Even though I am most definitely a ‘city boy’. I am from Texas where we have our share of cattle. In fact my Alma mater is The University of Texas and our mascot is the Texas Longhorn, a type of cow with (you guessed it), long horns.
Scotland has it’s own version of long horn cattle called Highland Cattle. They are beautiful animals with amazing long hair including long bangs that often completely cover their eyes. One day while driving in Scotland, I pulled off the road onto a drive leading up to a ranch house to try to get a few photos of what folks in Austin Texas might refer to as “Hippie Longhorns”. After a few minutes of unsuccessful shooting (the cattle were being very shy) , I noticed a truck approaching from the owners house. Concerned that the owner might see me as trespassing I prepared to explain what I was doing & pack up my camera. Again I had underestimated the kindness of the Scottish people. In fact Murray (the owner) had seen me photographing & brought some feed in order to get the cattle to come close to where I was photographing. As soon as they saw Murray approaching, the cattle all ran to my position in anticipation of getting fed & posed for their portraits.

Thank you Murray.

Another beautiful place in beautiful Scotland. This bridge is actually on the Balmoral Estate. Beverly & went on a great Land Rover tour of the estate & our wonderful guide John told us all about the bridge & the place. Unfortunately, I was focusing on making a beautiful image vs. what John was saying… so I did a better job on capturing the image than I did capturing th history. If I am not mistaken, the bridge was built as a gift to Queen Victoria, but don’t quote me on that…

Eilean Donan Castle is very near the bridge from the mainland of Scotland to the Isle of Skye. We arrived late in the afternoon when the tide happened to be out so where I was standing to take the photo is very often under water. I would love to go back when the tide is in the the light is a bit better to get a reflection of the castle in the loch. Eilean Donan Castle is quite possibly one of the most photographed Castles in the world. Unlike Dunnottar Castle from my earlier post, the Eilean Donan Castle was completely restored in the early 1900 & gives a glimpse of what it may have been like  has been like to actually live in the castle.

When driving in Scotland on the northern portion of the Isle of Skye, the major highways consist of single lane roads with passing points every hundred yards or so to allow you or an oncoming vehicle to pull over so that another vehicle may pass. (You can see one in the distance near the sign in the lower photo.)

In the middle of this rural landscape amongst the sheep & green fields, in the middle of ‘nowhere’, stands this big red phone booth. Perhaps it’s for emergencies, perhaps it remains from a time when many of the local farm houses did not have phone service. In any case, it’s a great reminder of the wonderful simplicity of this beautiful Isle.