Ireland day 0843. Friday 19 January 2024- Reporting *

Ireland day 0843. Friday 19 January 2024- Reporting

Today’s summary	Val was at work and I continued writing my project report from home. By the end of the day I got a first draft finished. Managed to fit in a walk around the demesne in the late afternoon. Val made delicious roast lamb for dinner in the evening
Today’s weather	Dry and bright with plenty of sun, clouding over a little later. Light south westerly wind. Appx 5c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange 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 walk looking like a deflated balloon

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

Val was back at the museum again today, and I decided to work from home.

I have been writing a report on the research project I’ve been doing for my work, and wanted to get a first draft finished today. And, although I find working from home very hard because of all the distractions, I actually managed it. It’s not perfect, I must admit, but it is something to develop further. Next is the preparation of a set of slides for yet another discussion with the CEO, on Wednesday next week. I’ll start on them on Monday.

But all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and I think I have a particular and continuous need for large doses of fresh air. So after a working lunch at the desk, I briefly downed tools at half past three, and took myself on a quick walk round the demesne before it got dark. I allowed myself an hour’s break then resumed duties for another couple of hours before calling it a day when the first draft was finished.

The demesne was looking good in the winter sunshine, though it was noticeably hazier and a little milder than the last couple of days. Wet weather is said to be heading our way from the west, so perhaps this is the last we will see of the frost for a little while.

Val was back from work at about six and while I was finishing off my writing, she somehow, miraculously, managed to pull together a full roast lamb dinner, complete with roast potatoes. I have no idea how she did it, but it was delicious. Well done Val!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Setting sun in the demesne	Delicate tracery of winter branches on full display on this tree up near the castle

The persistent frost in the shady areas of the demesne could almost be mistaken for snow. Except of course it isn’t	Cycad Avenue, as I call it

The fieldfares in exactly the same spot – near the path on the way up to the castle – as they were when we last walked through on Wednesday	Hurling pitches looking deserted today

*Flowering quince, Chaenomeles speciosa, a welcome sight growing on a sheltered wall by the Avoca courtyard*