Rathmore and Dublin 10/23/04

Day 9

If there is a Heaven on Earth, its name is Springfield B & B Sheep farm! Yes, it’s true, and ask me how I know and I’ll tell you to just look out the back ‘yard’ window. Not only are there sheep but also chickens, ducks and a couple of friendly dogs named Holly and Meg. I sat through our delightful breakfast with the anticipation of a kid getting ready to go to Disneyland. As eager as I was to explore what awaited me by the backyard barn, I had a sense this breakfast was an event to be experienced.

Our breakfast table faced the side yard full of thriving fragrant flowers and plants. The fuchsia bushes grow wild here and we saw miles of these dainty pink flowers along the roadsides on the Dingle Peninsula drive. The scenery added to the wonder of the meal we were about to receive. I guessed the fresh purplish jam served with our toast to be gooseberry but it turned out to be “damsel” berry, a plum-like fruit. My muesli served with banana and milk hit the spot. The best treat of all was the poached eggs with the deepest yellow center I had ever seen. Fresh from the Springfield B&B Farmhouse chickens alright!

Steve had an epiphany when he discovered the reason little flecks of coffee grounds kept floating in his coffee cup each morning. Unbeknownst to him, each coffee pot has a press to assist the grounds from leaving their designated ‘homeland’. Once he learned to compress the press, well, the grounds stayed put!

As an FYI: The Irish love their food and beverages served piping hot so once the water is boiled on the ‘solid heating’ (electric) stove, it is brought promptly to the table and covered with a tea cozy to hold in the heat. Margaret told us that hot soup is only served in the cold months here and expressed her surprise when on her trip to Vancouver one summer, soup was actually offered on the menu! She also said that European visitors like their food served at a much more tepid temperature.

I was about to have an education that rivals any 4 year college I’d ever attended. Willy, Margaret’s husband, greeted us as we ambled by the haystacks and entered the wonderland of farm animals. He regaled us with stories about adopting Bandy, their pet sheep who comes when she is called like one of my dogs at home. The sheep that wondered about their farm were mostly ‘shaggy’ sheep and are the most common ones you will see in Ireland. There are also ‘minority’ sheep, less popular and are bred with the shaggy sheep. He had one or two of the minority sheep in a pen with Bandy.

If I ever write a book about Willy it will be named “Willy’s Wisdom”. He introduced us to the term “fear sensitive.” If the ducks see you catching one of their own, they get scared and lose weight to presumably prevent themselves from being slaughtered and turned into a “table duck.” Amazing survival technique, don’t you think? Ducks are mean and aggressive with the chickens so they tend to stay in separate pens.

Willy also filled us in on a little Guinness family history. Artie Guinness is buried “just over there” (he pointed to the distance) in a 33 acre plot of Dublin land. He was quite the “chancer” (risk taker) who knew a good idea when he had one and went on to build a very successful company with strong family values and loyal employees.

I could have listened to Willy all day as he was so full of good cheer and information. Instead, however, we sadly bid farewell to our rural existence, as marathon day approached and we must travel to Dublin. I vowed to return and perhaps spend several days as a farmhand. Anything is possible, I always say.

A half hour or so later we were circling the Dublin airport about to return our car. No surprise to me but we had to purchase a replacement “tyre” for our rental vehicle. Must have been all those curbs I kept hitting before Steve realized I make a much better navigator. Ah well, live and learn. Once the car was dropped off, we caught the air coach to our Dublin hotel called the Gresham, settling into our home away from home for the next four nights.

I am so glad we visited the countryside and experienced the culture, history, people, food and weather. We are now fully acclimated to our marathon home and prepared to tackle the formidable 26.2 mile race.