If you looked in here hoping to find a place to order Celtic jewelry, that is not what you'll find here. No, by "Scottish Gems" I meant something more like 'little gems of wisdom.' There are lots of things you'll find in the pages of my books that are deeply entrenched in Scotland's everyday existence and have been through the centuries ... things you can surely envision when reading about them but perhaps have never seen for real.

Those are the 'gems' I want to share. Things like peat. My story characters often enjoy the soothing warmth of a glowing peat fire, but do you really know what peat is and what it looks like? How it is harvested and used, even today? If not, that is the kind of information you'll find here.

On my long walks across the land when in Scotland, I've decided to photograph things I've used in books and that might interest you. For example, I have photos of actual peat banks used by locals, photos of the peats spread to dry, and I also visited living history museums to gather factual information about peat for you. (and for lots of other everyday things, too)

Like my "Devorgilla's Best" section, "Scottish Gems" will be a constant work-in-progress because I will add to it with each new trip to Scotland. Look for information on heather, bracken ( what it looks like, how it was gathered and used ), sphagnum moss ( it can be found all over the moors and its myriad uses have been appreciated from earliest times ), thatched cottages and their construction, food-from-the-land such as the seaware ( seaweed ) as harvested and served in BRIDE OF THE BEAST ... how it was once valued as a mainstay food source in the Western Isles.

There will also be information on Scotland's wildlife and on household and farm implements. Just a wee sampling of the simple things you'll encounter in my books. Offered as a special treat to those interested in how such things were used historically and culturally in Scotland's past. Or in seeing what they really looked like and wish to know a bit about them.

Fondly,

Perhaps nothing evokes the magical lure of the Highlands better than the simple mention of a peat fire. In days of old, during long and dark winter nights, people gathered round these softly-glowing fires. Its smoke hung heavy in the air, and they breathed in its smoky-sweet aroma as they passed the hours sharing old tales and legends. Their hands would have been busy, perhaps serving up plain but delicious victuals, perhaps twisting heather into sturdy thatching rope, perhaps playing a pipe tune to accompany a venerable bard's golden-voiced story-telling. Or maybe just lifting a cup of fine heather ale. Or, better yet, that Highland classic, the fiery and potent uisge beatha or 'water of life.' ( yes, that is whisky )

But whatever transpired, the peat fire was there. It has been, and still is an integral part of the Highland existence. And it is here that I'd like to share some photos of peat and a wee bit of information on this quintessential Highland fuel source

From time beyond mind, peat ( Gaelic moine ), has been a valued commodity in the Highlands. Even today, the faintest whiff of its distinct bluish smoke transports those lucky enough to smell it straight into another world. A place of timelessness and blessed tranquility. But for all its appeal, peat is nothing more than the decomposed and compressed remains of bog vegetation. It can be found all over Scotland's high moorlands, and more back-breaking labor goes into the gathering and preparation of it than you'd imagine.

Its layers, rich and deeply brown-black, can be as deep as twenty feet though most of it, when exposed, has an average depth of six to eight feet. The cutting of peat takes place in the spring so that an ample drying time can be assured. The first task is to clear away all surface growth, thus exposing the peat. An instrument called a cabar-lar is used for this purpose. That done, slabs or 'blocks' of peat are cut from the boggy ground using a specially-shaped peat-cutting spade called a torr-sgian

When still fresh in the ground, peat is as soft as butter. You could kneel down and lift spoonfuls quite easily. Untouched, it is often covered with a springy blanket of sphagnum moss or broad stretches of bright green bracken, and if you are not careful when walking across such moorlands, you might find yourself taking a false step and sinking clear to your knees or higher. ( yes, I know this from experience ) But do not be fooled, its harvesting is nonetheless brutally hard work and requires much care and knowledge.

Once cut, the peats ( they resemble bricks ) are spread on the ground to dry naturally in the sun. This process can take weeks and must be carefully observed. The dried peats are stacked in heaps and eventually these 'bricks' are collected in creels ( baskets ) and taken home where they will again be stacked, usually beside a house wall.

This is still down today, in Scotland's crofting communities throughout the Highlands, the crofters having the right to cut and collect peat. Even so, only enough for personal use may be gathered. The photos of peat you see here were taken during an afternoon walk of mine in the West Highlands and near a crofting community called Melvaig.

As a few last gems of information about peat, it might be interesting to know that although it glows quite prettily when burned, it does not throw much flame as a wood-burning fire will do. And also, peat is not just peat ... great care is always taken during its gathering, but in historical times when peat also provided building material for homes, that care was crucial because the varying depths of the peat layer each offered a unique quality that made it best suited for a particular use:

The top layer with its wealth of plant growth, was prized for roofing material. The middle layer ( the most pure ) provided the peat used for hearth fires. And the bottom layer, with its bits of stones and such mixed in, made excellent insulation filling in the walls.

http://www.snh.org.uk/scottish/nhighland/ns-03.htm http://www.peatproducers.co.uk/