What's the forecast? (bog brain morning)

The morning of Day 3. It's a peaceful and rainy morning. I've managed to get some coffee in and ... not much else. It's 10am. My mind is a bit foggy, so I'll just jot down a few notes on topics that deserve more research.

Cliffs of Moher
If Andrew gets out of bed today, we might go to the Cliffs of Moher. Here's a youtube video of Ben Howard's 'Old Pine,' which shows the landscape.

Geography and Archeology

Galway is bordered by bogs to the east, burren to the southwest, and sea to the south. Development necessarily goes to the northwest. I'd like to make a point of seeing what this means when we get out in the car. I came across this note by asking Par where the larger business reside. Since our accommodations are at the "heart" of Galway, one would be inclined to look no further than the map of restaurants and pubs, the shops, and the River Corrib which flows from Lough Corrib through Galway to Galway Bay.

River Corrib & the Canals & White Swans
The canals aren't just a beatiful accessory to the landscape here. The River Corrib is a fast flowing river that empties into what I've heard called the basin. By day, people gather along the river bank and it is beautiful and peaceful especially with the great white swans-- Pam says there are three young swans which we should be able to find if we take the river walk up a ways... but I'm also finding that the Corrib can be quite dangerous and that people have gone missing in it, Par says maybe even as much as one per month. He says that you can here the helicopters going out sometimes to search for a body. If they can find it in the canal at the weekend, then it will turn up later in the week at one or two known inlets at the Bay.

http://www.photos.galwaynews.ie/5118-man039s-body-found-after-search-corrib

Between our visit to the museum yesterday and dinner, I really began to wonder if one aspect of Galway is that it's a place where things and people go missing and if the River Corrib isn't somehow magically connected to that. There's so much history and lore that leads me to this idea.

And the swans are part of it, too.

"Where are your husband's children?"
"They are in the lake... I changed them into white swans... because my husband loved them more than they loved me."

Natterjack Toad
This is the only toad/frog species native to Ireland. It's found in County Kerry, but maybe if I just mention it in this blog, one will find its way to me. :-) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natterjack_Toad

Bog
It's not just in my imagination. Bogs are important. Pam built a wonderful fire this morning with dried peat from the bog. The house is wonderfully warm, and the Par gave me a heads up that the peat delivery would be coming in just a few minutes. Par says that the process is simple enough-- cut out the peat, dry it and bring it down the road to the people that need it. I know it sounds quite ordinary, but I think that it's such a blessing of a resource to have, especially since it rains here so much. I think most everyone knows that bogs are also renowned for preserving whatever falls into it.
http://blog.goireland.com/2010/01/19/bogs-in-ireland/#axzz1wR9fo99f

Art
This is a topic that's come up for us, as there is so much creative talent here. What do aspiring creative artists do to bring their work out into the marketplace? Really, there's some interesting graffiti here, and I think there's more than a fair amount of meaningful doodling happening here.

One of the places we must check out is the Black Cat Gallery.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Black-Cat-Gallery/178266702229569

Also need to check out Cathy Davey's 'Bag of Bones Collection' at http://www.myspace.com/cathydavey.

Theatre
This is simply a must-do.

The Irish Times – 25 Things to Look forward to in 2012 – 31.12.11

“It begins with a faith so rigid that it cannot be eaten away by the Great Hunger. It continues in 1960s Coventry, where an uprooted Irish family is tearing itself apart. And it concludes in a Galway pub where reunited friends seek new beliefs in a disenchanted Ireland. The tragedy of famine, as Tom Murphy saw it, was that “a hungry and demoralised people become silent”. Starting in May, the restorative journey of DruidMurphy, a staging of Tom Murphy’s Famine, A Whistle in the Dark and Conversations on a Homecoming, which will tour Ireland, London and the US, is the story of a nation. Essential.”

Writer Retreats
Chris de Lorenzo, I am thinking of you because I know you love to plan retreats. Noleen says she'll help put together a list and she has wonderful stories of doing retreats here... Will update. And of course, I think Par & Pam's place would make a wonderful retreat for a writer or other creative spitit.



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