I Like Pigeons Because Nobody Else Does

Half of us toured the city and the other half went to the titanic exhibit. Given that I have absolutely no interest in the ship, Kevin, our driver,took us around the city. I didn’t get many photos with the iPad just a few from Falls Road in the republican area. It’s an understatement to say I learned a lot on this trip, but since I’m still an ignorant tourist and didn’t grow up here, have no place commenting on this situation. If you want to know the deal, look it up on the Internet but suffice it to say, my thoughts on this are different than they were before.

This is Bobby Sands who was in prison and the first of a multitude of people to starve himself to death in protest, the second is one of the taxis that are ubiquitous throughout the city. Lots more photos in the coming weeks.

We visited Giants’s Causeway today and it was spectacular. I didn’t drag the iPad along so you’ll have to wait for good photos. Here are a few from Ballentoy harbor, a tiny little conglomerations of houses on the north coast, and my Smithwicks while I dry my shoes by the peat fire.

We are now in the town of Bushmills and just finished a tour of the distillery. The entire island is beautiful and I had no idea how much it actually varies geographically from south to north. The south has a lot more rock while the north has less.

We are now in Northern Ireland, a town called Dungannon, Grange Lodge.

We are now in Sligo staying at Markree Castle for one night. After a lifetime of reading classic literature about places like this I am actually seeing it in real life.

After a miserable 5.5 hour flight we made it to the rental house in Ennis.

Clearly, I’ve dropped the ball on this blog. I’ve been busy with school work since late January and haven’t taken too many photos outside of the rare trip to the Humane League or A Tail to Tell. But that’s all about to change because I am leaving on Wednesday for 12 days in Ireland. The time between now and then will not be pleasant – I’ve been stricken with a cold and have two finals, one just hours before departure.  I am desperately hoping the cold doesn’t develop into something worse like a sinus infection. Tough shit if it does. I’m going anyway.

Gene is staying here with the dogs while I travel with three of my uncles and their wives. For me, the whole trip will be one big photography excursion and I can’t wait. Gene just got me an iPad for my birthday and I can hardly keep my hands off of it, so there will be plenty of updates and photos from the road. The real photos, however, will be ready in the days following our return to the US as I edit them.

We’re flying into Shannon and staying in nearby Ennis for 4 days. Then we meet our driver and take off in a van with him for the rest of the trip. Here’s our itinerary:

View Ireland trip in a larger map

I’m in the process of ridding the yard of non-native plants and replacing them with natives. There’s no point in fighting something to grow and then worrying about pests that inevitably attack them. I planted a variety of native wildflowers over the last two years and the insect diversity in the garden has increased dramatically.  Not only that, but those plants are the most proliferative and healthy for obvious reasons. I do make an exception for the tulips and daffodils but they were a souvenir from Amsterdam.

Last fall I planted some Iris cristata (dwarf wild iris) bulbs and I noticed today they started to bloom. Typically these grow in small clusters which will happen over the years as they expand.

Hans is turning out to be quite the killer! We found a dead mouse with the crown of its head torn off on my office floor!  Actually, Little Buddy found it and was preparing to eat it before Gene stopped him.  I am certain it was Hans since he’s quick as a whip and has an overwhelming hunting urge and prey drive.

Violet has what we think is a herniated disk in her back and is in a considerable amount of pain even while on several different painkilers, NSAIDS and muscle relaxers. She should be ok after a few weeks of strict rest and medication.