On the beach...

We took a little holiday to Tramore recently. Our first as a family of 4! Clonea Strand is a beautiful beach outside Dungarvin. When we got there it was actually sunny, so we built a little sun shade for the sleeping baba.

I find it impossible to stop staring at him...so why try?

Rockpools were discovered, crabs were found, sandcastles built, it was a wonderful day.

Back on Tramore Beach a gypsy princess was seen dancing across the sand. She was accompanied by her faithful friend Murphy. As always partly delighted and partly tormented by her games. 

 

Here's hoping we'll get a few more beach days in the midst of this rainy Summer we're having!

It's the little things...

.........enjoying the last of the daffodils.

...........loving  the grand stretch in the evenings!

...........giving Murphy his 'bath'!

.....watching these seedlings grow and looking forward to seeing them bloom...Hugh' favorite flower!

.......exploring and wondering where our beach went after all the recent rain!

.......spotting the first swallows arriving for the summer.

.......eating many many of these muffins due to all the left-over porridge around lately.

.......getting seriously excited about all the new little babies arriving later this Summer and Autumn!

......watching my 'littlest thing' grow bigger by the day!

All these little things are brightening up my days!

Some me (and him) time.

A long day, busyness of mind and body.

Sneaking out for a walk across the road and into this....

Murph came too.

Remember to breath, to look around

to notice the catkins

the tree on it's tippitoes...

and dipping in my own toes!

Home and at the washing line, watching the fading sunlight, listening to the baby breath.

 Finding my own breath,

  a little slower and deeper.

New jumper!

A while ago.....I knit this Baby Hoodie from Blue Sky Alpacas. After finishing the knitting part, it lay over the back of the couch for a few months. Then when I finally finished it and put it on Maisie, it was summer! Luckily summer in the mountains still calls for an occasional wolly jumper!

A few seconds after this photo was taken, she toppled head first into the Liffey and the photo shoot was over for the day. Luckily it was a warm day!

Identifriday!

Identifriday- where we identify the wildlife we come across on our doorstep and on our travels and get into the habit of noticing and appreciating our local biodiversity!

We visited Lough Carra recently. This is a beautiful marl lake in County Mayo. Marl is a clay that is high in calcium and aquatic plants can not easily grow in it. This makes the waters of Carra crystal clear and translucent. Unfortunately some enrichment of this lake has occurred in recent years and it's waters aren't as clean and clear as they used to be. According to this the water quality of the lake is of moderate status.

But it's still a beautiful lake with fab scenery and abundant wildlife. So what creature did we spot that day?

A leech!

Leech- Helobdella stagnalis

This little guy was suckering it's way along the bottom of a rock that I picked up in the shallows. According to Small Freshwater Creatures  Helobdella stagnalis (or at least that's my best guess as I didn't have a microscope handy!) feeds primarily on midge larvae and is common in lakes and ponds.  

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend! If you see anything interesting let me know!