Scratching Post.

For a long time Gramma and I have wanted to get some kind of scratching post for the horses. Ingrid is always scratching on the feeder or the barn posts or something. This is hard on her tail as it breaks the hair on the top of her tail. Everything we have looked at is either useless or too expensive. We have seen these brushes in different places but we have no sources to get them cheaply. Well when the Farmer Daughter and I took the pigs to St. Paul we took them to the Dodge Nature Center. A really cool place for kids to learn about farm animals. They had a couple of these brushes in a pasture and I asked the guy who runs the place about them. It turns out they used have a couple Fjiords and they were for them and the cows to scratch on. I mentioned that I had been looking for something like that and he asked me if I wanted one. For free! Seems he has a buddy that works for the city street dept. These are street sweeper brushes and when they get down to a certain diameter they replace them and Don gets them for free. Cool. So Friday our LEO son and our grandson Bubba and I went to the lake to put in the boat lift and when we got home they helped me put it up. (Thanks guys) It took Ingrid about 5 minutes to figure out what to do with it. It took Aksel about 2 hours, and most of that time he spent trying to eat it. Hopefully they will use it and Ingrid's tail will get better. Later.

Ireland Day 4

Wednesday 9/29/04

Drove to Cong today. Small roads, very narrow, very scary. I thought it would be better, but all the locals drive very fast. Not as good driving as I thought it would be. Went to Ashford Castle first. It was wonderful. Had an Irish coffee at the Little Cottage at the castle. Saw Cohan's Bar in Cong. Changed some in the last 53 years. The whole town has changed some in that time. Went to see the Castletown Station, and got lost twice. Turns out it is now someone's home so you can't see any of it that was in the movie. Disappointing. Oh well, that's life and after all this is "An Adventure". Gramma is scared a lot when we drive. Got back to Galway and stayed one more night at the Great Southern Hotel.

Free Range Eggs

Well the chickens have been out "Free Ranging" for several weeks now and the difference in yolk color is quite amazing. The lighter yolk in the picture is a store egg. Our eggs were this color before we let the girls out. No wonder free range eggs are better for you. More nutritious, 1/3 less cholesterol etc. I didn't mean to break all the yolks, but after I broke one and took pics, it turns out it was easier to see the difference if I broke them all. The difference is greater than the pictures show. Also they taste better. The girls are all grown enough now that I can tell them apart by their combs. So I named them now. Lucy, Ethel, Alice and Crooked Butt. Gramma doesn't like that last name but as you can see it fits. Bye.

Ireland Day 3

Tuesday 9/28/04

Gramma had to work today too. I was going to take the ferry to Inishmor, but found out I wouldn't get back til 8PM. So I decided not to go. Walked around the rest of Galway. Put a lot of miles on my feet the last two days. Raining again today. Still enjoyed walking around the city. All of the old part of town has narrow streets and all the buildings are hooked together. Most of the shops, pubs and hotels were built in the 16, 17 and 1800's. Everyone has been very friendly. Tomorrow we drive to Cong where "The Quiet Man" movie was made. (One of my all time favorites)

Ireland Travels

Ireland Day 3 Monday 9/27/04

Walked around Galway today. Raining. The Normans took the territory from the O'Flaherty family in 1234 and built a wall for defense in 1270. There is still two parts of this wall left and it seems hard to believe that I touched a man made thing that's almost 800 years old. Also went to the Church of St. Nicholas which was built in 1320 and is still in use today almost 700 years later. You can walk around the church but part of the path is tombs, so it's kind of creepy to walk on someones grave. I went inside and there were people in there praying so I didn't take any pictures inside. Ate lunch at O'Flaherty's and ate supper there too.

Chicks. Moved the new chicks into the garage yesterday as they were getting too big for the plastic bins. They seem to grow as you look at them. Be down in the coop before you know it.

Thursday I finally got the new boat in the water. There is an 8 hour break-in on the motor, but basically the first 2 hours are what count. I got an hour and 45 mins. in before it got so windy I had to get off the lake. So yesterday Gramma and I went to the lake and put in the dock and finished the fifteen mins. left of the break-in. We are very happy. 60 horse motor that trolls down like a 5 1/2. Fabulous. Drove from the lake to the Farmer Daughters house to pick up the post hole auger. Now I will get started on the deck. Gramma is happy. The Farmer Daughter is gathering turkey and duck eggs to put in her incubater and starting today we are saving our chicken eggs for her to hatch. Hopefully she will post some pics of this on her blog.

Ireland day 2
Sunday 9/26/04

Going to breakfast. Stayed in bed for almost 12 hours. Drove to Galway. Getting used to driving on the left. Stopped at Athlone for lunch. Ate at O'Neals Pub. Gramma had a Guiness and I had a Carlsburg. Good beer. Staying at the Great Southern Hotel in Galway. Beautiful. 4 seperate rooms. Bedroom, sitting room, and 2 baths. Hotel built in 1845. We went to bed about 9:30 and I slept till midnight. Can't sleep anymore. Gramma goes to work tomorrow so I am off on my own. Probably walk around Galway and maybe take a boat to the Aran Islands. Country side looks a bit different than I thought it would. By Dublin there are lots of trees. The farther West we went the trees got less and less and the rock walls got more and more. Pretty country. Towns are are pretty neat too. All the stores and pubs in the small towns are hooked together with small alleys here and there.

In 2004 Gramma and I went to Ireland. Seems like a lifetime ago. Gramma had business there through her work and I went along to keep her company. I kept a little journal of our adventure and I decided to put down here. Hope you find it interesting.

Saturday 9/25/04 Day 1

Arrived in Amsterdam about 12:00 PM, 1 1/2 hour layover. Arrived in Dublin 3:00 PM, rented a car and drove to the hotel. Very Scary! Driving on left steering wheel on right. Roads are very narrow. Hotel on the East Coast by Dublin Bay of the Irish Sea. The hotel is the Pormarnock Hotel and Golf Links. The hotel is nice. Also very old I think. The golf course is a links course and very scary looking. Deep roughs and deep circular bunkers. Our room overlooks the 1st tee. Our room faces Southwest and in the distance we can see what looks like mountains. Didn't know there were mountains here. Had to eat in the room as there were weddings and things going on and everything was crowded. Exhausted.