Birthday: Bray, Bats, and Butterfly (Chicken)

The celebration for my 59th birthday started on Friday.  We had an event planned for the evening, and Eli took the entire day off rather than having to go from work directly to the event.

As we had the whole day to work with, we headed for Bray on the L14 bus.  We were sitting across from a woman with a young child in a stroller.  Eli and I looked at each other when we heard the woman say "Oh oh, spaghettios" in an Irish accent.

I had wanted to go to Circle K for breakfast (don't judge me).  Online photos showed that they had a seating area, and the online information said their deli had vegetarian options like mushrooms and beans.  It seemed they had neither of these things, so we headed into Bray to eat at The Pantry.  We had been to the Leopardstown location of this restaurant and knew we liked the food.  I had my usual full breakfast, and Eli had his usual veggie breakfast.  He also had a cinnamon bun, and I had a chocolate donut.

As we were finishing our meal, it started to rain and pretty much rained the entire time we were walking toward the sea.  I hadn't thought to bring a rain poncho, which made for a damp experience.

At the swan sanctuary, there was a woman closer to the water, and she was pouring grain from a large bag into the shallows, swans dipping in to collect the food.  There was another woman (perhaps a relative?) standing up closer to the sea wall, and she pointed out a male swan who had flared feathers.  She said he was protecting a female from the other swans; however, she said when the female was sitting on eggs, he seemingly abandoned her and didn't bring her any food.  What a jerk.

Pigeons were flocking on the sand near the woman with the grain bag.  I had a small amount of peanuts that I threw down to them.  They determined where the peanuts had come from, so I had a gathering of them on the sea wall in front of me.  I put the remainder in my palm, and they began fluttering around me, reaching in to peck the treats from my hand.  One landed on my palm, and I had tell him I didn't have any peanuts left.

We continued up the street as I wanted to visit Back Strand.  In a Facebook post many years ago, I had asked people what they would want named for them.  Lissa had said a beach, preferably by the ocean.  So Back Strand is now known as Melissa Beach in my mind.

I picked up a rock and wrote her name in the sand near the approaching line of the tide.  We walked down the beach, encountering some pretty shells and rocks.  I found a marble and a couple pieces of sea glass which I put into my purse.

We walked back up the beach, and I saw that the water was coming in to wash Lissa's name away, as I knew it would.  Seeing her name being erased made me start to cry.  I told Eli, "I miss my friend.  She would've loved it here."

We sat and watched the water for a little while, still being harried by a steady rain, before heading back up the ramp to the street.  A couple of women with dogs in tow were coming to the beach as we were leaving, and all of the puppers looked extremely excited at the prospect of tearing around on the sand.  I hope they all had a fun visit.

The L14 bus wasn't due for 20 minutes once we got to the station, so we walked across the street to a new Polish market.  We bought two large soft pretzels and a cheese danish (we ate it later that day, and it was sooooooo good).  Standing again at the bus stop, I studied the apartment complex across the street.  One apartment had a huge garden on their balcony - lots of plants, flowers, and statuary.  There were also more plants in the large living room window that looked out over the street.

Our bus was on time, but it took us a long while to get back on the main street.  Had to sit through lots of red lights.  I told Eli I felt like I was sitting on Main Street in Elk River, trying to get across Highway 169 (I'm still a little salty that just as we left, that situation improved with the new flyovers on 169).

Once back on the main drag, we flew home in good time.

Our scheduled event for the evening was a bat walk at Airfield Estate (I wrote a bit about Airfield in a previous post).  A bat walk is exactly what it sounds like - walking around looking for bats.

We exited the LUAS at Balally and walked the short distance to Airfield.  There was no signage or information about where to gather for the event so we stood near the ticket scanners looking a bit confused.  I had printed our tickets and scanned them but the QR code was not found.  A couple minutes later, a staff member emerged from the ticket office and said the ticket gate was open and we could come in.

The walk began at 7 p.m.  We were about 20 minutes early, so we sat on a bench and enjoyed the cool breeze as we waited.

More people arrived.  They were also confused about where to go so it wasn't just us.  I was a bit annoyed when I saw a woman arrive with a child.  They have walks that are family-oriented and walks that are only supposed to be for adults.  Ours was supposed to be adult-only.  Fortunately, the young boy wasn't a menace so it turned out fine.

The guide had us introduce ourselves (as an introvert, I feel my soul leaving my body when someone leading a meeting wants people to do this) and give a bat fact if we had one.  I was first, and I said that bats are mammals.  This perfectionistic school kid was NOT going to admit she didn't know anything about bats.

We walked a bit and stopped so the guide could tell us about bats in Ireland.  There are nine species in Ireland; the estate seems to attract three species:  the Pipistrelle, the Leisler's bat, and the Daubenton's bat.  All of these bats are quite small, weighing about as much as a US quarter and only being a few inches long.  They have good-sized wingspans from 8-12 inches or so.  

We had been given hand-held detectors that would pick up the echolocation from the bats and depending upon the noise heard, it would reveal which bat was in the area.  The guide said one bat would sound like clicking noises, one would sound like holding a piece of sheet metal in both hands and moving it back and forth, and one would sound like marbles being dropped onto a hard surface.

As we were standing there, I looked down the path and saw what may've been a fox slinking into the woods.  Later in the evening, I saw what could've been a badger on the path - also may've been a cat, I'm not sure.

We wandered deeper into the estate, pointing the bat detectors toward the sky, passing by fenced-in cows and sheep.  During one stop, a chicken came strutting up to the fence and stood there.  In my head, I was like "Dude, you didn't pay for the tour.  Get outta here."

It took about an hour before we started hearing any bats.  There were some picnic tables on a grassy hill next to a big field, and many of us sat down to rest.  Someone's detector started going off, and that sent everyone into a frenzy of trying to get on the correct frequency to pick up the signal.

Eventually, we continued our walk, going through the barnyard (got to see some young pigs in the barn), and the guide stopped by a building to show us some bat houses that had been installed.  I had asked about bat houses earlier, and he mentioned we'd be seeing some closer to the end of the walk.  He said they didn't seem to get much use.  There are so many big, old trees on the estate grounds, and bats usually prefer that roosting environment over a box.

We got a lot of bat signaling in this area, and some people were actually seeing the bats flying around the tree tops.  I finally saw one flash by, and then saw one with wings extended in full flight so that was cool.

It had started to rain as we reached the end of the event, and we walked back to the LUAS stop to make the journey home.

It was a quiet day on Saturday.  We thought about getting pizza but shelved that idea as we don't have the best luck dealing with the local pizza establishments.  We've tried more than one, and they either forget something we ordered, give us the wrong thing, give us a pizza that looks like it was carried vertically, take forever to arrive and seemingly shut off the phone to their restaurant so we can't even call for any updates.  We just chilled and watched soccer instead.

I had suggested on Saturday that we replace Saturday-night pizza with Sunday-morning Nando's.

We got there a few minutes past their 11 a.m. opening time, and there was only one other family there.  At some point, the parents sang "Happy Birthday" to the toddler; I was tempted to go over there and tell that child that all the best people are born in September.

I got my usual:  butterfly chicken, peri-salted fries, and garlic bread.  Eli and I each ordered the bottomless soft-serve ice cream whereby they give you a little bowl, and you can fill it with as much ice cream as you'd like.  I had planned to eat a bowl of ice cream before my meal, just to ensure I'd have room in my stomach for it....and the ice cream machine was broken.  One of the staff tried to get it to work, but it was a no-go.

Renata (the hostess who had seated us and who had tried to fix the ice cream machine) offered us unlimited scoop ice cream to replace the soft serve, so we took her up on that.  It was sooooo good - very creamy and very vanilla-y.  She gave each of us two large scoops and said to let her know if/when we wanted more.  After the meal and that much dessert, neither of us could eat another bite.  Renata came over to see if we wanted more, and we were both like "We want to say yes....but we've gotta say no."  She was very attentive and personable, just a delight.  So despite the soft-serve situation, it was a win-win - good food and good service.

We walked down Main Street to visit Polonez, the Polish shop we like.  We got more of the cheese danishes like those we'd found at the shop in Bray, chocolate chip mini-loaf cakes, and some differently flavored chips (mine are garlic, Eli's are forest mushroom).

Eli wanted to get some steps in, so he said he was going to walk down the tram line for a bit.  I took the trip back home solo.

Maybe it's true for others, but I find that I get introspective when my birthday rolls around, and I thought about how crazy this life can be with all of its twists and turns.

If someone had told me in 2022 that by the time I hit 59, I'd have spent three birthdays while in Ireland and four birthdays without my best friend....well, I would've thought that person was high.

Friends and family are always so effusive and generous in wishing me good tidings on my birthday.  It makes me feel guilty that despite all the love, I can't help but feel the absence of greetings from my bestest.

We should've been able to celebrate more birthdays together.  It makes me sad that we didn't get the chance.

More Bits and Bobs

On Saturday, one of our neighbors (from the house with all the flowers, not the house with all the door slammers) came calling.

She was bearing gifts:  A huge slice of chocolate layer cake and some brownie-ish little round treats that had a small square of cheese on top.  She said that the goodies were from a Filipino bakery they enjoy (I believe she and her family are Filipino).

We chatted with her a bit, and she thanked me for the kind letter I had written a month or so ago about how much I was enjoying all of the flowers and plants they have in front of their house.  If I heard her correctly, she said they posted the letter on their fridge.  🙂

I didn't try any of the brownie-like treats, but the cake was sooooo good.  I told Eli I wanted to have a tub of the frosting because it was so tasty.  I wouldn't use it to frost anything - I'd just eat it right from the tub.

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Also this weekend, there were pockets of time when someone was playing music.  We could hear the thump-thump-thump of a bass line, even over the sound of our TV.  Lower frequency sounds tend to travel farther so I did multiple laps around our block, trying to pinpoint the source of the noise.

I have very good hearing, and I'm quite sensitive to sound.  Hearing that repeated thump was driving me up the wall.  I was getting more and more stressed by it, and it was particularly maddening because I couldn't find from where it was coming.

Eli went out and also walked around the block to see if he could tell which house was producing the noise.  He said he was pretty sure it was our neighbor (the house with all the flowers, not the door-slamming house).

Yesterday, it was quiet all day.  But once someone came home from work, the thumping started up again.

I hate confrontation.  I will go out of my way and actually allow myself to come to harm in trying to avoid it.  But my skin-crawling irritation overrode my confrontation phobia, and I went over and knocked on the door.

There are six people living in this house:  an older married couple (the person who brought us treats was the wife of this pair) and two of their younger daughters as well as a husband of one of the daughters and their baby.

One of the daughters answered the door, and I politely asked if they were playing music.  She said they were, and I politely asked if they could please lower the volume.  I said the bass was bleeding through the walls and bothering me.  She said they would indeed turn down the volume.

My heart was racing when I got back home, but I was proud of myself for my accomplishment.

It was all well and good for about two hours, and then the music started back up again.  Granted, it was softer but that stupid annoying bass line was still bothering the hell out of me.

Eli was home by this time, so I said it was HIS turn to go over and have a conversation.  He went out and was back in about a minute.  The matriarch of the household was just coming home, so he was able to chat quickly with her about the situation and a few minutes later, there was quiet again.

I hate the necessity of this type of thing. I don't want to get the reputation of being a complaining bitch of a neighbor who gripes about every little thing, the wet blanket who smothers the joy of others.  And I felt guilty for putting my own needs (quiet) above the needs (listening to music) of someone else.  But the noise was honestly making me want to jump off the roof, and I have to keep telling myself it was for my own good.

Unfortunately, there are just some things that you forfeit when you live in proximity to others.  I love listening to loud music and singing along, but I don't do that here because I want to be respectful of the people around me.

I just hope I didn't cause any ill will because that's never my intention.

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Another thing causing me annoyance over the past few days has been our broadband service.  You may remember the nightmare we had last year while trying to get hooked up to internet services.  We couldn't get fiber broadband so we had to settle for non-fiber broadband with a company called Three.

There were times it would be glitchy, but unplugging the hub for a few minutes usually fixed the issue.  Not so much lately.

It's nearly impossible to watch a TV show or sporting event when the picture freezes every few seconds and/or the show vanishes and you get a "technical fault" message.

We switched our mobile phones to Vodafone, and we are switching our broadband from non-fiber with Three to fiber with Vodafone.

Imagine my surprise when we signed up over the weekend, and we already have an installation appointment for Friday.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the installation goes smoothly and that having a fiber connection makes the service more stable.

*************

The library was holding a couple books for me, and I had some to return, so I made that journey yesterday.

Waiting for the tram on my way to the library, I was sitting by a young woman who was rummaging around in a very full tote bag.  She dropped her phone, and I moved to retrieve it as she had her hands full.

She apologized with a "Sorry" (it cracks me up that in Ireland, people apologize for really no reason - reminds me of being in Minnesota).  I said it looked like she had her entire life packed in that bag.

"I wish I were the type of student who could just carry around a laptop and that's it," she said.

I asked what school she was attending, and she said she was going to a fashion school.  I further engaged her in conversation, asking how she'd gotten interested in fashion.  She said she'd always loved fashion and loved to sew, crochet, and knit.  I said I was terrible at all of those things and envied people who had that gift.

I pinned her accent as either Australian or South African so I asked if she had been in Ireland a long time.  She said she'd moved from Australia about three years ago, and I asked if she liked it here.

I mentioned missing the seasons, and particularly missing the snow.  She had said she was crocheting a hat with an attached scarf as it was cold here sometimes.  I said, "I'm from Minnesota so the temps here aren't something I call 'cold.'"  She said she could tell I was from Minnesota because of my accent.

So we had a nice chat in the five minutes it took for the tram to arrive.  I wished her luck in her classes, and we parted ways.

*************

We have a large cat track toy on the floor in the living room.  This morning, Norris was sitting near it and watching something intently.  I figured it was a bug or a spider so I went to check.

It was a giant house spider.  And when I say giant, I mean giant.  The following is not a photo of me, just something I found on the internet so as to show how large these behemoths can be:

They're actually in people's houses year-round, but they're more noticeable around September when the males start actively seeking a mate.  They're venomous but aren't usually interested in biting humans unless they feel threatened; and their venom isn't much of a danger to people.

I moved the track toy, and the heavy ball rolled over this guy and didn't slow him down a bit.  He finally moved out of the toy and onto the floor.  I had my spider grabber firmly in hand, and it took me a couple tries to capture him.  Did I mention these guys are extremely fast?  They can move about 1.5 feet in a second, and it's hard to catch something that's sprinting away from you like that.

I eventually nabbed him and tossed him outside.

I don't mind spiders but they startle and spook me a bit when they're this big.

Gonna be a long month.

Bits and Bobs

It's been nearly a week since the incomparable Dolly Parton left her tired butterfly wings behind.

Tuesday night, I had been off my computer for a little while.  As Eli was scrolling, he asked if I had seen the news about Dolly.  When he said she had died, I started to cry and I said, "I hate this timeline!"

I cried most of the day on Wednesday, nearly inconsolable as I read tribute after tribute on social media.  I was more a fan of Dolly the person than of Dolly the artist.  Don't get me wrong, I think she was very talented and I enjoyed her songs.  But for me, my grief was caused by the fact that in a world of smothering darkness, we lost yet another bright light.  It angers me when kind people are snatched away while evil-doers continue to lurch around this planet.  It's not fair and it's not right.

We donated $185 to her Imagination Library:  $92.5 (nine-two-five) from each of us.

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For the better part of a year, THIS has been what the view out our front windows has looked like:

The construction company building new housing ripped out the adjacent meadow a couple of weeks after we moved in and eventually put up a dark brown corrugated fence that looked like the one in this photo.  Considering it was only about 10 feet from our front door, you couldn't help but notice it.  I felt like we were living inside a dumpster.

Imagine our delight when they removed this stupid fence last Thursday!  Even better, there's a strip of land between our walkway and the asphalt road/path in front of the new houses, and they've planted a ton of flowers, trees, and bushes in that strip.  Yesterday, a flock of house sparrows flew in, digging around in the new dirt and checking out the greenery.

So even though we lost the meadow, we've thankfully gained a variety of flora that will be nice to look at and will hopefully attracts birds, bunnies, and other creatures once construction is done.

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Over the last couple of months, Ireland had been in an extreme drought.  Shades of brown started taking over the Emerald Isle and sporadic wildfires were popping up every week.  The government enacted a hosepipe ban (a watering ban) in an effort to conserve water.

Within the last few days, the rain gods decided to pay the moisture arrears that had accrued during those two or three months which is good.  But they decided to repay the debt all at once which was not so good.  We had one night where the rain was just bucketing down; fortunately, we'd had a little rain in the days prior so the ground was softer and more receptive to the deluge.  Some areas in Ireland, like Killarney, experienced major flooding.

Hopefully the weather will arrive at some kind of equilibrium soon and our rainstorms will be a bit more measured.

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As you may remember, I've been feeding the birds for a few months.  It didn't happen all at once, but I've since accumulated a flock of pigeons who visit daily.

I know some people hate pigeons, calling them "flying rats" and so forth.  I think those people should feel like they're stepping on LEGOs the rest of their lives because pigeons are delightful and gorgeous creatures.

A couple of days ago, one pigeon was standing near the smaller feeding station I put out, and he was not interested in sharing the seed with anyone else.  Another pigeon tried to sneak in, and the first pigeon wasn't having it.  He grabbed the second pigeon by the feathered nape of his neck and proceeded to drag him around the yard, much like a stern mother pulling her kid around by his ear.  The beleaguered bird flailed his wings but did not squawk.   Even when they're upset or feeling territorial, they simply coo.

Our door to the back garden is full glass with a shade we can lower for privacy.  This morning, I lifted the shade so I could open the door and put some food out for the day.  One pigeon saw the shade go up, so he flew over and hovered in front of the door, staring at me and silently telling me to hurry up.  I wasn't fast enough so he repeated his hover two or three more times, flying to the ground when I finally opened the door.  He waddled along beside me and hopped up to perch on the edge of the feeder while I dumped in the seed and peanuts.

How can you hate on a creature who does that??

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Eli has a birthday coming up in November.  I told him, "I know what I'm getting you for your birthday - a weekend without me!"  🤣

To be fair, Eli is not the type who craves alone time.  For me, it's a necessity.  I HAVE to have stretches of time where it's just me alone in the house.  Eli is rarely home by himself as I either don't go anywhere or if I do leave the house, we're usually doing something together.

I enjoyed my December sabbatical so I felt it was time for another.  I like to plan these for a weekend so the cats won't be alone for long periods of time.

Clayton Hotel-Charlemont didn't have any weekend availability for the room I had last year, so I shifted my search to Clayton Hotel-Leopardstown, which is where my mom and her friend Barb stayed when they visited in April.  It doesn't have the same historical gravitas as the Charlemont location (or the same huge tub in the bathroom), but it should be fine.

I booked a Junior Suite mostly because that was the only style of room that had a mini fridge.  I like to save money by taking food/snacks I can eat for lunch and/or dinner, so it's always nice to be able to include some chilled items.

I sent an email to the hotel, asking which floor(s) the Junior Suites were on.  Their response was that this type of room can be found on floors 2 through 6.

If you know me, you're aware that I'm claustrophobic, and I avoid elevators when possible.  When Mom and Barb visited, their room was on the 5th floor, and I nearly had a stroke walking up all those flights of stairs.

Fearing that I'd be stuck on the damned 6th floor, I wrote back to the hotel, stating that I have a hate relationship with elevators and asking if I could be assigned the suite on the second or third floor.  A lovely representative took care of this for me, letting me know she'd reserved the second-floor suite for me.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this reservation holds so I can easily take the stairs and avoid the elevator.

Eli was amused by my assertion that I was doing this so he could have a weekend to himself.  I told him it was a win-win as we both would receive a gift.  😉

Disney Princesses and Blood

I had the best day today, which is interesting considering it started out with blood.

But before I explain, here's some backstory.

In January, I visited my new doctor so I could get refills of prescriptions I take for ongoing conditions, one of which is hypothyroidism.  This entailed a blood test to check my thyroid levels.

For whatever reason, I much prefer having blood drawn from my hand. This doesn't bother me as much as having it taken from my arm.

The nurse doing the lab work in January adamantly refused to draw from my hand.  I don't know if she were untrained/unskilled regarding that site or had a professional objection to it or what.

She applied the tourniquet, and it was painfully tight.  I usually experience some discomfort from this step, but this was outright pain.  And it seemed to me that the thing was on for an extended period of time.

The needlestick was quite forceful, and it left me with a large bruise.  I usually have a bit of bruising after a blood draw, but this was excessive.

In order to check the efficacy of the medication, I was supposed to have returned in March so another thyroid test could be run to see how things were going.

I did not return.

I kept putting it off and putting it off.  I thought I was procrastinating because I hate having blood drawn.  However, that didn't quite seem like the entire story so I did a little more reflection....and realized I didn't want to go back because I didn't want that nurse to attend me again.

After some hemming and hawing, I wrote a letter to my doctor to explain the situation. I said I didn't want to change clinics so I hoped we could find a resolution.  I also explained that the reason I was writing a letter for his eyes only was because I didn't want to send an email that other staff would see, which might cause some discomfort or embarrassment.

He reached out to me - wrote me an email that he said he'd delete immediately so no one else would see it.  He said that either he or the other doctor at the practice could do the blood draw or that I could have it done at a hospital.  I wanted the procedure to stay in-house so they would get paid for it, so I scheduled an appointment to see him this morning.

Friends, he was so kind and understanding.  He gently scolded me and said I should've told him this a while ago. I said, "You don't understand how my brain works. I didn't know WHY I didn't want to come back until I actually dug down a few layers and determined the root cause."  He said I certainly could've had the procedure done at a hospital, but I said I wanted them to be able to be paid for it.  He said that wasn't that important, and I was like "Oh yes it is!  Money is money!"

He drew from my hand, and the experience was leaps and bounds better than what had happened with the nurse.  No issues, my vagus nerve didn't freak out and try to make me faint, it was completely fine.  (Which is good considering I'll need to go back in another couple months to check my levels again.)

At the beginning of the visit, I had presented him with two containers of mini muffins.  I said that everyone was so kind there, and I wanted to surprise the office with treats.  I said, "I didn't want to give them to the receptionist because he seemed a little shifty, and I didn't know if he could be trusted to share them."  My doctor smiled and said, "Gavin is married to Dr. Niamh (the other doctor at the practice).  And yes, you're probably right."

As he was taking me back to the reception area, he passed the muffins to Gavin and mentioned that I had brought them in.  Gavin expressed his gratitude, which I accepted before grinning and stating I didn't give them to him because I didn't think he could be trusted to tell anyone else about them.  He laughed and said, "You're right."

Eli was off work today as he had an appointment in Dun Laoghaire, so we grabbed the bus at the Ballyogan stop and were off.  I'm telling you, even if I enjoyed driving, you could not pay me enough to drive one of those double-decker buses on some of these routes.  The roads to Dun Laoghaire (and other cities on the coast) are very narrow, there is traffic coming at you in the opposite direction (which is sometimes another huge bus) and there are cars parked on the shoulder.  That's a big nope on my part.

We got there early and walked toward the harbor, planning to kill a little time sitting there and watching the water.

There was a seawall right behind the bench we were parked on, and I glanced back to see some starlings perched there.  I began talking to them, as more arrived to perch on the top of the wall.  I carry bird-safe peanuts with me so as I was taking the bag out of my purse and pouring some in my hand, I said, "Will any of you guys come down and eat from my hand?"

AND THEY DID.

DISNEY PRINCESS TIME.

Starlings don't have large beaks so they were having trouble eating the peanuts.  A couple of them landed on my hand but couldn't make much headway with the treat.  So I scattered the handful of nuts on the ground near my feet, and they were not shy about getting close to us.

Even though they couldn't swallow the peanuts, a couple of them grabbed a nut and hurried away with it, as though to say "I can't eat this, but I don't want you to have it either."

Using my shoe, I crushed up the peanuts and boy, that did the trick.  They were squeaking and chittering and darting in to peck at the smaller shards.  I told them I was going to drop more and crush them again but not to be afraid, and none of them really retreated when I moved my foot.

I told the flock that I needed to go, and the majority of them flew away.  There were still a couple sitting on the seawall, watching very intently.  Eli and I stepped on a couple of wayward intact peanuts and pointed it out to them, and they flew down and started eating.

I really wish I'd had Eli take a video because it was pretty special.

Eli's appointment didn't take long, and then we were off to Nando's for lunch.  I still don't know how they manage to make plain ol' chicken taste so darned good.  It never looks like an overwhelming amount of food - one chicken breast, a handful of fries, and two pieces of garlic bread - but I was stuffed and had to split the last piece of garlic bread with Eli.

As we were leaving, there was a couple right outside the front door, and the woman asked if this were a good place to eat.  I said, "I don't know how they make chicken taste so good but they do!"  She asked what I'd had, and I told her I'd gotten the butterfly chicken with medium peri-peri sauce.  I told Eli later that I hoped they had a good experience and enjoyed it as much as we had.  I also told him Nando's owed me some money for providing free advertising.

Near the bus stop, there's a hole-in-the-wall place called Teddy's which sells ice cream.  I had always wanted to try it, and today we got our chance.  I had a plain cone, and Eli had the 99 - which is a plain cone with two pieces of Flake stuck in it (Flake is a candy bar).  I could've cried - it tasted just like Dairy Queen.  Same texture and everything.  Sooooo good.  I'm only sorry we had to slam it down because the bus was coming in a minute or two, and they don't want people eating on the bus.  Next time, we'll get cones when we can take time to actually enjoy them fully.

The S8 bus dropped us off at the Sandyford LUAS stop and happily, our tram to return home showed up one or two minutes later.  We had pretty good transport luck today.

As we were walking up the path to our house, there was a woman coming in the opposite direction.  She had one leash but it split into three short leads at the end, each one attached to a fuzzy white dog.  I said, "It's Cerberus!"  (Cerberus is a three-headed dog in Greek mythology.)  All three doggos were very excited about the prospect of getting pets from complete strangers so we spent a few moments loving on them before heading for the house.

All in all, it was a good day.

Tale of Two Parks

We visited two parks within the past couple of months, and I never sat down to write about them.  Thought I'd remedy that right now.

On March 8, I made my first visit to Ticknick Park which is a short walk from our house.

We saw a couple of kitties on the walk there.  One was huddled outside a patio door; I don't know if he lived there or if he were a stray looking for food/warmth.  The other kitty was inside one of the houses and had the most gorgeous sea-green eyes.

Someone's small front garden had some tulips and a butterfly bush, and there were daffodils lining the trail to the park entrance.

There are slopes in Ireland that seem almost imperceptible....until you're at the top and you feel your legs burning.  The road to Ticknick had one of those.

But near the top of the slope, I was rewarded with some pony frens who were out chilling in a pasture.

There was some signage which talked about bats.  They apparently have some bat houses up and said to look for them.  I didn't see any, but I didn't go that far into the park.

While Eli walked the trail, I went into a copse and found a spot to lie down and look up through the trees.  I was craving nature, craving a quiet spot where I could just listen to the wind and the birds and the land.

I couldn't get as connected as I wanted, distracted by the steady whoosh of cars going by on the M50.  Even so, I put my hand on the bare ground and cried, trying to absorb the steadiness of the earth.

Last autumn, Ticknick experienced a fire so there were patches of burned bushes and trees, which always makes me sad.  In the copse, many trees had been cut down.  I don't know if they did that as fire mitigation or what.

On June 20, we decided to visit the park near the Milltown LUAS stop.  It was mostly cloudy and a bit warm.

As we waited for our train, a tram heading in the opposite direction pulled up.  There was a baby sitting by the window, just staring at Eli.  Eli waved at him and as the tram pulled away, the baby finally waved back.

We walked to Grace O'Donnell Memorial Park on a willow-canopied trail that ran along the River Dodder.  Lots of people and their puppers were also out on the trail, and we had to step aside multiple times for joggers to pass by.

I bet you didn't know there were wild rhinos in Ireland, did you?  Here is the proof:

Apparently, this statue was installed during the middle of the night back in 2002.  No one knows where it came from; no one has taken responsibility for it.

At least in this area, the river was only about knee-deep.  There was a man and his dog in the water.  The man was throwing large rocks for the dog to chase.  Pupper thought this was a tremendous game - he'd run to the spot of the splash, then look back at his owner expectantly.  Owner would toss a rock in the opposite direction, and doggo would happily gallop through the water to reach the spot where it landed.

On the map, this waterfall is named both Ritu Falls and Dartry Park Waterfall.  In the second photo, you can see two ducks who were standing in the falls.  I imagine they were finding insects, small fish, or plant matter as they stayed there quite some time.

  

There was a couple walking a pair of dogs as we stood near the falls.  We always ask if we can engage with any doggos we encounter so we gave them a good pet.  Our accents betray the fact that we're probably not from Ireland, so the guy asked where we were from.  

We said we were from Minnesota in the US.  He said something about Trump, and I said, "We're here to get AWAY from that idiot."  And the guy smiled ruefully and with great understanding.

A tree near the waterfall had this cool fungus/shelf mushroom thing going on.  I thought it was pretty so I grabbed a photo.

There's a pub called The Dropping Well near the park, and right at the edge of the parking area, there's a shipping container that was turned into a coffee kiosk called Box'd.

We had passed behind it during our walk to the falls, and there was a cut-out of an ice cream cone on the back wall.  As we were leaving the park, we went around to the front side of the kiosk to get an ice cream treat.

There was a hand-written sign taped to the window stating that the ice cream machine was broken.

Eli looked at me and said, "Is Box'd Irish for McDonalds?"

The Birds

In my previous post, I mentioned that I had started putting food and water out for the birds.  Let me provide an update on how things are going.

This guy showed up.  It's only the second time I've seen a gull visit, which seems odd to me.  It's easy food, and none of the other birds dare approach while these big boys are around.

A couple of minutes after the gull departed, this happened.

I think we're gonna need a bigger boat.

This seems ominous for some reason, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

This and That

I haven't written anything for a little bit so I thought I'd better post some content.  Gotta keep my readers engaged, after all.

*****

A couple of weekends ago, we went to the Royal Marine Hotel in Dun Laoghaire, as it was hosting a pop-up market.  We had remarkably good bus-luck.  Got off the tram at Sandyford and our S8 bus arrived about four minutes later.

There was very little traffic heading into Dun Laoghaire, which seemed odd for an almost-Summer Sunday.  Maybe everyone was in church.  I wasn't complaining.

The market was being held on two floors of the hotel's conference space.  It wasn't too crowded so we were able to get close to the vendors' tables.  I always find myself getting overstimulated at these things - so much to look at, and I have a tough time zeroing my focus in on one particular area.

The only thing we bought were a couple of sweet treats from a vendor.  Some items are so pricey.  Don't get me wrong - I don't begrudge a creator for their pricing because I know a lot of work goes into some of these treasures.  However, I don't have €900 to spend on a painting of sheep, sir.

We ate our treats under a gazebo near the library and then walked along the coastline toward the bus stop.  The L25 bus came a few minutes later so we took that back into Dundrum rather than waiting for the S8.  At this point, there was a LOT of traffic headed toward Dun Laoghaire so I was glad we went when we did.

Eli wanted to go to the Polish market in Dundrum, so we headed there after getting off the bus.  He had been there before, I had not.  You wouldn't think I'd find much in a Polish market that I'd want to eat, but you'd be wrong.  I could have spent SO MUCH MONEY there.  It was a little tricky as many of the labels were in Polish; next time I visit, I'll need to employ a translator on my phone so I know exactly what I'm buying.

A school near Tully Park was having its annual festival which promised fun and food and ice cream and raffles, so we planned to head there in the afternoon.

There was a threat of rain so they moved everything indoors, which I didn't think would pose a problem.  But it very definitely posed a problem.

There was one entrance/exit open, and yet people felt it would be a grand idea to hang out on the stairs, blocking the way.  Once inside, it was chaos as you can imagine.  Hordes of children strung out on sugar and stimulation, people everywhere to the point you couldn't actually get near anything, no organizers handling traffic control to make things flow more smoothly.

We lasted about a minute, and then we were out.  Eventually.  After having to fight our way through idiots loitering around the entrance and the stairs.

Sorry, Cherrywood Educate Together National School.  We'll try again next year when maybe you'll be able to set up outdoors.

*****

I got some plant pots and soil about a month ago.  I'm sick of looking at this stupid construction wall and wanted to have something pretty to see instead.

I bought some bee bombs, which are flower seeds encased in little balls of clay.  You're supposed to be able to just throw them on the ground and as the clay gets worn away by rain, the seeds will take root.

Some of my bee bombs have appeared to be....well...a bomb.  I'm not sure if the clay isn't wearing away or what; I'm hopeful that maybe they'll break down at some point and release their seeds.  I do have some little green sprouts coming up so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll turn into actual flowers at some point.  I should've just bought loose seeds as they may've germinated more quickly.

*****

In their infinite wisdom, builders in Ireland (and much of Europe) have determined that there's no need to put window screens on any structure.  Most places don't have air conditioning and some places (like ours) don't even have a handling system to move air around, so people are made to open their screen-less windows if they want to be comfortable.

As you can imagine, bugs are delighted by this situation.  I do have to say, however, that we don't seem to have TOO many critters entering our home on a regular basis.  Until yesterday.

A bumblebee managed to bumble in through the ajar window, getting more and more agitated as she smacked up against the glass, buzzing furiously.  The noise activated Norris from his nap, so I was conversely trying to keep him away from the window and trying to keep the bee close to the window.  I got a piece of paper and attempted to shepherd her out, and she wasn't having it at first.  I was like "C'mon, honey, move a few inches to your right, and you'll be free."

Finally she figured things out and went buzzing away.  I shut the window after that.

*****

It has been hot here this week.  Granted, I realize that "hot" is a relative term.  It's been in the mid/upper 70s - unsure if it hit 80 here or not.  I know that Minnesota is currently staggering under temps in the 80s and 90s so my kvetching about 77 seems weak.

However, on sunny days when it's this warm, it feels like the sun is right on top of your head.  We're talkin' "I feel like I'm wearing a hat made of lava."

Eli and I have mused about this phenomenon.  We didn't know if it felt this way because Ireland is farther north than Minnesota or what.  That didn't seem like a complete or satisfying answer so I did a little research.

And yes, the sun DOES feel hotter here.  Ireland has a maritime climate, and it's constantly being swept by ocean breezes.  This removes a lot of pollution from the atmosphere, so the sunlight isn't filtered by dust and another particulate matter.  On one hand, yay, less pollution; on the other hand, the sun here is trying to kill me.

*****

Our backyard (or garden, as they call it here) is bereft of anything nature-like or beautiful.  It's got ugly wooden fences and a carpet of fake grass.

I HAVE to have nature around me.  At our house in Minnesota, we had nearly an acre of grass and trees.  Lots of critters came through - squirrels, chipmunks, birds, rabbits, deer (we were honored many times by Mama Deer leaving her baby in our yard because it felt safe to her).

Here....ugly wooden fences and fake grass.

So a few days ago, I started putting out food and water for the birds.  I didn't want to spend a lot on supplies - bought a Pyrex roasting pan for €10 to use as a birdbath and jury-rigged a cheap seed starter tray to a cupboard riser with unfurled paper clips to use as a feeder.  Put some seed and bird-safe peanuts out, filled the bath, and waited.

It took a little while for my efforts to be noticed but since then, we have been quite the hit.

The crows found it first, and they've been stuffing themselves with peanuts.  I'm still waiting for one of them to bring me a sparkly gift though.  Get on that, corvids.

We also have magpies pop in every now and again.  They don't seem as frequent as the crows, unless I just haven't seen them come in.

The group most thrilled with the set-up is the starlings.  Sometimes there will be one or two out there, but they enjoy showing up in double-digit numbers.  I think I counted 11 of them one day.

They're amusing to me because there will be "babies" out there (I put the word "babies" in quotations because they're the same size as the adults).  They will literally be standing on top of the seeds, beaks open and shrieking for an adult to feed them.  Sometimes they'll hop out of the feeder, go perch on the lip of the birdbath....and scream to be fed.

And they LOVE the water.  I haven't noticed the crows drinking, but the starlings are all about sipping the water and then getting in for a proper bath.  It looks like we've got a sprinkler going because they get some good height on those splashes.

This has also been good enrichment for the cats, who usually don't have much to look at here.  They'll perch near the backdoor or on the windowsill, ek-ek-eking at the birds coming and going.  That's been an added bonus.

Today for the first time (that I've witnessed), we had a gull getting a snack and a drink.  Patrick saw him fly in and jumped up on the windowsill.  The gull flinched but then just stared at Patrick and didn't budge.

And this is what I have to say:  Y'all, gulls are H-U-G-E.