A visit to Haddo House

Mistress Talpa and I have spent an enjoyable afternoon at Haddo House.
The building in the main photograph is the estate Pheasantry. Built in 1843 by the 7th Earl of Aberdeen it was designed to be used to raise pheasants for the estate. In 1920  it was converted to accommodation for the estate staff and housed 4 families. These days it serves as classrooms for Aberdeenshire Council's country park.

The extra is a cross section of a tree felled after the great storm of last winter. It is getting on for 60 years since I last attended a class on tree plumbing and thus I am at a loss to understand the structure! I am sure, however that there are expert botanists out there who can  enlighten me!