Kelso and the Borders

I'm woefully behind on updating this with pictures for friends and family. I'll start the first installment with August, when we were living with Nath's parents in Kelso. 'The Borders' refers to the areas just north of the Scotland/ England border. It's completely beautiful with fantastic views in a similar-yet-different way that the Highlands are scenic.

A word on the photos. These were taken with my iPhone. I do not own a SLR or anything fancy. If you're a photo snob, you can check out Nath's website: Obzibo Photography. These photos are my meager attempt at capturing the moment.

View of Kelso as you're walking into town. There's lots of Kelso songs, one of which is Kelsae Bonnie Kelsae, which I've heard Nath sing. They're taught the song as school children. And it is gorgeous.

This also serves as evidence that Scotland is not "dark and cold" all the time. The first several weeks I was there had plenty of sunshine and warmth.

This was the view just opposite of the Sir Walter Scott sign. The Tweed River was quite high from tons of rain that fell in July.

 Of course a thistle.

Here we're goofing around and driving back from Edinburgh to Kelso on one of those beautiful sunny days.

Scotland has a lot of wind farms. (I'm really just documenting the blue sky here.)

Onwards to some touristy stuff!
One Saturday Nath, my Mum-in-law, and I went to Melrose Abbey which is close by and in the Borders.

This was the view from the top of the abbey. I really hate heights, so this was some dedication.

And of course we had to have tea and scones at a little cafe in Melrose.

My lovely Mum-in-law and Nath.

Lastly we took a quick trip to Smailholm Tower, a Scottish watch tower built in the 15-16th century to protect the area from English raids. The area is a farm (as it was back then I suppose), so there were quite a few docile cows around. I figured they are used to the tourists.
 It was raining quite a bit at this point, so my pictures are limited.

Okies. That's a start at least!

The beginning

An explanation:
 The observing frequency, 1420 MHz, corresponds to the wavelength of radiation produced by a quantum mechanical "spin-flip transition" in neutral hydrogen atoms. Because hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe and because 1420 MHz is a relatively quiet frequency free from sources of natural radio interference, many SETI experts think that 1420 MHz is a good place for interstellar broadcasts.  Would aliens reason the same way? There's no way to know, but the search has to start somewhere. 
 http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/1999/ast23may99_1/

 But really this isn't about astronomy.  It is more my own signal for my family and friends; a way to tether home.