Breakfast with Jeremy....

..... I wish!
Blipping early today for I've been up for hours - really! I left the house at 5.15am for yes, it is the annual bird survey. If you remember I have a kilometre square in the middle of nowhere, somewhere past Skibbereen and have to walk it twice yearly and record every twitter, rustle and sighting I see. I arrived at Knocknataggart at 6.18am. It was perishing but the sun was rising and the day looked promising. I have to confess to feeling a bit of an eejit traipsing around the countryside with my clipboard, binoculars and bird book - and camera and not having much clue what I'm looking at, but I only passed four frisky copper coloured bullocks, two hares, an old dog and a lot of jackdaws. The route starts off fine - a walk along a small road, then through farmland but then you have to turn off onto the moutnain where it all gets a bit too exciting for there is no clear route, the gorse is thigh high and you're somehow meant to get a cross a lake. I skirted the lake, and a gang of sleeping cattle, only to find I had to get across a fairly wide stream. Climbing first under barbed wire I leapt - one leg didn't make it and was submerged in thick squelchy boggy water. I limped back across the fields, climbed over another wall and was relieved to find myself back on the familiar road. Being a true west Cork woman I had a spare pair of wellies in th ecar, plus a sock and an old towel.
By the time I was returning everywhere had woken up. Golfers were flocking into the golf course, rowers were hurtling up and down the Ilen river in sleek skiffs, and joggers and dog walkers were teeming along the roads. I did a quick diversion down towards Kilcoe castle, which was looking magnificent in the morning light. It's a fine thing. Jeremy has done an excellent job.
A large breakfast - the sun still shining, we might go for a walk!!
Happy Easter :)