Sorbus 'Joseph Rock'

Sorbus, otherwise known as Rowan, is usually found on hilltops and is bright green with red berries. This one, is a cultivar which has yellow berries which the birds seem to leave well alone. However, it is small and good for gardens. It was raining so much when I took the blip that I put on a big lens and shot it from the living room window.

My family name is one which is known to be one of the Border Reivers families. They lived on the borders between England and Scotland and were known for their variable lifestyle in the 15th and 16th centuries. That is they tended (or it could be said that they rustled) sheep. They were also known for supporting whichever army, English or Scottish, paid the most money, and were not generally known for their loyalty except to their families or clans.

As a consequence of this lifesyle choice, as we might say, they moved house often. They tended to build little bothies which could be left at a moment's notice. However, as everyone knows, you have to protect yourself from witchcraft, and so a rowan, known for keeping witches at bay, was planted for security at the front door of every bothy. That is why on the bleak Pennines and Border country, you can see rowans which seem to there for no reason, the bothy having disintegrated and disappeared long ago.

A rowan and a Scot's pine are my favourite trees and always remind me of the wildness of these regions and home.