Happy Irish Day!!!
I have to put off the big party plans till this weekend because I caught a cold. So, when is it ever a good time to be sick? I do love being Irish though. Very proud of my roots. I have been to Ireland twice and dearly enjoyed the people I met, the hiking and adventures I had. The only place on earth (not that I've visited that much of this earth yet...) that I have felt safe hitch hiking. That's right, I hitched all over Ireland. Met fantastic folks along the way, who kept calling me a "Holiday Maker", and would invite me into their cars even after I was soaked with the rain and my shoes has met several sheep patties.
I visited many off the map stone circles. I followed old pilgrimage routes to sacred wells, where people mark their wishes with a strip of fabric tied to the tree there. Watches dolphins play in the Dingle Bay. Got lost in the clouds hiking towards the Paps of Danu. What an adventure that was, with only curious sheep to keep me company as I tramped through mud, jumped streams, hiking up and up till I lost my way in the cloud cover on the mountain. Never did find the "Paps", but had a great experience walking past a mountainy rural cabin full of children peeking at me, shyly greeting and wanting to follow me back down.
I stayed in the Youth Hostels most of the time, meeting wonderful people from all over the world. I walked during the daylight, wrote in the cafes in the afternoons, and sought the pubs were the locals went at night. The music! I loved the live music, the evening company, the beer, the chat, and the way the whole pub would go silent when someone would be moved enough to stand, eyes shut, to sing a solo tune.
My heart must be GREEN today..............
I named this little guy Grassy cause he's the same neon color as easter basket grass. Would be fun to name him Gassy, but............
