That'll do!

July 26, 2010

Man, can Stuart WHISTLE!!!

We started the day with a field trip to see Angela's Stuart and his sheepherding dogs. It was an amazing treat to see him work the dogs on command! When we drove up you could see the thought balloon over all the sheep's heads read, "Oh, jeez, more tourists - now those dogs are gonna chase us all over the place!" And those dogs did, nipping at the air (well, most of the time) around the sheep, rounding them up, herding them from place to place, keeping them in a cohesive group. It was fascinating to watch. And Ruby captured all our hearts, especially Jessie's, who immediately asked if she could take Ruby home with her.

Ruby daydreaming of when she'll be big enough to herd the sheep.

The dogs did their work with a graceful discipline and swiftness that belied any primal urge to chase these sheep up any hill and dale. Tia was experiencing an adolescent bout of "I don't heeeaaaaar you!" with some of Stuart's commands, but he won out at the end and she finally grokked the "that'll do!"

Mac concentrating

Ti-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

That'll do!

After this wonderful entertainment we took off for Inverpollaidh National Park to hike up Stac Pollaidh, "Peak of the Peat Moss". It started raining and out came the backpack covers, as it drizzled for most of the way up. We were unable to clearly see the greatly eroded and fascinating formations that make up the crest of this Torridian sandstone hill (an example of the pink sandstone is seen in the step in picture below).

pink sandstone

A decidedly mysterious fog enveloped us off and on, allowing us to catch brief glimpses of a bevy of little lachans on the back side of the hill, just before we climbed up the last part. A few midges enveloped us as well, but bug juice helped keep them at bay. Some heather and tiny St. John's Wort still bloomed and I found a couple of lupines just past their prime, but what was most prevalent were the sandstone shapes. It was unfortunate that we didn't get to see these huge sandstone outcroppings strewn across the face of the hills in all of their glory, but Steve and I did get to clamber to the top and look down a sheer cliff. I think we all marveled at the balance of these structures with regard to the physical forces of wind, rain, and ice throughout the ages. At this point it started pouring.

looking down the sheer cliff in a break from the deluge

Looking across the loch from the top of Stac Pollaidh, the ever-changing light illuminated and then darkened a beach of peach-colored sand, evidence of runoff from the sandstone. Along with the intense green of the landscape, it was also of a deep jewel-tone.

Halfway down the hill I realized that I couldn't find my lens cap. Again. I'd not mentioned the other 3 times that I thought I'd left it somewhere but I couldn't find it in my pocket (mainly because I was looking in the wrong pocket!) It did resurface, but this game of hide and seek and ultimate hide of that little disk of plastic soon took on a life of its own with me. Of course I had a leash for it...at home on my kitchen counter. At any rate, my cameras got soaked and I had to figure out some ways to dry them out. I won't go into those methods here because I'm sure that very serious photographers would cringe at the techniques used, but they worked to no detriment of my equipment!

lovely loch under the clouds and rain

Surprisingly, no one wiped out on the way down - it was WET and we were pretty soaked. There was a warmth in the air, though, so we had no problem hunkering down to devour our brie and whatever sandwiches in the parking lot. Another group with some members very loudly protesting the wearing of netting against the midgies was starting out, but we hollered that they'd appreciate the effort later. Scottish midges found us delicious, so we spoke from experience.

Next stop, a geopark that had some interesting artwork depicting different geological stages in Scotland's history. Of particular note is the formation of the Moine Thrust that through great amounts of diastrophism and folding over of earth through the ages, combined with erosion and created some of the remarkable geologic edifices that we hiked around. The name so enthralled one of our members that much to our amusement he adopted it as his trail name.

This globe of slate was around 7' tall. Rachel was very taken with it and gave the Earth a warm embrace in the rain.

Geopark Earth made of slate

And what trip would not be complete without our own "OMG, it's a double rainbow! What does it mean?!?!?" This was a stunning sight and we stood in awe at the vividness of the colors.

With a nod to Yosemitebear YouTube user, "OMG, a double rainbow! What does it mean?!?!?"

Dinner for me was venison with chili and chocolate sauce - wow! - followed by a lovely interlude of hanging up laundry to dry in the drying room.