Thursday, June 2, 2011

Gone Green But Now I’m Back

It’s been a while, three weeks in fact.  I’ve been away like this before but it seems that it felt longer without the Internet or a way to really know what’s going on.  We stayed in a cottage in Callingford, Ireland that is about a half an hour from Drugheda, a suburb of Dublin.  The weather was very difficult, lots of rain, lots of terrible wind that even broke large trees and it was very cool.  The bright side of it all is that it was still Ireland…it is oh so beautiful and this time we weren’t in the city…it was out in the countryside where there was little but countryside cottages like our own and hedgerows and stone walls where sheep, horses and cows and even one ostrich grazed peacefully.  It was the Ireland I’ve always dreamed of.  Come on and walk with me

 

I had to catch my bearings a little since I was used to being in the city last time.  Scenes like this lamb helped me begin to really soak up the peace of this wonderful country.  Note the barbed wire with the wool that the sheep rubbed off when they scratch themselves on the fence!  The many ewes that we saw had young ones with them…they were a joy to behold!  I never tire of the Irish green…it is in fact my very favorite color!  The hedgerows were in blossom which added splashes of color to the green.  The damp weather provides and excellent environment for vines that seem to find their way around walls and trees alike.  One day we walked and saw these interesting berries on the growing on the hedge on the side of the road…I didn’t know what they were so I just called them “cow pie berries”!  One color that surprised me quite a bit was the amazing yellow that could be seen everywhere.  I’m quite used to the mountains and pine of Montana.  The hedgerows and low rolling hills was a change for me.  Often you couldn’t see what was on the other side of these hedges for many meters then there would be a gap and you could see for miles.  White, yellow and green seemed to be the colors of the year!  Here in our state you see barbed wire most often on farms but in Ireland it’s thick rows of hedges and stone walls…often the hedges had nasty thorns in them and bushes that remind me some of our sagebrush.  Not far from our cottage we ran across what I thought was an unlikely sight!  I never thought I’d see an ostrich in Ireland!  She was quite friendly and almost always approached the fence when we walked by.  Our friend Julie was observing this ostrich and an Irishman was there who said:  “we have them all over Ireland you know.”  Julie replied:  “Really?”  to which the Irishman replied:  “no.” and walked off!  LOL!  You’ve got to appreciate the dry Irish humor!  I wonder if the ostrich was also a smart alec!  I didn’t care whether the fields were full or empty, they were always beautiful.  Occasionally a little butterfly would cross our path and land on the flowers…total photo opportunity!  This one was amazing though its colors well mirrored the flowers it was on at the moment.  My goodness, what a beautiful country!  You know what?  Mossy rocks have character!  Dublin has its doors but we had one of our very own!  Now I will walk through one of my very own and bid you all good day.  It’s great to be back, thank you all who prayed for us and have been so good to us.  I look forward to sharing more of our trip as the days go by!

18 comments:

  1. Gone green? You have your humor in tact. Good to see you post no matter where you are. I love the photos you shared to give another look see of Ireland. I see you came home to rain. Love your music playing by the way.

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  2. Oh Joe this is just what I have always thought it would look like.. breathtaking beautiful.. with so much "green".. "smile".. so happy your trip was a good.. even if the wind was harsh... but very glad your back home.. safe and sound..
    nasty here today.. but hey, its home.. soft hugs..

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  3. Welcome back Joe! Very nice pictures. I like seeing places that I will probably never go to in my lifetime.

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  4. The photos are beautiful Joe, I enjoyed the walk with you in Ireland.

    I am glad you are all home safe.

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  5. Joe, you would not believe how much your shots resemble our part of the world. Now I know why this part of the country was so popular among the Scots-Irish settlers. Glad you had a good trip and welcome home!

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  6. Welcome Back Joe. I love your photos. Stunning.

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  7. Oh, man...did I ever miss you. I am SO glad you're back. I would have been here sooner had I known you were really back and had blogged. I came to my own blog this morning finally. Last several days I wasn't here hardly and busy in the evenings. So..welcome welcome welcome. I take it everyone is well.

    I share your like of doors and gates and that one is a beauty. I love that you were in the country instead of the City. As you well know, the flavor is different and countryside in Europe is a bit different in ways that you pointed out, than ours. It makes it refreshing and new to see.

    Hope the church did well in your absence. I thought of that often. (yes, I did actually). :-)))

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  8. Joe, the pictures are just awesome. Ireland is the country my mother alwasy wanted to visit and sadly she never made it. My two daughters are saving to make the trip for her and leave her picture there. Thank you so much for sharing.

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  9. Hi There Joe
    the back ground of urs is typical Irish
    Wow ur music .....special my God
    I love the celtic music also..U do???
    The lambs are now running around Its the sign of spring.Its been now a year we visited Ireland.I saw on tv abt the cloudy weather when u and ur family where there
    But the country is beautiful.
    i close my eyes and listen to ur music..

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  10. Welcome back! It`s been a while and I trust that you and yours had a wonderful trip.
    The world is a book and those who don not travel read only one page. So true! There are still so many pages I want to explore. Thanks to your space, I get to visit some of them by taking a walk through your entries and your photos, without even getting lost or blisters on my feet. As always, your pictures are so clear... full of brilliant colours, brilliantly displayed.

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  11. Ireland is legendary for its countryside ... it`s like a little slice of heaven. Thanks for bringing some of it back to share with us!

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    ::Seth waves:: Leaving you a quick greeting and hoping that you are enjoying a relaxing afternoon.
    --> http://i55.tinypic.com/oputcp.jpg

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  13. Hey...hope things are continuing to be nice weather wise. It is waaaaay past time for you guys to get some fantastic weather the way Montana is supposed to give.

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  14. Welcome home Joe! I'm glad you spent time in the country side the last time you were at city?
    The photos are beautiful Joe, Ostrich looking at you?
    A few days ago I try to copy your way to add my family holidays photos...Guess what...
    It come out one by one as blogs it is awful...
    also I has been my comments problems.
    Hopefully this is okay:-)

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  15. Just as well that ostrich was being friendly, my cousin was attacked by one at the zoo many years back.... Thanks for sharing your photo's they look lovely....

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  16. Hi Joe,

    Great pictures enjoyed looking at them and walking round Ireland with you. I have never visited Ireland, although it is relatively close to me. But I do have some Irish blood, great grandparent and my mother visited Ireland, with me in the womb, so guess you could say, I have been there.

    Good to have you back. God Bless - Nita

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  17. Hey, Welcome home Joe. I guess I am a little late welcoming you back, but they say it is better late, than never:) I loved reading about your trip, and loved looking at all your photos along the way. It sounds like you had a great time away.
    Hope all is well.
    Thank you for stopping by the other day, and leaving your comment. Hope is doing well, and on Sunday she had 3 oral feedings at approx. 3hrs. apart. If she keeps that up, they will be able to stop giving her tube feedings which means it could come out and she possibly could come home by the end of this week or sometime next week. It has been a long hall.
    God has answered many prayers and I know He is watching over my new little angel. :)
    Well you take care and have a wonderful week, and it is nice to have you back.
    Dianne :)

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  18. I'm glad you got to make this wonderful trip with the family Joe - really been enjoying the scenic photos("-")

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