Poppies Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(other)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
A nice easy cache with fine views across the Forth Valley.
A few days ago, I was at Waverley Station in Edinburgh, and looked up just as a man walked past. He was a soldier, dressed in desert fatigues. On his back was a large rucksack and in his left hand he carried his helmet. On the side of it, there was a red bullet hole. All that was missing was a gun in his right hand. He knew where he was heading. Home. I found the brief sight profoundly moving. We see these soldiers on the television all the time, but here was just one of them returning from atrocities we can only imagine, to that of which he must have dreamed for many months. The following poem is associated with war and can be found inscribed at Eilean Donan Castle. Although it has been quoted in cache settings before, I feel it is appropriate for this one: In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved, and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders Fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders Fields. - John McCrae, 1915 So why the poppy? Flanders in Belgium had its landscape completely changed as a result of the First World War. Where buildings and roads existed, the heavy shelling and atrocious weather conditions caused mass destruction of the landscape as well as mankind. The hardy poppy was the only real survivor, as the seeds are able to lie dormant for several years without germination, and thrive in churned-up soil. The regrowth in the face of adversity became a symbol of regeneration and hope. The red colour is symbolic too of the blood shed for our freedom. Whatever our feelings about war, I hope you enjoy visiting the cache, especially in midsummer, and are able to give thought to the struggles made in order that we have the freedom to enjoy all that nature gives us. If you visit in the winter, imagine those poppy seeds waiting to regrow in the next cycle. * * * FTF: MAKOS * * *
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qvntbany
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures