Ar ais go Ciarraí

 If all goes according to plan, by this time tomorrow, I'll be west of Dingle. 

I bought these postcards the first time I went to Dingle which was sometime last century.

In other news, Wordle is suspended as my PC won't fit in my suitcase. I have a winning streak of 103 and must begin afresh on my return to County Antrim.

Coill na Baice to Trá Lí

Last Friday Zoë and I went on a rail journey. I'd been worried as Storm Eunice was ongoing but somehow we managed to dodge it the entire trip. Belfast was blue skies, Dublin even bluer skies. There was a flurry of rain as we passed through Tipperary and Tralee was a bit blustery. 

Obviously, the purpose of our trip was to visit Kerry Sister and the family, most especially Seánaí, her brand new grandson.

Great Aunt Nelly and the child. Taken by ZB?

We had four nights west of Dingle and it was a lovely time. The new baby was a beautiful darling and our hosts were definitely the mostest.  And there were dogs. I always feel most at home where there are dogs.

The journey home went well too. Home last night just after eight o'clock. I was tired but today I'm enlivened. I can still feel the weight of Séanaí in my arms and the soft silk of his dark hair against my face. It was such a good outing, family, stories, dogs and a new bambino. What could be nicer?

And I learned a few new things about knitting too. And finished A Pin To See The Peepshow.

 

Drumrankin, Drumkeeran, Dublin and Dingle.

 On Monday night I put the moth trap out and captured just two yellow underwings. It's not advisable to catch moths on consecutive nights as it prevents them from feeding and breeding. But... two yellow underwings. Against my own (and Rachael's) advice, I tried it again last night. The trap I'm using at the moment isn't that efficient but I'll take that as a good thing. The moths are fine without being trapped and I do get to see a few nice specimens.

This one is a burnished brass, not uncommon and really beautiful. There were two of them. Here's hoping they were male and female and will be out there tonight, making sweet, sweet love. 

This was the only photograph I managed that didn't feature an egg carton so that's the one to share. Who needs to see yellow underwings at rest? They only look good when they're on the move. 

This beauty, a Gold Spot, was in the trap four days ago. The best picture I got was of the moth positioned on my hand. Unfortunately, my hand looked as if was attached to a drowned cadaver so far too vain to show that one. Have to make do with the grey egg box shot.

It was another scorching day. Sometime in the afternoon, the clouds began to gather and there were distant rumbles of thunder. The rain never came, just a couple of spits in the early evening. I'd be glad to see a shower and so would my flower and vegetable beds. As always, the fine weather brings out the heavy grass harvesting plant. The machines rolling through this yard get bigger every year. Just a few branches ripped off the horse chestnut and a gate post knocked over. Thankfully, the dogs know to stay out of the way.

We had visitors this afternoon, a couple of younguns, Emma and James who'd never stroked a hen before. Dolours obliged them. Dolours is moving around more and can now travel about four metres. She's eating and drinking well, pecking at vegetation and searching out insects. I am thinking of applying for a Carer's Allowance. 

In other news, I am delighted that Ganching will be visiting Nellybert for a couple of days. She is doing a tour of all four Ireland-based siblings. Drumrankin, Drumkeeran, Dublin and Dingle. Exciting times. It's a ridiculously long time since we've been together. 

Two Joeys And A Dog Eating Nuts

Over the past few days I've been sorting out a few boxes of mementos, bits and pieces belonging to my mother, Pearlie and myself. That drawing was among Matty's keepsakes. It is, of course, the view from her kitchen window and features her beloved birds feeding on the bird table. There appears to be a squirrel there too. The artist, Matty's granddaughter, was very skilled at drawing birds as they are very recognisably a robin and a blue tit. Her squirrel might have needed a bit of extra work as, at first glance, I thought it might be a small dog. But enough of my carping criticism - the picture is charming and Matty must have thought so too, to have kept it for at least a dozen years.

The postcard from Dingle was given to Matty by Katy so must be more than 20 years old. I wonder how many of those shop fronts are still the same. The last time I visited, nearly five years ago, An Cafe Liteartha was still going strong.

And this from among Pearlie's memorabilia - a Christmas card given to Bertie by his friend Thomas. Mid-sixties I'd say. Every home had a budgie back then and I believe every budgie was called Joey. Ours certainly was. According to Matty I thought anything with feathers (and feathers) was named Joey. Which explains the title.