Irish B & B #3

Hello from the southwestern coast of Ireland!

The hydrangeas are fantastic here, thanks to the Gulf Stream. The views of the sea beyond the fields separated by ancient stone walls are lovely, the road signs take a little studying, and you will see part of our ND group as well as my dear friend Patti and me in front of a beehive hut, dating back to 1200 AD.

This website plus my rural hotel connection are doing strange things so you will need to decide which description goes with what photo. Weather here has been amazingly dry---sunny today

when we went to Blarney Castle. (I didn't kiss the stone---I don't need to talk anymore than I do!)

BOB #2

Promised I would tilt a Guinness to you---here it is!!!!
The Irish harpist at the castle banquet was quite lovely and played very well. We sipped our mead and enjoyed her music, though this is beginning to sound as if it is a beverage tour and not a musical tour!
The madrigal singers were equally good---here in the great hall the accoustics were amazing. Dinner had four "returns" (courses)---spicy parsnip soup with brown soda bread, ribs, and chicken with gravy and root vegetables followed by a sort of custard. We only had our daggers with which to eat in the medieval style. Interesting logistics...
Graveyard and church remnants near our hotel which I found on an early morning walk. The oldest grave marker I found was 1802.
Cliffs of Moher: beautiful and remote. The walk to this view was actually closed, officially, because of a very high wind (gayle, actually). Several of us walked up anyway to get a good view and I can see how, if you got very close to the edge, you might get swept over the edge.

Off to a full Irish (breakfast): eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomatoes, mushrooms, beans, toast....hmmm...think I won't need lunch!

Bits and Bobs from Ireland #1

Our group of North Dakotans, seven strong, arrived early this morning at Shannon (western Ireland) after an overnight flight from Newark. Today was a glorious day with blue sky and sunshine---great for exploring!
We are staying at the Bunratty Hotel, a lovely old country hotel in a tiny village. At the bottom of the hotel grounds we found Bunratty Castle, which was built for the "last" time in 1425, having been sacked numerous times prior to that.
It was a defensive castle so has tiny slits or very narrow windows and the crenalations at the top are large enough for a man with a bow to hide behind. (not sure about that crenal...word---the stone trimmings on the roof!)

Joyce (a new friend from ND who came with my long-time friends) and I opted to not take a nap after being up all night on a rough flight. Instead we climbed the six stories of tiny little uneven wedge-shaped circular stone steps to get to the top of the castle.
This was the view over the River Shannon to the fields beyond...Ireland is just as green as the reputation would have you believe! Tonight we are going to a medieval banquet in the great hall of the castle, complete with serving wenches and mead. More on that in the next blog.
Meanwhile, i am enjoying the lovely hydrangeas and roses in the gardens of the hotel! Now I am off to the hotel's pub for the first Guiness of the trip---I shall toast you all!

As Summer Ends..........

As any of you who drop into my blog now and then know, I tend to get busy with life and neglect postings. Summer is such a glorious time in the high country of Colorado that one just needs to be outside...fishing, hiking, mowing the lawn, painting the house...all those things that are such fun!

I promised my friend Karen I would someday post a photo of a puffin I took in Iceland in July---so here it is! (Can you believe they eat these cute little birds? They reportedly have VERY dark meat, are oily and taste fishy.) Puffins can swim underwater faster than they can fly, which explains why their main diet is fish!

The puffins seem to spend a lot of time basking in the summer sun on cliffs above the sea.

(Click to enlarge this one---then use the upper RH X to close and go on with the blog...)

One of the favorite things Marie and I did in Iceland was to take a cruise on a glacial lagoon among the icebergs which had calved off the great glacier coming down to the sea from the polar icecap. We were given a small piece of ice (from an iceberg-duh!) that was estimated at

2000 years old. It was clear and delicious!

As summer ends here the peaks have new snow. This is the view out my kitchen window toward Kendal Mountain---you may need to enlarge this one to see the new snow that fell last night. Meanwhile, have a look at my new fence built from my old woodshed and my new little garden shed---all neat and tidy for winter!

My family all came for birthdays for Finn and Maggie as well as Uncle Sam. (Thanks to James

for this wonderful family photo taken on my front porch.)

Of course we always get a little crazy when dressing up to watch the 4th of July parade! (Audrey and Finn, in case you didn't recognize them in all their "bling"!)

Maggie and Finn hiking above Silverton one lovely day...

Ah yes....FISHING! You can tell these are my grand-children! Fishing is in our genes!
(JDH photo)

Maggie, Suzie, Audrey, and Finn riding in Silverton's stage coach---come visit next summer and I'll take YOU for a ride. (Enlarge this one, please.)

Tomorrow I am off to Ireland with North Dakota friends. I shall tilt a Guiness your way with

wonderful wishes!!!

Iceland,Part 2

Yesterday we spent driving up the east coast of Iceland. This is the oldest part, geologically, and it truly was a feast for the eyes. There are a few farms here and there along with some very small villages, but because the bulk of Icelanders live around the capital and no-one lives inland, most of the country-side is very sparsely populated.The raw and naked mountain peaks and ridges are all photogenic. Cameras clicked whenever possible at a furious rate!
Waterfalls cascade wherever there are low spots; white water is an abundant commodity on this island. There are fish in almost all streams. How I wanted to toss in a fly somewhere!
The drive along the coast revealed barren mountainsides that look like they just slide right down into the sea whenever there is a little tremor of the earth. We did see lots of water birds swimming---land animals? No. Iceland only has fox, mice, rats and reindeer.
More rugged coastline with absolutely no vegetation.
In the areas where there is a bit of topsoil there are small farms. I'll never again feel that Silverton is remote!

We have people from England (8), Hong Kong (2), Tasmania (2), Australia (4), Canada (2) and the US (9). It is a good group---people are on time, cheerful, and willing to participate in all the walking tours, meals, etc. Lots of laughter...

Tune in for the next posting which will include puffins, icebergs, and other tales from the north!

Iceland is Fantastic!

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Iceland! Marie, one of my traveling friends, and I are here for ten days and are finding it quite fascinating. We are traveling with a group of 28, including lots of interesting people from the UK, a number of Aussies, a couple from Tasmania, a darling Chinese girl and her mom from Hong Kong...

There is something here for everyone but if one enjoys gorgeous scenery and odd bits of geology it really is the place to be!

Waterfalls abound...
Wild flowers are lush---these look like our moss campion in the Rockies...
Sheep have been randomly placed and are really fat and fluffy...
Mountains are abundant and their geology can only be described as "odd" as no two are alike due to all the volcanic activity here...
Everything is velvety green...
Geysers are here and there...

But I do believe the huge waterfalls are my favorites so far. The food is great, too. I've had pickled herring and smoked salmon for breakfast every day and tonight we had a three-fish dish of salmon, cod and lobster. Last night it was lamb...

Keep tuned...Penny

Progress on the Home Front---At Last!

After nearly two months of steady spring snow falling on top of the construction project at my home in Silverton, summer has suddenly come! The contractor and I are happy to be able to be outside in the sunshine, accomplishing our projects!Painting the upper triangle of the front of the house is a somewhat tedious task---one that has waited several years for me to do. Rick, the builder, rigged up a practically bomb-proof scaffold arrangement, coupled with my new 24-foot extension ladder...so today I finished my high-wire painting!

I rigged an extend-o-brush to reach the high peak just behind me. It worked so well I may

patent it. (Nothing like duct tape, is there?) Great view from up here and lots of hellos

from the motor-cyclists zooming by.

Rick is speeding along with the new storage shed...

It looks small compared to the old, dark woodshed but will certainly hold as much "stuff" as

I should ever need to have. (After all, I am convinced we humans fill the space we have, right?)

Suzie's "suite" is finished except for the new shades---looks quite different, doesn't it, Suz?

That's all for now---the landscape guy comes Thursday to look into sod for the bare spots and

the fence will continue to grow---come to Silverton and enjoy the long-needed changes with me!