Lá Fhéile Bride...

... start of Imbolc, St Bridget's Day, first day of Spring, Candlemas ... it really is, Beachcomber!! It's been lashing and blowing a hoolie and the lambs and ewes have just arrived in the top field, shivering and muddy. A couple of pheasant-nibbled daffodils are out and the robins are fighting. If there's a lull in proceedings I might dash out to the polytunnel and start weeding.

This rather fine beast came over to chat as I was contemplating the awful spectacle of the house behind him and wondering whether to risk a quick trespass inquiry. He had the thickest legs I have even seen on a horse, and massive hooves and seriously hairy ankles. The house behind though.... This large Trumptonesque building was built in the era of the Celtic Tiger, a good decade ago, and it's plonked down in the middle of nowhere. A few years ago I had a little snoop up to it and peered through the windows and was astonished to see new doors, tons of wood, equipment etc lying around all neatly packaged, still in plastic coverings. Presumably whoever was building it, nearly finished then ran out of money and scarpered. Well, last week the doors and windows suddenly disappeared and the horses arrived. It now looks ghastly, eyeless and abandoned. Arachne recently commented how shocking that it is that there are so many empty and derelict houses here in Ireland andshe's right. This is a grim but not unusual sight. There is a housing crisis here but research has found that there are more than enough unoccupied buildings to sort out the problem. It seems that most are not where people want to live ie rural areas. Shameful to see this huge house just disintegrating.
Sadly appropriate for Derelict Sunday - now being hosted by 60Plus - we're up to DS67.

New blog too- just done my first year into researching the holy wells of Cork. I hope you can open it as I seem to be having trouble with my Wordpress account and Facebook and I'm not sure why.

And we are now officially into International Holy Well Month. Should you feel like searching out a holy well (what's not to love), please join the challenge and tag IHWM17. Who will be the first???

News flash: we have a first entry for IHWM17 - well done cleansteve!!