The tempestuous morn - the disappearing castle



According to Matthew Arnold's poem, 'Thrysis', the tempestuous morn is meant to happen in early June.  Our June this year has been tempestuous all the way through.  Looking back at last year's posts I discover that June was drenched then as well - see Tempestuous morn in Stobo.

So, some tempestuous morn in early June,
When the year's primal burst of bloom is o'er,
Before the roses and the longest day -
When garden-walks and all the grassy floor
With blossoms red and white of fallen May
And chestnut-flowers are strewn -
So have I heard the cuckoo's parting cry,
From the wet field, through the vext garden-trees,
Come with the volleying rain and tossing breeze;
The bloom is gone, and with the bloom go I!

In the city centre there is less evidence of strewn blossom, although plenty of volleying rain and tossing breeze.  I wonder if Matthew Arnold would have worked in a disappearing castle, Scott Monument and clock tower of the Balmoral Hotel to his poem?
 



Excuse the blurry shot below, but the tossing breeze was pretty brisk at that point.  This was the only piper braving the rain, on a deserted Royal Mile.
 


The flood defences along the Water of Leith have themselves been flooded.  Below, the construction work at Canonmills on a calm day.
 


After yet more rain:
 

Comments

  1. There will be sunshine after rain ... I like especially the first pic!

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  2. It's raining cats and dogs here as well; but then that's how notorious the monsoons are.
    I love the idea of the disappearing castle, and the mist and the green create a sublime effect. Your photos are always such a delight.

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  3. I'm sure you've had quite sufficient with the rain, but it's so flaming hot here that the soggy gray of Edinburgh looks like Eden to us. Today, 102F and not a cloud in the sky.

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  4. Wow, that looks like a lot of rain, indeed!
    Thank you for introducing me to Matthew Arnold's poem, really beautiful.
    Cheers,
    Merisi

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  5. Oh how beautiful all that rain and those grey skies look from my perspective. We've got the opposite problem - you may have seen my city of Colorado Springs on the news. These are such lovely, cooling photographs.

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  6. It seems like the weather isn't cooperating this year in many places. Several blogs that I visit have talked about cooler temperatures and lots of rain. It sure doesn't make for a very nice summer. :(

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  7. I love a nice foggy rainy morning once in a while. : )

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  8. I love that 1st shot! It's hard to believe the amount of rain you are having over there!

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  9. I am sick of the weather, all we had was a few days in May and that was it-shame:( mind you we are not the only ones getting this weather though, the bridge in Newcastle got struck by lightning the other day.

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  10. Tempestuous...yes...but still beautiful!!! That top shot is wonderful!!!

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  11. I love your every pic! Oh to see a castle in my day to day life as YOU! Beautiful country you live in!

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  12. such beautiful, beautiful pictures. and i truly enjoyed that poem too. we had a storm earlier this evening here... it came and went so quickly. i wish we could retrieve some of that rain back again. we so desperately need it. it's been in the low 100s lately. hope all is well. have a great weekend~

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  13. I hope things dry out for you soon! Fog always makes for interesting photos though!

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  14. Such lovely shots. Love that first one though.

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  15. Such interesting pictues, Linda. You have had a very rainy June, haven't you? It must be that way pretty much for this time of year in Scotland. Some of the pictures are so misty with the clouds and disappearing castle. Still there were some pretty clear days and I'm glad you got some great shots when the sun was out and it was totally clear.

    I also enjoyed the poetry. It was very discriptive , indeed.

    Hope all is well with you, Linda. I would love to hear more about your children and how they are doing.

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  16. Your misty, rainy June photos are so refreshing and lovely. So is the poem, thank you for sharing that with us. A bit of mist and rain would be just what's needed here in my neighborhood today!

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  17. Thanks for posting all these, including the image-thick poem. Nice to see and almost feel the misty moistness. Alas, not more than a drop of rain here in months. Would enjoy stepping from the wet into a warm, dry pub for a pub lunch and a brew.

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  18. i hadn't heard of that poem before but it is very good and adequately describes the weather we've been having here too. great pictures!

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  19. Thank you all for the comments. The number of comments from people in North American who are suffering in drought and high temperatures make me realise that our wet climate isn't all bad. It's just that we'd like a few days of sun this year. I have bought a bumper-sized bottle of vitamin D capsules...

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  20. Oh, my heart... how can a place be so beautiful even when soggy?

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  21. Wonderfully atmospheric. I especially like the first shot from the Mound: I have never 'not' seen the castle from there before.

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  22. I love the Matthew Arnold poem; hadn't encountered it before. Your photographs are stunning - my disappearing Castlegate was a poor cousin! I've also had some comments on my "it won't stop raining" post from people elsewhere who are frying in the heat and would love some rain. I hope someday they will be able to transport water a bit more easily, to even things out. I hope the people near the flood defences are staying dry. So much misery where it's been flooding... In the meantime, yes Vit D is a good idea here!

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  23. I'll never complain about the local June gloom again (well, maybe occasionally.)
    wonderful photos (so hard to get good fog pics, I think) and so well presented.
    PS. Arnold's "Dover Beach" is one of my favorite poems -- thanks for sharing another one of his.

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  24. PSS. Hope July brings sunshine. Have a great summer no matter what the weather is.

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  25. I agree with the previous commentators and wonder how so much beauty can be seen through so much mist

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  26. Oh goodness! Far too much of the wet stuff - I will send you some of our abundance of sunshine, how is that for a deal?

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  27. Yes, lots of rain here, too ... though my friend in Maryland, USA, has too much heat. What a summer all over ... BUT first red sky at night for ages, so who knows what tomorrow may bring!

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