Our new dog, Spirit
I had hoped to post about this sooner, but several weeks ago, we got a dog. His name is Spirit, and he’s a border collie mix. We’re not sure what the mix part is, but I was wondering if he might have some setter in him. He’s about 16 months old, and weighs around 55 pounds. He’s had some training already, and is pretty good about obeying a ’sit’ command most of the time. [...]
We’ve been talking for a while about getting a dog. We had been leaning towards a golden retriever, but now we’re looking into maybe getting a border collie, due to their smaller size, and because they’re just darned cool. We know that, generally speaking, border collies tend to be very active. But we’re hoping to locate one that has a more laid back personality.
We figure that the pet that best matches us would be an indoor dog. But he (or she?) will be able to get daily exercise, because we’re sure that our oldest daughter would love to take him outside after school for walks or for chasing frisbees and such. [...]
Silliness from the land of my forefathers: Triathalon competitors get monster insurance for swimming Loch Ness.
One of the world’s most famous fables faces a serious financial test in two weeks’ time when 100 international athletes plunge into Loch Ness - each insured for £1m against monster bites.
[...]Not everyone welcomes the insurance deal, though. . [...]
Today is Tartan Day, which originated in Canada, was later adopted by the United States, and is now beginning to spread to other corners of the world, just as the “Scottish diaspora” has. The celebrations in New York this year were especially auspicious, as they featured the sword of William “Braveheart” Wallace, which has never before left its native Scotland.
There was also some controversy this year with the conspicuous absence of Sean Connery, who had previously committed to attend, then withdrew at the last minute. [...]
Bagpipers on Parade
Susan and I went to the Stone Mountain Highland Games last Saturday. We had been told that it was “huge”, but we thought that it wasn’t that much bigger than the Alabama Highland Games, which we’ve attended the past few years. [...]
I’ve run across Max Lyons’ web site a couple of times before. Today, I saw it again because of links to his Gigapixel Image. But then I poked around some and finally took a look at his Digital Scotland gallery.
Wow.
There’s less than a week to go until the Alabama Highland Games. Get ready to pack up the sheep and head to Montgomery!
You know, it’s silly of me to have mentioned it in a comment over on Possumblog and not on my own blog… But the Alabama Highland Games are coming up next month. Saturday, September 27th. Clan Campbell is the honored clan this year, so you’ll probably have the opportunity to see Susan and me marching on the field. Well, again. Susan and I have marched with Clan Campbell a couple of other times.
So far, this summer has been uncharacteristically cool (for southern Alabama), so we’re hoping to have some really nice weather. [...]
Even though I have lots of genetic ties to Scotland, my knowledge of Scottish culture is thin, at best. Maybe it would help if I could spell-check in Gaelic? I’d like to learn some Gaelic. Maybe I need to start visiting Focal an Lae more often. The focus there is Irish Gaelic, but it has notes about Scots Gaelic, as well.
Oh heck, I forgot that Tartan Day was coming up (April 6). If you’re near Mobile, AL, you might want to check out the event hosted by the Historic Mobile Preservation Society.
“Every line of strength in American history is a line coloured with Scottish blood.”
Woodrow Wilson
