Medal Winner at Chelsea

The Slovenian garden was a delight to see at the Chelsea Flower Show in London. It represented the type of corbelled hut that the children of shepherds used when looking after the family cattle. All the plants were native to the Krass region of Slovenia. For more information go to Pepa's story .

Dandelion Design

This interesting feature was built by  George Weaver   and if you double click on the top photo you will see that the holes have been occupied by a small animal. since the work was completed.

Stones of Clava

There are several ancient chambered Cairns at Clava close to Inverness in Scotland. This is one of the many standing stones close by. These Pictish monuments are thought to be around 4000 years old.

The Stone Family of Glen Lyon

This is Tigh na Caillaigh (the house of the old woman) in a remote part of Glen Lyon. Legend has it that if  the old woman , the old man and their children are not brought out of the house in the Spring and returned in the Autumn then the crops will fail. So far this has not been tested as locals carry out the task as required. I was involved last year in a repair to the roof and walls. No one knows exactly when this was first done but is is likely to date back to pre Christian times. It was not noticed till after the work was completed that the rock in the middle of the removable doorway had a face on it. Now this is known as the guardian rock.

Outdoor Fireplace

Canadian waller Stephen Niven won a prize in 2009 with this fine dry stone fireplace. I especially like the chimney top. I have seen covers like this especially in Italy.
Back to Scottish features in the next entry. A little bit of legend from Glen Lyon.

The Dog Stone

There are several traditions about the Dog Stone in Glen Lyon. The first one that I heard as a child
was that it was used by the Scottish giant Fion to teather his great mastive to. Clearly the name may
come from the fact that the roch does look like the head of a dog. Another theory is that it was used
in the Clan times as a test of pregnancy . Girls were required to squeeze under when suspicions of
rape by another Clan were arroused.

Plague Stone

This rock in Glen Lyon was set up in the 9th century to mark the place where Saint Adamnan decided to stop the plague. Legend tells us that he said no one from the glen could return after passing this point and anyone trying to come into the glen from outside would be killed here. An interesting idea from a holy man, it probably was successful.

Clan Stone Glen Lyon

This rock is not exactly a standing stone . It sits on a flat surface . Legend has it that in the time that  Clan Cambell controlled the Glen this rock was use as a test of a young mans ability to be accepted as an adult into the clan. They had to lift the stone onto the platform. Although I tried hard the only way I could get it up was to roll it. The teenagers must have been much stronger in the past.