Jumble

Before Hay-Day

'A wet and windy May fills the barns with corn and hay'

No problem in Ireland, to have a wet and windy May, but it's a big problem to dry the hay.

Sunshine, for Christ's sake!

As someone, who has to make hay at home, I watched the troublesome attempts to save the hay from rain and I truly bore with them. You never look up to the sky as often as in the time after cutting the gras. If I could I would try to reach out to push the clouds away, but wind is the only solution and is highly appreciated.
This picture is taken in rural Co. Mayo, where the winters are extremely long and any kind of farming is the same complicated procedure as a hundred years ago. Even modern machines can't guarantee success.

Proud farmer

The farmer gave me a big grin ... it needs all wisdom about weather and farming in general to be in the lucky situation to have a waggon full of sweet smelling hay. The knowledge is taught from the father to the son.

Little farmers

Children usually love making hay, even that in old times it was hard work, still - it was a special time, as some reports tell. These kids were happily waving to the bus on the way from Belmullet to Castlebar.

Silage

Most farmers are making silage now to feed cows, cattles and horses in the wintertime - a help if the weather is too bad, but this new technic leads to new problems. Birds are attacking the silage bales and - the used plastic wraps cause ecological troubles as well.

The effects of blocked drains and underground rivers has cost the Irish Exchequer dearly in the last 5 years with serious flooding in Co. Clare and the Shannon basin attributed to discarded silage wraps blocking underground rivers.
Environment Watch Ireland

Rain and Sun

That's Irish weather for you. A sarcastic saying:

You can't say, what weather Ireland will have in the next hour, but you can be sure, it will be some weather.

For a photographer of course it's a fortune to have this mixture of sun and rain, cause the colors are very special. For the farmer, well ... he wouldn't mind black and white photography, as long as it's sunny.

Irish Weather

The best about Irish weather is ... you get loads of bright rainbows. Seems only me was stupid enough to find only good weather during all four vacations. Almost no rain and if, it was pouring cats and dogs with not a single sunbeam. This was the only proper rainbow I could picture.
All about Irish weather, but careful, the URL is tricky, it says 'Vienna.html' to give visitors some hope.When you open the site you find the truth:

Since June 1996, over 212 805 people have used this page to find out that it's going to rain tomorrow.

The Vee - Shadow and Light

The Vee (Knockmealdown mountains) in County Tipperary, located between Thurles and Templemore opens the sight to a breathtaking panorama. The light effects are amazing, dark shadow between the mountains, but the lowlands are lying in bright sunshine. It's good to rest here for a while and let the eyes and mind conceive how wonderful nature is.

The Vee - Mountain Lake

No road would lead to this hidden lake between the mountains. I assume, the water is clear and cold, perfect peace around, how vitalizing a place close to the water would be, but then again - the panorama leaves speechless as well.

Glengesh Pass

One of the most dangerous roads of County Donegal leads from Ardara to Glencolumbkill - the Glengesh Pass. In Glencolumbkill or Glencolmcill the Folk Village Museum is worth a visit. It was built up by Fr. James Mc Dyer to give young people in the 'backyard' of Co.Donegal a chance for a job close to their home.

Glengesh Pass

A lovely little stream besides the Pass caused us to leave the car for a while, and I actually needed a rest from the dangerous trip. We met an old man at this place who was looking like you expect and old Irishman to look like - just a rural sight. But then he turned around and we spied a canister of poison against weeds on his back, and he brought it out close to the stream. Rural, eeeh?