Ireland day 0155. Wednesday 02 March 2022- Rainy

Ireland day 0155. Wednesday 02 March 2022- Rainy
Today’s summary A rainy day with no fixed plans so spent the day on admin and a short walk round the castle demesne.   Val packing for ski trip tomorrow
Today’s weather Overcast and wet most of the day.   No sun and only very light breeze.  About 8C
Today’s overview location
(the red green line shows where we walked)
Close-up location
(The blue mark shows the location of our route)(Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected):
Rainy demesne walk
Commentary

I had a video call with a friend in Texas this afternoon, where the temperature is an agreeable 25C at the moment and the roses are just coming out.   He asked me if there was any sign of Spring yet in Ireland, and on the face of it there isn’t – certainly no roses anyway.

But actually when you think about it, there are loads of signs, from the daffodils just coming into full bloom, to the bursting green buds on the bare branches.  And if you think about it even harder, then you realise that in reality there has been stuff in flower right through the winter.  The heliotropes back in January, and the hellebores last month.   And I distinctly remember seeing roses still in bloom in Dun Laoghaire last December.   So I think we are pretty fortunate with the climate here on the east coast of Ireland – although it can feel raw and sunless at times, it’s actually pretty benign and we haven’t really had any extreme weather at all this winter.   Long may it continue.

Having waxed lyrical about the climate, today’s weather was definitely on the more depressing end of the climatic spectrum.  It started off grey, then the cloud just got thicker and by mid morning it started raining.   The rain was a sort of heavy drizzle – the worst kind in my view – and went on all day.   In fact I think it is still raining outside now, fully nine hours after it started.   I was reminded that I had recently remarked to a walking club friend that I was looking forward to the arrival of the warmer months in Ireland and they had quipped back “So – when exactly do you think that’s going to be, then?“.   Ah well, I don’t think we have really been here long enough to make any sweeping assertions about the weather.   Until then, we will just take every day as it comes.

The dull weather did make venturing out a bit unenticing but that fitted well with our domestic arrangements today.   Val is departing on a skiing holiday tomorrow, so wanted to spend some of the day getting her things together.   (By the way – before anyone asks, I’m not a skier so am more than happy for her to head off on her own without having me grumpily watching from the side-lines and inhibiting her style).   I also had some financial paperwork to sort out (one of my least favourite things – even worse than shopping), so was able to complete that while she packed.

But there was one more bit of paperwork that needed sorting out, which was far more exciting..

..Yes – tomorrow, all being well, I am going to head back out to Ashbourne to pick up the new car.   Apparently it has been cleaned and serviced so should be good to go – the task for today was to arrange insurance.   I was a bit apprehensive about this given the trials and tribulations of the whole car situation for the last four months – but to my delight (and I have to admit somewhat to my surprise) it all worked fine.   I even got a piece of paper to prove that the vehicle is insured in my name from 2pm tomorrow.   By the way, in Ireland you have to display your tax disk, NCT certificate (equivalent of MOT) and your insurance certificate on the windscreen.   It’s not like the UK where everything is electronic and I have to admit it’s quite reassuring having tangible bits of paper that you can actually hold in your hand.   So now there is a sense of eager anticipation in the air – please, please, please don’t let anything else go wrong!

With paperwork and packing dispensed with, we headed out into the rain for a quick trot round the castle demesne.   I’ve attached a few photos below from our walk, but the main summary is that it was dull and wet, quiet, with a few signs of spring if you looked hard enough, and a lot of roadworks going on.

That’s enough for today but don’t forget to check back in tomorrow to enjoy (well hopefully enjoy anyway) chapter 984 in the Saga of the Yaris.

 

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Alert!   Roadworks ahead If you look around you a bit, the signs of spring are everywhere
Here’s the new path that is being built (see photo below).   It’s all rather deluxe Out in the woods – the weather had the fantastic effect of deterring almost all other visitors, so we had the place pretty much all to ourselves
Not sure what had taken Val’s eye at this point, but it must have been fascinating.   I just like looking at the giant redwood tree in the background – the way it branches halfway up makes it look intriguing and unusual. More signs of spring.   With the relatively cool weather at the moment, hopefully the burgeoning daffodils will stay looking their best for a decent length of time.
As I suspected – the path was blocked fairly comprehensively by major engineering works.   I think that the mud perimeter path is being replaced by tarmac, presumably to improve accessibility.   Anyway I have to say the bits they have already done look pretty good.
Interactive map

(Elevations corrected at  GPS Visualizer: Assign DEM elevation data to coordinates )

Total distance: 5817 m
Max elevation: 30 m
Min elevation: 8 m
Total climbing: 90 m
Total descent: -89 m
Total time: 01:17:32
Download file: Demesne Walk corrected.gpx

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