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"There aren’t many trees on
this island, are there?" Bonnie asked, looking at the barren landscape
below. "It seems to just be a lot of peaty bogs and marshes, or a lot of
stones and mountains."
"Harris doesn’t have many
trees, Bonnie," Bruce, the butterfly answered, "but they do have beautiful
white sand beaches. Harris is known to be one of the most beautiful places
in all of Scotland. There is a lot of machair."
"What is machair?" Bonnie
enquired.
"Machair? It’s a type of
sandy coastal grassland. The wind blows the sand inland and grasses grow
from it. You mentioned yourself that you thought it looked like marsh and
bogs."
"Oh. I’d never heard that
word before. I suppose the people who live on Harris speak Gaelic too?"
Bonnie questioned.
"That’s right. The Gaelic
word for Harris is ‘Na Hearadh’. It comes from a Viking word meaning High
Island," Bruce explained.
"How do you know all this
stuff? Everywhere we go, you know all there is to know about the place.
It’s amazing," Bonnie said in awe.
"I listen to thing the
other butterflies talk about," Bruce smiled.
"Whoa!" Bonnie shouted.
"Look down there! It looks like we’re on the moon."
Below them lay a vast area
of black and dark brown stones. There was no vegetation growing, just
stones, large and small. "It does rather look like the moon," Bruce
agreed.
"Would you like to go and
visit the moon?" he snickered.
"Why not! My wings are
rather tired. I could use a rest, but I’m sure there are no flowers
anywhere around this area," Bonnie sighed.
"I don’t think so. We’ll
have to go into the town, Tarbert, to find flowers. We’ll do that later
on. Come on, let’s go to the moon," Bruce said.
The butterflies fluttered
down to the dark stones. "I see an eagle," Bonnie said, pointing at the
mountains. "It’s far away though, probably searching for a mouse." They
watched as it soared around the mountains. "Those look like giants, don’t
they?" she said, pointing at the rocky hills. "They look cold and dismal
though. I don’t think Harris gets much sunshine."
"This is brilliant. I feel
like we’re on the moon. It must be just like this up there," Bruce said,
pointing at the pale moon. "Except, there wouldn’t be any blue sky or
clouds, or the sound of the sea rushing in, or the sweet smell of the peat
bogs."
"You’re right about that.
Speaking of sweet smells, let’s head to town. I am hungry for a delicious
flower," Bonnie said.
They flew towards Tarbert.
"There’s not much on this island. It’s basically just a quiet place where
one can go to get away from it all. I see an old church down there. If I
remember correctly, it’s called St. Clements Church. Aside from that and
an old castle, Ardvourlie Castle, there aren’t too many more things on
this island. There are a lot of ancient stones and mounds and things but
that’s it."
"What about animals?"
Bonnie asked.
"I spotted some seals and
otters. We saw an eagle and I think they have deer here," Bruce answered.
"There’s the town, though
it’s more like a village. It’s rather small, isn’t it?" Bonnie mentioned.
"I think in town we’ll see
a few shops. I know that Harris is famous for its Harris Tweed. There are
weavers who make it and the tweed is used for jackets and coats and other
things," Bruce said.
"It’s cold here. I imagine
they need to wear warm coats," Bonnie replied. "Aha. I see flowers.
Finally. I’m starving."
"You’re always hungry,
Bonnie. Let’s get something to eat and then be on our way. I’ve a feeling
a storm is approaching. They say that Tarbert gets rain during two thirds
of the year and I think one of those rainy days will be today."
The butterflies sipped
their nectar from some small wildflowers and then fluttered off before the
rain came down. "I liked visiting the moon," Bonnie giggled as Harris
vanished behind them. |
