in the
republic of ireland the official language is
gaeilge or as english speakers refer: irish/gaelic. still after two trips to ireland i can only pronounce "thank you", and that with some dispute. it depends if you are in county clare or county mayo, rather like
dialects of english in the US. our trip to the emerald isle again was met with
sunshine and friendly faces...... and this year a few pints of
guinness in dublin. it is difficult to describe the beauty we encountered but i'll try with a few pictures.
kayakers paddling along the
giant's causeway in northern ireland made me wish i'd have taken my
folbot along, but so did every stretch of water along the coast and every "
lough" or lake.
the
geometric shapes of the rock formations, raised up along the coast at
giant's causeway, proves that there really is a reason to take
geometry in school....... couldn't have proven it before this.
the
falls hotel lacked the usual "falls" with low water levels and less rain than normal, but the lush countryside was still full of
flowers in bloom and "
quite lovely" vistas.
with weather finally breaking to sunshine an uncharted morning on whitebreast creek (lake) found stripbuilder caged by the 92nd ave bridge's girders. a four hour round trip, with a southern terminus on s45, was a welcome return to activity in the flooded fields southwest of town. it could have been a three hour tour~~~~~~
i went to a garden party and all my old friends were there... there was magic in the air. this summer is the year of the hydrangea macrophylla or "nikko blue" hydrangea. we have never seen such color and blooms before so the "planets must be aligned". with flooding and constant rains we are seeing colors never before experienced. acid soil produces blue ones and alkaline soil promotes pink.
the lilies are not just in the valley this year. with a colorful array of varieties the raised bed is vibrant, if only in better view from the deck. 
late evenings on the backwaters of red rock lake can blur the lines between heaven and earth.
in the republic of ireland the official language is gaeilge or as english speakers refer: irish/gaelic. still after two trips to ireland i can only pronounce "thank you", and that with some dispute. it depends if you are in county clare or county mayo, rather like dialects of english in the US. our trip to the emerald isle again was met with sunshine and friendly faces...... and this year a few pints of guinness in dublin. it is difficult to describe the beauty we encountered but i'll try with a few pictures.