Beasties... but not timorous

Tilg mo lòn!

Welcome to CR4 and a good first post, probably the first of many I hope!!!

Then you can start "Swanning" about maybe......

Gliding through the waters of life perhaps!

Naturally!!

Being a sassenach I may have this askew, but was the wee man not referring to mouses when applying the adjective tim0rous to the noun beasties? Of course, as he was a sept of the Clan Campbell, he could easily have been referring to any member of their arch enemy the Clan Maclean.

As another sassenach but married in to an 'Auld Ayr ... bonnie lasie' I think you are right. The story I was told was that the inspiration came from his ploughing days when the ploughshare disturbed the home of a field mouse.

Personally when you hear the various politicians lay claim to 'A Mans a Man For A'That' I always like to think that we know what the Great Man thought of politicians

Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie

Describes most of them sadly

As to the original topic man has dealt with these beasties through all of recorded history I suspect its just that we sometimes forget the old lessons of how to protect and detect and allow for these beasties.

Me being a Highlander by birth, I agree fully with your comments!!

As a decendant of the McFarlane Clan, born south of the border in Co. Durham;

I had to laugh at the Beasties Life cycle.. up to five years being an Egg and Larvae, 6 weeks for the transfer from Larvae stage to Adult then 3 weeks of whoopee before kicking the bucket.

I suppose it would be like like travelling to Mars, put in a Coma for years, then 6 weeks to wake up and then rapid ageing process then kicking the bucket after 3 weeks on Mars.