Cough, hack, sputter...

It was nothing less than a miracle: virtually every day Mr. Fuzzy was in Scotland and England contained some sunshine, in fact, most days were entirely sunny. The mercury soared to 65F one the final days, a summer time reading. The image to the left is from the last full day trodding Sacred Soil. Scotland has always treated Mr. Fuzzy well and this adventure was no exception. Except for a missed connection with friends in Glasgow, its challenging to consider how this tour could have been better.

Arriving late in the evening in Washington, DC, the night was spent at a nearby hotel. The next morning saw a short jaunt almost directly west to attend the premier 18th century trade fair in the South: Fort Frederick, Maryland. If it looks cold - it was! The high temperature was about 44F and although Mr. Fuzzy was headed homeward by then, it snowed the next morning. Time there was brief, just four hours, not even long enough to visit all friends but better than nothing.

The first day back on Stratheden Farm was more like Scotland than Scotland had been - a day long fog and very cool. A neighbor reported it rained at least every third day whilst Mr. Fuzzy was in sunny Scotland, where it rained but once.

Mr. Fuzzy ran hard in Scotland & England, so many friends to enjoy, so many new adventures to find, old sacred sites to revisit, and not the least, the world class cuisines now found in almost any village. British cooking used to be, deservingly, the butt of many jokes, but that has dramatically shifted in just the last few years. Much more on that in a subsequent post.

Between running to near exhaustion, the afternoon in the chill of Fort Frederick, the cold humidity of the farm, and a huge dose of nearly crippling hay fever (from mowing about 3 acres), perhaps it is not remarkable to note that by Tuesday, Type B influenza put the traveler into bed for the next five days; only today has the fever-fog lifted. This experience could have been omitted, if anyone had just inquired... just when the farm needs immediate attention, sigh.

Stay well.