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Post by LLady on Jul 31, 2005 8:14:24 GMT 10
Legend of the Thistle A very long time ago when Scotland was ravaged by Viking invaders, a group of Scottish fighting men were resting overnight in a field. Unknown to them, a raiding party was preparing to attack this group of Scots, under the cover of darkness. As the attacking Vikings approachd the encamped Scots, they stood on a patch of thistles with their bare feet and, of course, let out cries of pain as the thorns dug deep into the soles and toes. The Scots, having been awakened by this rammy, were able to fight off the attackers. So, from that day. the Thistle has been adopted as Scotland's National Emblem!
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Post by LLady on Jul 31, 2005 8:38:04 GMT 10
Suaicheantas na h-alba The Thistle O' Scotland O, the Thistle o' Scotland was famous af auld, Wi' its toorie sa snod and its bristles sae bauld; Tis the Badge o' my country, it's aye dear tae me, and thocht o' them baith brings the licht tae ma e'e. It's strength and its beauty the storm never harms; It stan's on its guard like a warrior in arms; Yet its down is as saft as the gull's on the sea, And its tassile as bricht as my Jeanie's blue e'e. O, my country, what wonder yer fame's gane afar; For yer sons hae been great baith in peace and in war; While the sang and the tale live they'll aye win respect, The lads neath the bonnets wi' thistles bedeckt. Lang syne the invaders cam owre to our shore, And fiercely our Thistle they scutched and they tore; When they maist thocht it deid, twas then it up bore, And it bloomed on their graves quite as strong as before. My blessings be yours. Is there Scotsman ava Wad stan' by and see ony harm on ye fa'? Is there gentle or semple wha lives in our land Wad refuse to drink health to the Thistle sae grand?
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Post by LLady on Jul 31, 2005 8:50:45 GMT 10
Why Scottish Thistles Grow in Jacqui's Backyard The American naturalist John Bartram wrote of how, over 200 years ago, the thistle reached America. "A Scottish minister brought with him a bed stuffed with thistle down containing some seed. Once here and having plenty of feathers, he soon turned out the down and filled the bed with feathers. The seeds from those plants soon spread across America." That's why today, in any field in America, you're apt to find Scottish thistle growing wild. If my backyard becomes overgrown I have thistles. One attacked me one day. I was pulling weeds, didn't realize the thing was hiding there, I grabbed it and then...
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Elly
Administrator
Posts: 29,887
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Post by Elly on Jul 31, 2005 17:17:47 GMT 10
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Post by LLady on Jul 31, 2005 23:52:05 GMT 10
Wonderful Jacqui, they are very nice but they do have a hell of a bite behind them You're right elly! Because I grabbed and slightly pulled I thought something had bitten me. I remember I screamed and backed up, looked at it, then gently touched it. They are beautiful but painful. I love wild flowers and actually wouldn't mind having a few in my backyard, but they would probably get out of hand really very quickly
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Post by dreamy on Aug 3, 2005 4:54:18 GMT 10
I had almost forgotten about the Legend of the Thistle, LLady. Thank you for posting that. I love thistles; I used to have a few in my garden because certain butterflies are attracted by them. Lovely to look at but painful to touch! And yes, it was a hell of a job to make sure they didn't go out of hand.
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Post by LLady on Aug 3, 2005 11:03:00 GMT 10
That's what I was afraid of dreamy. I wouldn't mind a few of them but a whole backyard of them would be too much. I have too big a backyard.
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