Ireland day 0343. Tuesday 06 September 2022- Raining2

Today’s summary	Woke early so dealt with some admin matters first thing then went to the gym. Raining in the afternoon but dried up later so went for a head-clearing walk around the demesne. Still feeling a bit dopey with jet-lag
Today’s weather	Rain in the morning and early afternoon. A bit of watery sun later. Moderate southerly wind. About 17C

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The green line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Demesne wind down walk Click button below for TCX of the morning gym session: Demesne wind down walk

Commentary

I’m quite surprised how long it’s taking me to get over the jet lag from yesterday’s flight back from Canada. I managed to power through Monday without sleeping, until about 8pm last night when I could finally resist it no longer. Of course I fell asleep immediately but the disadvantage of going to bed so early is that you also wake up ridiculously early. So I was wide awake bright as a button (ish) by 4am, wondering how many cups of tea in bed I could reasonably allow myself before I got up (answer – three).

Anyway, the extra hours in the very early morning did at least free up some space to deal with some admin matters (yes – tax was one of them) and have a leisurely breakfast of Cheerios that we had brought back from Canada with us (they cost me so much I was definitely not going to leave half a packet behind) and toast. I managed to spin all this out until 9am at which point I decided I better bite the bullet and do some exercise. So I gathered my things and went to the gym.

It turned out that going early in the morning is a good idea because the gym and swimming pool were practically empty. Perhaps the end of the school holidays had something to do with it, but in any case it was much more pleasant (and much less intimidating with fewer people to watch me struggling with the machines).

By the time I’d gone through the workout routine, done 500m in the swimming pool and had a sauna, it was almost noon. (By the way I should add that – touch wood – my watch still seems to be performing normally. Though I don’t take it swimming or in the sauna with me any more). I headed out hoping to do some shopping for dinner, but it was pouring with rain by this stage so I headed directly back to the flat.

After a super-healthy salad lunch it was time for my regular video chat with my friend in Texas – I always look forward to these chats, as it’s good to compare notes on life on both sides of the Atlantic. He was an expatriate, too, many years ago, so it’s quite reassuring to hear that struggles with the bureaucracies of moving to live in a new country aren’t unique to me.

Finally, there was a break in the weather so once I had finished the video call, I headed out again to see how the castle demesne was getting on. It was looking in great shape, actually – the recent rain was clearly much needed and everywhere was looking luxuriantly green and fresh. Toadstools and other miscellaneous fungi seemed to have popped up everywhere – on the paths, in the lawns, and even on the trees, as the banner image shows. The humid relatively mild weather must have caused them to spring into life. I managed to fit in a trip down to the shops as well, where I found a half-price spaghetti carbonara which I decided would do very well for an easy and economical dinner this evening.

And on that note I’ll finish. A slightly languid sort of a day, being bogged down a bit by jet lag, but I’m hoping that after a decent bit of spaghetti and another good night’s sleep, I should be more or less back to normal tomorrow. Check back in, same time same place, to see how it turns out.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Malahide marina after I’d been to the gym. I actually quite like it when it rains – everywhere is nice and quiet and looks clean	First proper heavy rain I’ve been out in since Slieve Donard, a couple of weeks ago

Autumn Crocuses, Colchicum autumnale. It’s highly poisonous, containing the alkaloid Colchicine – which is actually used therapeutically in small doses for the treatment of gout. In larger quantities it causes symptoms like arsenic poisoning and there is no known antidote. Autumn crocuses aren’t related to spring crocuses, by the way. The come from completely different families.	Only just visible here – but a flock of twenty oystercatchers were out busily feasting on something tasty living in the cricket pitch this afternoon.

Dramatic post-rain cloudscape, vaguely resembling a distant mountain range	In the demesne woodlands. A carpet of autumnal leaves is beginning to appear already

The wildflower meadows are turning into dried flower arrangements. Quite attractive to look at but I think they will need some management to stop them eventually being over-run with brambles and other weeds.