A Return to the Kingdom

Last weekend we took a trip down to Cahersiveen in County Kerry to stay for a few days with a friend and while she worked and worked, we took photos and holidayed.

Cahersiveen 

looking seawards from Mount Beentee

Cahersiveen looking inland

Behind the blue facade lies little France in Ireland. For here we breakfasted on delicious almond and raisin croissants served with such wonderful coffee; that I half believed that I was back in La France again!

On mentioning delicious food stuffs, we also visited an independent chocolatier trading as SKELLIGS. Mrs H said that it is the best chocolate she has ever tasted and I know that she is correct. So please visit http://www.skelligschocolate.com

A beach between Waterville & Cahersiveen

A shoreline seascape typical of this area.

We cannot ignore visiting ancient wells

St Finnian's Well

Back to Mount Beentee a well named

The Well of the Fair Women

or in As Gaeilge

Tobar na mBan Fionn

Here the heavenly scents are shared!

You might like to visit Mrs H's blog and read her words on the same subject,
because I'm not feeling very wordy today :)
http://theeverlivingones.blogspot.ie

Lughnasadh 2013

Toby informed you all that I was a bit busy or at least he should have done ???

We had been asked by a film company if we would mind them making a documentary showing my druid grove celebrating Lughnasadh at a local site.

So am pleased to tell you that all went off terribly well and that I will post up a link when the film goes public.

In the meantime here are a few behind the scenes photo's of us having fun.

All photo's are the copyright of Colin Russell © August 2013

The centre piece of the circle

The Well Dressing

Druids relax while camera man sets up

Mrs H had just bonked me on the head with the wand because I had been a bit flirtatious with a red head!

Some of the group taking a well deserved rest in between shoots and that is not a pencil dangling from Mrs H's lips !

For research on Lugh and Lughnasadh please visit http://asunwiselife.blogspot.ie

A BONE FOR YOU...

Hello! for those of you who don't know me I am Toby and my master has given this blog over to me for a few days while he busies himself elsewhere and I am fortunate in that I have engaged the pretty bitch from next door, Chérie, to work the keyboard for me.

Chérie

I am not allowed to disclose to you what the old devil is up to.. however, I will give you a bone as to what is going on. 
He is having bouts of frustration at the moment as he struggles to remember his lines and keep the numbers of his fellows up,  to what he says, is the required number - 
whatever that is ? 

For I am only a dog and he doesn't explain much to me in any detail. The air yesterday went quite blue then dark purple with intermittent red flashes for most of the day, until about ten o'clock. Late last night though he became quite merry after a phone call, which I imagine was good news.
Today the sun is shining and all is calm at last. Time now for my mid day dog nap………

Just one important item before I sleep: it is believed by a lot of two foots that we dogs only see in black and white. Nothing could be further from the truth, for we can and have always been able to see colours!

Magical Dusk

Last night I was sitting in quiet repose wrapped in my enormous bath sheet after a relaxing hot bath & the phone rang!

The call was from a friend a few miles away who suggested that we took a look at the sky, so Mrs H wrapped in her dressing gown stepped out and called me to bring a camera.

It is just as well that the road is very quiet, mostly devoid of traffic and people, otherwise they would have seen the glamorous Mrs H and a Ghandi type figure busily taking photos over the hedge .

Beyond the leaves a magic lives !

It's the type of sky that could encourage me to drift away....

The fairy horses whose eyes sparkle like diamonds

Travels from my iPhoto

I had this idea this morning of sharing some of my favourite photos stored in my iPhoto album and I hope that they give you as much pleasure as they do me.

Ollie moments before he was swamped!

(see previous blog)

The reeds of the river Shannon near Portumna in Co. Galway.

I like the way in which the light is reflected into the water and the rippled effect among the reeds.

Preparing my boots for winter prior to adding the dubbing.

This is the chair on which I sit and write.

The harbour at Kinvarra.

This is one of my favourite photos and it sits on my desk top, allowing me to create dreams about what might have been there voyages with actually knowing!

Ollie's Holiday

We had the family over for a few days earlier in the year and it was young master Oliver's first ever trip to Ireland and we had a wonder filled time together. Personally I was a bit apprehensive about how Toby (our dog) would react because he had never been in the company of children before. I  need not have worried for he was absolutely marvellous and they were like two pals together.

Ollie by the Atlantic

The  adults in deep thought while Ollie looks

at the ducks

At the waters edge

Toby and Ollie

Our last few minutes together

I have to go home Grandpa

see you next year

Toby who weighs 60 lb

The Tale of a Shirt

Mrs H told me that she was going to have a clear out of her clothes and other accessories to create more space on our shared rail. I was delighted to hear this as it would now be easier for me to retrieve the few clothes that were mine. 
I was looking forward to a quiet afternoon sitting on my own with a book. 
When I heard her good self sing out 
'What shirts are you going to dispose of ?' 
to which I retorted 
'You can sling the black ones if you like, for there's no profit in me wearing them anymore'

When her good-self came over from the UK to check both me and this country out, I took her on a mini tour of Ireland for a few days and just like now the weather was up, meaning sunny and warm. 
After a few days I had changed into wearing a pair of black trousers and a shirt to match. We stopped at a rural garage to fill the fuel tank before tackling the next stage of our journey. I gave the attendant a fifty pound note he strolled off to his shed and was gone a considerable time; such that I sneakily peered through his window to see what was causing the delay and saw him delving into drawers and putting together coins and notes.
When eventually he returned he took my hand turned it upwards and pressed the change into my palm and pushed my fingers over the whole amount and said 
'Have a nice day, Father' I felt a bit embarrassed at his innocence, gave him my thanks and without checking I pushed the change deep into my pocket.

Later on that day we were at the southern end of the Dingle peninsula, having found a B&B with a pub nearby.As we had ceased travelling for the day we thought that we deserved a drink.
Whilst sitting at the counter and waiting to be served I idly counted what money was in my pocket it came to twenty-five pounds more than what it should have been. 
Something very similar happened to us in Co. Clare when we stopped for lunch in a hotel and when I went pay the bill was halved, again I was wearing a black shirt & trousers.

However, since the fall in popularity of the church of Rome due to the despicable clerical abuse of children etc, one hardly ever sees a priest wearing any form of religious garb in the street and I have certainly stopped wearing black shirts.
My un-priestly days are over!

Those wise owls among you will have realised that my easy release of the black shirts did not stop there. For my presence was summoned and about another ten or more different coloured shirts came off the rail and went into the charity shop bag. I did though manage to rescue one that had never been worn.Why it was put into the disposable heap though - I shall never know. I might even wear it tomorrow when we go out for lunch
if I can remember which one it was :))

A Cool Scene

My activities are some what curtailed today so I decided to visit YouTube for some relaxing music

and I found this piece from Colm which I hope you will all enjoy .

NOTE! The video time shows 0.00 - 0. 00 don't be fooled just click on the picture and it will start to play - in this case bullying is good!

GETTING WARMER!

I left the thermometer outside in the shade for a few minutes at 12.15 and took this photo.

So I estimate that it's just over 32 deg C or 90 deg F on whatever scale you rate it at.

It is VERY HOT outside and I have two friends who at the weekend will be going to sunny 

Spain - for cooler weather perhaps !

It's Warmish !

After seven years of cool and cold & wet summers we have soared to 30 deg C (86 deg F) those out door jobs that I had planned to do on dry days are cancelled. Instead I shall relax in the shade with a book and a glass of iced coffee.

We live in under the 30 indicator on the map, warm in summer and cold in winter

3 Day Outlook 
Headline: Very little change for the next few days. 

Wednesday night will be another dry and mainly clear night and it will be misty again. Temperatures overnight will be between 13 and 15 degrees and winds will remain light easterly. 

Thursday and Friday will continue dry, warm and sunny. Temperatures will be between 22 and 27 degrees and on Thursday it will be hottest in the west of the country while on Friday it is likely to be hottest in the east. Winds still light and from the east or southeast. Temperatures over night will fall to between 12 and 15 degrees. 

There is set to be a change from Friday on however. Winds will become northwesterly later on Friday and then Saturday will be a slightly cooler day in the northwest. 

Although a little cooler Saturday will still be dry. Winds will be from a northerly direction and there's a risk of cloudier conditions in the northwest coastal areas. Temperatures still well over twenty degrees in the east and southeast but falling back to the mid to late teens in parts of the west and the northwest. 

The further outlook through the weekend and in to the early days of next week is for continued dry and settled conditions but the hot weather will be replaced by a slightly cooler regime, still reaching well above 20 degrees on most days though, particularly in the east and south.