They use these tiny little bats.

River’s coach mentioned to me recently how much they will miss having her on the team next year.  We are sure proud of her and have enjoyed watching her play.

There was another match scheduled for today, but it was cancelled due to rain.  River was pretty disappointed, but I have to say I wasn’t looking forward to watching in the downpour.

The hammock came out of storage and was strung between the climbing frame.

Dandelion season is over now, but we did our share of seed dispersal.

The great swathes of yellow rapeseed were the most spectacular feature of the landscape during April.  I had trouble capturing the brilliance of the colours and it’s effect on the landscape with the camera, but we did find a footpath through a field, returning home covered in a dust of yellow pollen.

The flowers are almost entirely past now and the seed pods have started to swell.  The wheat grains are starting to ripen now, too.  It is a beautiful landscape here.

Happy birthday, Grana! Many happy returms of the day!

Among other things, we went to Chatsworth House, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and a spectacular estate.  We’ve been meaning to visit for a while, so it was nice to have a chance to explore.  I particularly enjoyed the gardens, which were varied and extensive.

The maze was a highlight.  The kids took turns leading the group through the twists and turns and dead ends.  I could have spent quite a bit more time exploring, but the rain sent us into the house, which is also amazing.  The house is, often literally, covered in artwork.

There is still more I’d like to see at Chatsworth and the kids were disappointed not to play at the adventure playground and farmyard.  We may try to head back again soon.

But our big adventure while Gail and Dave were here was a trip to Ireland.  We rented a minivan so we could all fit in one vehicle and took the ferry from Holyhead, Wales to Dublin.  The ferry was pretty comfortable, though a bit crowded and a group of rugby supporters drank and sang songs while wearing pink wigs and other accessories most of the journey.  It was slightly irritating, but it does seem like there generally isn’t enough public singing in the world, and it was overall pretty entertaining.

We stayed at a hotel about half an hour from Dublin.  I chose it primarily because it allowed pets and, since it had been an estate house, there was some pasture land that we could wander around with Derby off the lead.

It worked out reasonably well and the kids enjoyed the swimming pool.  We had forgotten swimming costumes so we picked some up at a local department store.  Actually, they had cheap wetsuits, so we decided to get those figuring that most of the outdoor swimming in England requires a wetsuit since it never really gets very hot.  They’ll probably be pretty nice to have at Puffer’s Pond, too.

The next day, we decided to go to Glendalough in County Wicklow on the recommendation of our charming waitress at breakfast.  Irish hospitality is no myth!  She was so cheerful and pleasant and really made us feel welcome.

Glendalough, or “Valley of Two Lakes”, is located in a beautiful glacial valley just south of Dublin.  The drive through the rolling countryside was gorgeous.  We explored the ruins of the settlement that flourished in Glendalough from the 6th century until the 14th century when it was destroyed by English soldiers.

Sage is standing in the window of a church dating from about the 12th century to give a sense of the scale.  There were a number of other buildings on the site that at one point supported a large monastery.  The valley settlement has been a place of pilgrimage for over a thousand years.

Glendalough is also well know for it’s recreation and walking is a favorite pastime.  We set out with Derby to explore some of the trails.

It was a perfectly beautiful day!  Actually, the weather was amazing the whole weekend and really, most of the month of April couldn’t honestly be complained about.  It was kind of strange not having crappy weather to discuss in order to make conversation with folk.

Sage climbed up into a tree while River took pictures.  I’ve found it pretty much impossible to take decent pictures while walking with Derby on the lead, so it was nice to have a volunteer to document the walk.

We spent most of Sunday at the Dublin Zoo, which was amazing, but will have to be the subject of a separate post.  Actually, River took about 250 pictures and I haven’t had a chance to go through them yet…

On Sunday, we toured the Guiness brewery.  We are in Ireland, right?

Somehow there is nothing more quintessentially Irish than Guinness.   I imagine there is probably an Irish pub in every city in the world, but I think they save the best stuff for the Irish.  The brewery has changed quite a bit since Molly and I visited in, maybe, 1994?  The self-guided tour was interesting, but lacking in detail.  I’d have liked quite a bit more information.  But the Gravity Bar at the end is pretty amazing, featuring a pint and a view of the entire city.

Afterwards, Gail and Dave and I toured the Jameson whiskey distillery, which was very interesting.  I’m not a huge whiskey drinker myself, but I learned quite a bit, and as they say, a little knowledge can go a long way sometimes.   There was even a tasting at the end, comparing American, Scottish, and Irish whiskeys.  Overall, I highly recommend the tour.

Then we headed back to the ferry.  Sage and I spent quite a bit of time watching the cranes load this container ship at the dock while we were waiting to depart.  One of Sage’s many ambitions when she grows up is to become a truck crane driver, so she had a special interest.

Watching the colorful containers and cranes moving systematically back and forth had a soothing rhythm in the bright sunshine.  And a packet of Sage’s favorite salt and vinegar crisps certainly helps, too.

Containerisation has had a major impact on globalization.  There’s even a book about it: The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger.  Inspired by this book, the BBC is following The Box on it’s journey around the world.  But just aesthetically, I can’t help but find this industrial landscape beautiful.

Goodbye Ireland!

We had a great weekend and I’m sure we’ll come back to visit again someday.

I parked just up the hill from Curbar village and soon found myself on Baslow Edge where there was an amazing view of Curbar Edge and Froggatt Edge to the north.  I think you just might be able to make out my car on the road below.  There were a few folk climbing here on Baslow Edge, but I didn’t bring my climbing gear since I was planning a relatively long walk and didn’t want to spend too much time climbing and not make it back to collect the kids in time.

I soon came to Eagle Rock and I wished that I had brought my climbing shoes since this stone just calls out to be climbed.  Legend, according to the author of the route instructions I was following, claims that this rock was a favorite of ancient witches of the area and that local lads used to climb it before becoming betrothed.

There are some interesting monuments to the Duke of Wellington and Admiral Nelson along the cliff edges as well as a decent view of the Chatsworth estate, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire.  I have a vague plan to go visit there sometime.  There is apparently a farmyard and adventure playground that might add appeal to the younger set who have perhaps become a bit jaded about seeing more enormous stately homes.

I also came across a fold of highland cattle.  For some reason, a group of highland cattle are not referred to as a “herd” but as a “fold”.  Anyway, these beautiful animals are well adapted to harsh conditions and low quality pasture and have been transplanted far and wide from their native Scottish Highlands.  I love the color of their shaggy coats.

I came upon more rock faces that I could only look at whistfully since by this point I was running short of time.

I did complete the walk and get back in time to pick up the kids and even had a couple of minutes to kick back in the sun and take these pictures from our garden:

Spring is coming!

First, we took a trip down the street to the nursery.  River’s friend Alex came along for the ride.

It is great to see all the colors bursting forth in the spring.  River planted a few more strawberry plants in her garden.  She’s specializing this year!

I can understand why it is called an edge.  The edge is a sharp line of rock dropping off a heather-covered plateau.  A footpath follows the contours of the edge and many other people were out enjoying the beautiful weather.

According to a UK climbing website, Froggatt Edge “is a virtually continuous face of exceptionally clean and quick-drying rock of the highest quality up to 17m high… The edge is home to some of the best slab climbing in the country.”

I’m still a novice at climbing on rock, and I felt relatively cautious about the bouldering routes I choose, but I found plenty of interesting and challenging spots.

I’d love to spend more time exploring Froggatt Edge.

The weather was cold and promised to be wet, so we went prepared for anything.  River was is high form, as you can see!

The views of Dovedale are spectacular, though sometimes I feel like I take the rolling hills and ancient stone walls for granted.  It was a particularly gray day, but it was still beautiful.

This old tractor caught my eye.  River and Sage had a discussion about how they wished they lived on a farm.  I think they’d probably do well in such an environment.

River also got a new hat recently, thanks to her aunt’s prodigious talent.  I love the colors and I think it really suits her.

Eventually, we came upon Pilsbury Grange, a 300 year old house once part of the Chatsworth estate and now available for hire.  Actually, this is basically all there is to the village of Pilsbury.  You could easily miss it if a passing sheep caught your eye for a second.

We crossed the River Dove on this bridge and began the return journey back to Hartington.

We caught a few moments of sunshine and collected some of the wool it illuminated on the wire fence.

The footpath returns across some pasture and over some stone walls.  I particularly liked this embedded stairway.

It was good that we had prepared for inclimate weather, because we experienced some ferocious flurries on the walk back.  The wind was so strong that the snow, at one point, was literally blowing up the hill.

We were glad to get back to Hartington and the warmth of the local tea shop where we rejuvenated with a cream tea.  The kids had pudding with custard. Quintessentially English, if I do say so myself.

We spent the day in London.  We took the underground into Picadilly Circus and hopped on one of the tourist buses.  We’ve been to London a handful of times now, but we’ve stayed underground and popped up at our destination like some burrowing mammal.  It was fun to see how different parts of the city connect to each other and the commentary was quite interesting.

We just happened to sit at table number 7 for lunch.  Que fortunidad!

One might notice that she is wearing the hat knit for her by her wonderful auntie Karen.  She loves it!  Thanks, Karen!

We got off the bus at the Tower of London.

Sage has been interested in Victorian times and the eponymous queen.  She particularly wanted to see her crown:

Queen Victoria's Small Diamond Crown

We went on the tour with the Yeoman Warder (aka beefeater) which was very interesting and entertaining.  We enjoyed his stories of prisoners, executions, and ravens.  The crown jewels were pretty amazing.  It must be pretty crowded there sometimes since they have a conveyor belt to funnel people past the display cases.  We went around about eight times!

From there, we got on one of the river boats and headed back to Westminister.  We got a good commentary on the buildings along the banks of the Thames.  One of the buildings, our guide joked, was designed by an unemployed window cleaner!

Back ashore in Westminster, we checked out Parliament and Big Ben.

We waited across from the London Eye before catching the bus around the West End and then back on the tube to head back home.

It was a long day, but I think Sage enjoyed her birthday!

The kids ran out to play in it, drawing pictures and eating it. I got hit with a snowball or two on the way to the car.

The roads seemed fine to me, but traffic was atrocious. There may have been some spots that were not in quite as good condition, but I imagine there was a fair amount of panic that contributed to the congestion. Snow is quite an event here!