*****
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.
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