Category: Life

Dubious Mia

Taken on December 21, 2006.

Mia did not believe that I was serious about her leaving the mudroom this morning. After several attempts to call her, in which she turned around and went back inside, I had to put a leash on her and lead her to a part of the dog run which had been scoured bare by the winds. Fortunately, Lody loves to gambol in the snow, so I didn’t have to coax her out. Then, I went back inside and watched Magic and Rags playing by the barn through the bedroom window. It would have been a lot more charming if I hadn’t been worried about elderly horses fooling around like foals in dangerous conditions.

And it is still snowing.

Blizzard

I went to the mudroom door to take a photo of the blizzard in process, and decided blizzards are not good subjects for photography. Right now I would be taking a photo of what isn’t there: views of the neighbors’ houses. I can’t see them, and at times can barely see our own outbuildings. The horses seem to feel that it is a good day to stay inside of the barn, instead of their normal snow storm behavior of huddling outside, tails to the wind, as if they had no shelter. I am sure they do this to make me crazy.

El Paso County seems to have pretty much shut down for the duration of the storm, aided by the fact that many schools were already taking winter break. Jack decided to work from home and the dogs are curled up in their beds, so all is right with my little corner of Colorado.

Wednesday, 2006-10-11 – Bushmills to Dublin via Glenariff Forest Park

Wednesday morning, we woke up to a steady rain. We were joined in the B&B’s breakfast parlor by a couple from Queensland, Australia, and spent some time comparing our experiences of Ireland. After breakfast, we packed the car and headed toward Bushmill’s Distillery. This distillery is the oldest one in Ireland, and gives hourly tours during the tourist season, and less frequent tours at other times of the year. We arrived just after a tour began, so we joined that one in the auditorium.

Continue reading Wednesday, 2006-10-11 – Bushmills to Dublin via Glenariff Forest Park

Monday, 2006-10-09 – Mayo and the trip to Antrim

We slept round the clock, waking about 8:00 am. It took me a while to figure out how to start the shower, since the process included pulling the safety cord outside of the shower stall. While Jack showered, I tried to figure out what I would need that day, so it would be accessible in the car. Between my riding gear and Jack’s golf clubs, we didn’t have a lot of room to maneuver once we loaded the luggage.

Continue reading Monday, 2006-10-09 – Mayo and the trip to Antrim

Clare and Mayo

Sunday, 2006-10-08 – Clare and Mayo

I won’t say that I was precisely dreading the flight to Ireland, but I knew it would be a long one, with connections in Chicago and Boston. I can rarely sleep more than a few hours on a long flight, so it was with great relief that I looked out the window and saw the green fields of Clare around Shannon airport. I hadn’t realized that Shannon was such a tiny airport, and by 9:00 am we were walking across the road to our rental car.

Continue reading Clare and Mayo