", and the many works on the world of faerie. In the middle of August, we went by bus up the center of Scotland, stopping at Lake Monteith, Inchmahome Abbey, and Aberfoyle where the Rev Robert Kirk is said to have disappeared bodily into the land of Faerie in the 1700s and was never seem again. |
Faery Knoll at Aberfoyle
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Stones of Stennis |
Then on to the Orkneys, for visits to Stennis and Brodgar stone circles, the burial mound at Maes Howe, and the Neolithic stone village at Skara Brae, which was unearthed by a storm. I didn't realize how far North the Orkneys are, but they are closer to Norway than to London, and one can take ferry trips to Norway and Iceland from there. There is an extensive Viking heritage on the Islands. On the way back we passed the battle field at Culloden Moor, and stopped at Clava Cairn, a wonderful stone site nearby. We visited another marvelous faery spring at Rosemarkie, and a another where the tradition of "clutties", hanging small pieces of cloth with prayers written on them on the trees, had gotten out of hand, turning the lovely site into a sort of garbage heap. |
Maes Howe |
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Site of Midnight Vigil
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After spending the night at Tulloch castle, complete with bag pipes and a hand fasting ceremony, we went on to the holy Isle of Iona. Iona is a very tiny island, which was certainly holy even before St. Colomba fled there from Ireland and established his monastery. You have to cross the larger island of Mull and take a ferry to get there. That day was stormy and rainy, and we trekked through a bog to visit Loch Buie stone circle on Mull before finally catching the ferry to Iona. We spent two days there, hiking around the hills and bogs, trying to avoid picturesque "hielan coos" (long haired highland cows), and meditating in holy sites. An especially nice site is the spring of eternal youth. The last night, I chose to get up and do a vigil in a medieval stone chapel. Iona is worthy of a much longer visit.
Celtic Cross on Iona |
Spring of Eternal Youth |
