I wish to wander, I wish to roam: By forest and meadow, Silver and emerald, By tree and field, Lovely and bright.
Many a place I'd like to see, Many a place I long go: By village and brook , Small and fair, By castle and river, Noble and grand.
I wish to wander, I wish to roam, For many a place I long to see.
~ Sileas MacNab
Bodiam Castle, England
The Brook
By: Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892)
I come from haunts of coot and hern, I make a sudden sally, And sparkle out among the fern, To bicker down a valley. By thirty hills I hurry down, Or slip between the ridges, By twenty thorps, a little town, And half a hundred bridges. Till last by Philip's farm I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. I chatter over stony ways, In little sharps and trebles, I bubble into eddying bays, I babble on the pebbles. With many a curve my banks I fret by many a field and fallow, And many a fairy foreland set With willow-weed and mallow. I chatter, chatter, as I flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. I wind about, and in and out, with here a blossom sailing, And here and there a lusty trout, And here and there a grayling, And here and there a foamy flake Upon me, as I travel With many a silver water-break Above the golden gravel, And draw them all along, and flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever. I steal by lawns and grassy plots, I slide by hazel covers; I move the sweet forget-me-nots That grow for happy lovers. I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance, Among my skimming swallows; I make the netted sunbeam dance Against my sandy shallows. I murmur under moon and stars In brambly wildernesses; I linger by my shingly bars; I loiter round my cresses; And out again I curve and flow To join the brimming river, For men may come and men may go, But I go on forever.
Photo : Bruno Monginoux / www.Landscape-Photo.net (cc-by-nc-nd)
Okay, I am SO mad that I did not know this. I mean, it should be like a National Holiday, like 4th of July! This is way more important, a little less cool perhaps, but way more important. And I'd never even heard it before, it was just chance that I found out today.
I was sitting on my bed reading this awesome history book from 1970, reading about the Revolutionary War. I'm always learning neat stuff. Like today alone, I just learned that the famous John Paul Jones was from Scotland! ("I have not yet begun to fight" is cool enough, just imagine is with a Scottish accent!)
As I was saying, I was sitting there reading and all of the sudden I came across these words "October 19, 1781." HEY! That's Today! The day that Lord Cornwallis surrendered and We the People of the United States won the war for Independents.
Maybe it is common knowledge and I alone didn't know, but I still think that today we should be celebrating.
The whole time I was working on this post, I was constantly bothered by a very perplexing question. "Why don't I live there?"
But, I guess when you get down to it, I really don't want to live there. So I'll just enjoy the pictures.
While I was getting the pictures of of Wikipedia, I came across this article. This is the whole article, and I guess it just about tells you every thing you need to know about the Isle of Skye.
Skye (Scots Gaelic: Eilean Sgitheanach) is an island in the Inner Hebrides. Mony fowk o the island speaks the Gaelic. Skye is whaur Bonny Prince Charlie escaped frae efter the 45.
Would you like to know one of the things that I find fascinating, people's hand writing. Really, I always like to see how someone writes how they sign their names, how people in history wrote.
See, when I was a kid, I always thought that Walt Disney's signature was what popped up under that little castle. There are a few singularities, but the real thing is much, much, cooler.
Some signatures (most, actually) like Queen Victoria's, above, I find impossible to read. I cannot even read it when I know what it says.
Others are quite recognizable. I consider this one, above, to be the most famous one in history. It is.
And this one, above, I find very interesting. It looks like it says Winstons Churchill. It actually says Winston S. (As in Spencer.) Churchill.
This other one, below, is very rare. Only six originals exist, so they say. I think it is quite interesting. I'll let you guess who's it is.
And this last one, I deem it my favorite. For reasons I don't think I have to go into.
I thought of calling this post 'Dress Envy', for that is really all it is. But I guess that wouldn't look to good as a title.
Since all of these pictures are of Miranda I might as well tell you who she is.
John William Waterhouse
Miranda is the daughter of Prospero in the Shakespearean comedy The Tempest. She grew up all alone on an island with her father. She eventually marries Ferdinand prince of Naples. (Nice life, huh?)
William Maw Egley
And that is essentially all that you have to know. All of these paintings a have admired at various times, I just thought that I would put them all together in a post called 'Miranda'.
I've exciting news. I have my own camera now! (If you zoom in closely on the awesome picture, that Kae took, you can see it in my hands.)
I was assembling it in the van as we were driving down the road. I got it together and the first picture I took was of a church. But wouldn't you know it....
I looked like a little castle. :)
I've been adoring the glorious fall weather.
For it is very much like fall in Maryland.
And that is where I was.
But I am back now. Back home. Back with internet access. Back sitting like Nightcrawler on Kae's wabbly little stool as I use her computer.
But it is like fall here now. But only in temperature. The leaves have nor yet started to turn.
But when they do, I'll be there.
With my camera.
There will be more pictures from Maryland, soon.
Until then, I'm back and more in the mood for blogging than ever.
Greetings and welcome to By Castle and River, a small place in The Internet, created by me and, in a way, for me, and devoted to the things that I love. Your comments will be received with joy: I like to know when people love the things I do.
