Of Thistles and Scots

Happy Tuesday!  I hope your week got off to a good start.  Yesterday, I posted a picture mosaic of some wildflowers that Hal and I saw Sunday on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.  One weed flower that I was so pleased to get pictures of was this --

 Field Thistle

I made the mistake of trying to cut one of these with my husband's pocket knife.  A word to the wise -- don't do that.  They have thorns -- big, sharp ones.  I grabbed it, thinking I would just cut the stem, and "Ouch!"  If you want to cut one for any reason, you'll need to wear a heavy pair of gloves to hold the stem.

I never knew thistle flowers could be found in North Carolina, or even in the U.S., for that matter.  For some reason, I've just always associated them with Scotland.  According to this website, legend has it that "a sleeping party of Scots warriors were saved from ambush by an invading Norse army when one of the attackers trod on a thistle with his bare feet.  His cries raised the alarm, the roused Scots duly defeated the invaders, and the thistle was adopted as the symbol of Scotland." 

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  As many times as we've driven around in the mountains of North Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee, I've just never noticed them before.  This year I did, though; maybe I've had Scotland on the brain because I've been reading this...

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It's now a series on the "Starz" network, and the clips I've seen look pretty good.  

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Unfortunately, our cable package doesn't include the Starz network, and we don't want to pay an extra $16 a month to get it.  I'll have to figure out another way to watch this.

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I will tell you that I've run across the name Duncan a few times in the series...

 I told my husband after reading these books, I see why he's such a stubborn and tough little fellow.  ;)

Have you read the Outlander books or seen the series on television?  If so, what did you think of them?  I find them especially interesting in light of the upcoming vote to decide Scottish independence.

Thanks so much for stopping by and have a great day!

Denise