I have returned to Scotland, where I will be taking part in a volunteer week with Trees for Life, an organization working to restore the great Caledonian Forest, which once covered much of Scotland’s now bare landscape. Many flowers are in full spring bloom, bringing a traditional Scottish song to mind. In it, a girl is asked about her love who has gone to war, the second verse goes:
Oh where tell me where, did your Highland laddie dwell?
Oh where tell me where, did your Highland laddie dwell?
He dwelt in Bonnie Scotland, where grows the sweet bluebell,
And it’s all in my heart that I love my laddie well.
I find it beautiful and significant that of all the things that could have been mentioned about proud Scotland, something as small and delicate as the bluebell was chosen.
