Resilient…able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.
This past summer we were fortunate enough to visit England, where one of my favorite sites was Glastonbury Abbey in Somerset County. Built by the Saxons, and made even more extraordinary by the Normans, the Abbey fell victim to the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.
Over time, the Abbey was looted of its valuables, and stripped of its lead and stone which were hauled away for buildings elsewhere. By the eighteenth century, the Abbey sat in ruins, and in the nineteenth century, the site was blown apart with gunpowder and became a quarry. In 1882, the Glastonbury Abbey came under the protection of the government and has been a preserved site ever since.
It was my favorite site because walking the grounds of the Abbey, I could not help but think of how resilient are both nature and beauty. You simply cannot destroy the beauty of what was once an incredible building, crafted by talented men who loved their work. Nor can you destroy the resiliency of nature. Nothing gave me as much pleasure as viewing the flowers that grew on the remaining stones of this once magnificent structure. Life is resilient…and it always will be!
You simply cannot destroy beauty!
I Never Unpack 
I love Glastonbury Abbey – and the Tor. But I also appreciate the tough little plants that gather in the cracks between the stones in all ancient buildings exposed to the weather. Fountains Abbey is my ‘back yard’, and has a splendid collection.
Now that is an abbey half-full approach! Very nice.
It’s always interesting for us as Americans to see what real antiquities are when we travel the rest of the world! Your photos capture the site beautifully.
Thanks, Tina!