Westport Part Two

These pictures don't show the detail I would like them to. I am hoping on a larger computer that they would show the rock fences better. I am still amazed at the human spirit. The glacier that covered Ireland removed the top soil and deposited it farther south. All that was left behind, basically, was a layer of hard rock. They picked and chopped at that rock, moved it out of the way, and then made soil with seaweed and sand. On top of that, this area was the hardest hit area when the potato famine hit. Over all a million people died in Ireland, over a million people left. Mayo County (which is where we are right now) still hasn't recovered and the famine was in the 1840's. I need to read up on the famine. I knew it was bad, but wow!

Westport has beautiful flowers, like all the cities we have visited. The garden art was cool. It was a series of plates suspended on a pole with red gazing balls added too. I have a feeling that this little city really celebrates art. There are more pieces of art work, for example, in our motel here than any other place.

We took a ferry ride today. They served coffee, tea, snacks, espresso, and Irish Coffee. I had a coffee and a latte. The coffee was great, but I miss the Storyteller's coffee and the size! Little bitty cups of coffee of any sort isn't enough for a coffee drinker like I am. We were hoping to see dolphins, but they didn't want to show themselves today.

When Ireland joined the European Common Market (or is it called the European Union?), they had to change what they raised for crops All along this fjord you could see where the farmers were harvesting seaweed and mussels.
This photo is going the wrong way, the little roundish balls of the kelp should be heading south. I took this photo because it could become a pretty cool quilt one of these days.

Dave our tour guy sure is super. He is knowledgeable and I wouldn't take a car where he drives that bus. His sense of humor is almost greater than his wealth of knowledge. He is holding peat from a bog. We all stood on this peat and jumped. Forty of us made the ground shake. An art teacher from California was gracious enough to let us think that we created an earthquake. The peat is gathered, dried for six weeks and used as fuel. It is very smokey, but I bet is warm in the winter. Each farmer has their own space that they harvest the peat. A foot of peat cut from the land took 1000 years to grow--it is a plant! Grandma would have had a problem with this. We couldn't even pick her flowers, let alone cut up her plants!


This was a summer home for a rich couple built in the 1800's. It was purchased by nuns who used it as an Abbey. They had a school for girls that just closed. I don't know what will happen next. I bought a piece of needle felting here. I couldn't afford the one I wanted and it wouldn't fit in a suitcase anyway, so I got a small one. I wish I could find the roving as well as the art. I did get a web site, but Lucy's Sheepcamp always has what I need. It would just be cool to have a piece of roving from Ireland.

This bird looked like a crow, but had a black face. Kind of made him/her look grouchy.

Well, on to Dublin. We tour the Guinness Factory tomorrow and maybe ride an open air bus. It should be fun, but I don't want this trip to end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!