For dog lovers

[The moment that everyone has been waiting for arrives at the Guisachan Gathering, a kind of convention for golden retrievers, when the group photo is taken. Credit: Roddy Mackay for The New York Times]

I read today (reference 1) that from time to time there is a gathering of golden retrievers in the far north, held in the grounds of the ruined house, once owned by the inventor of the breed, one Sir Dudley Marjoribanks, later Lord Tweedmouth.

Deep in the highlands, so getting a large number of people there with their dogs and providing accommodation, entertainment and so forth must be quite a challenge.

In Street View, it all looks neat and tidy enough and there are even some street lights. But it is all very empty. A scattering of houses, some of them probably once farms or barns, and that is about it.

That said, there is a power line running roughly north and south, through the middle of the snap above, so maybe that pays some of the rent. Cunningly hidden, as I can't see any trace of it in Street View.

[one supposes the base of some huge mobile crane, something to do with large wind mills. Google Images suggests a Liebherr crane, type LHM 550, an example of which is to be seen at reference 3]

PS 1: and after the dogs, we had a piece (reference 2) about some of the many challenges involved in ramping up renewable energy in the US. It seems that despite their wealth of space and resources, they can get just as bogged down with nimbies as we can here in the UK. All those people who are all for the planet, all for green energy, just so long as they can't see it. One wonders how much of such trouble the authorities had with the power line noticed above.

PS 2: speaking for myself, I rather like power lines and their pylons - structures which are both aesthetically pleasing and useful. Although, to be fair, I don't suppose I would be too pleased if I had to live directly underneath one. My father, in tune with the cultural currents of the inter-war years, might have said that pylons offered a tremendously satisfying union of structure with function - something you do not get with many modern buildings, where expensive appearances are all too often exactly that, with the real structure of steel or concrete hidden away inside. Or indeed with many old buildings, with their fancy stone trim.

PS 3: the next day: there might be no power lines to be seen in Street View, but Google does turn up this picture of it, near Loch a' Ghreidlein, to be found roughly in the middle of the detailed map above. Looking west. Lifted from reference 4.

And another from reference 5. It looks to me as if this pylon is carrying a lot of power, with six arms rather than the usual three or four.

References

Reference 1: Why Did 488 Golden Retrievers Gather in Scotland: About every five years, owners and their dogs travel to Guisachan in the Highlands to celebrate the anniversary of the breed’s founding. This year’s edition was the biggest yet - Judith Newman, New York Times - 2023.

Reference 2: The Clean Energy Future Is Roiling Both Friends and Foes: Resistance to wind and solar projects from environmentalists is among an array of impediments to widespread conversion to renewables - Jim Tankersley, Brad Plumer, Ana Swanson, Ivan Penn, Mason Trinca, New York Times - 2023.

Reference 3: https://www.mukran-port.de/en/press/lesen/new-weightlifter-in-mukran-port.html.

Reference 4: http://tworoutes.blogspot.com/2015/10/. 'The 2015 Challenge, day 4: through Glen Urquhart to Drumnadrochit (2)'.

Reference 5: https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1033908. 'Track to Loch a' Ghreidlein: Climbing up to Sidhean Mor © Copyright Tom Richardson'.