Picto Diary - 22 April 2019 - Gorse
Note: See feedback on "The Enemy," and "Educated" book reviews in Addendum.
Above: Giant monkey puzzle trees. Ashford Castle gardens. Ashford Castle, County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Above: Connemara ponies. County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Above: Tractor rally. Aclare. County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Above: Gorse. Aclare, County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
This prickly, yellow flowered bush is ubiquitous throughout Ireland. It lines the highways, the hedgerows and can be seen in untended fields. The plant is inextricably tied up in Ireland's history and mythology.
In times of yore, farmers and shepherds used gorse in hedging their fields. It kept livestock in, and intruders out. Gorse was seen to be a good flea-repellent. And, ground up, gorse made excellent animal fodder.
Gorse is fast growing and rather invasive. So, farmers would burn back the old growth. The ashes would provide good nutrition for the soil.
The plant has been used from everything to flavoring whiskey, to medicinal purposes, to dying cloth. In old times, an infusion of the flowers would be given to children as a cure for scarlet fever. And, the seeds were considered beneficial as a laxative. Gorse was mixed with honey and used as a mouthwash. Strewn about the floor of a dwelling, gorse was thought to repel fleas.
A pagan association with yellow gorse meant that it was believed to harbor witches in its spiky domain. On May Day, gorse would be set alight in the hope of flushing out any witches hiding there. It was believed that they would transform themselves into the shape of hares and thus evade the flames by leaping swiftly for safety. Any hares found would be killed.
Above: Hoops grandfather's house. Aclare, County Mayo, Ireland 22 April 2019.
Grandfather's house, in the immediate vicinity of the crumbling stone structure, where Hoops' father was raised, was built for granddad in the 1930's by his kids (including Hoops' father).
Today we traveled through Hoop's ancestral lands. We saw the stone house where his father was raised. We saw property he and Bronx Girl jointly own with a cousin. We visited with his last surviving, 92 year old, aunt. Bishop loves Hoops' sense of family and is impressed with him keeping in touch with his extended family of cousins living in the UK, Ireland, and the United States.
Above: Marina, (Hoops cuz) Bronx Girl, TIMDT, Bishop, Hoops, Seamus. Kiltimagh Park Hotel, County Mayo, Ireland. 22 April 2019.
Addendum:
Great stuff.
'Cake,
Park City, UT
Steve, Kylemore Abbey is in Connemara, County Galway, NOT in County Mayo. :-(
Oscar,
Connemara, Ireland
Comments on "The Enemy" book review.
We both liked this one.
Hippo and Survival
Hatch, UT
Comments on "Educated" book review.
Blue leftists love to define the Right, rather than just observing reality.
Reno,
Lehi, UT
Not my favorite. Couldn't wait to be done with it.
Bling,
Albuquerque, NM
I just finished it too, I think your observations are fair and accurate. My hat is off to her for the initiative she took to change her trajectory, but, I thought she was woefully inadequate in giving credit to those who really helped her. et. the people at BYU and in the Church generally.
Apple,
Salt Lake City, UT
Interesting that you reject her description of HER OWN FAMILY as based on stereotype, then assume that her words speak for all of the "educated blue America."
GC,
Minneapolis, MN
Her father was sadistic and mentally ill. And, if her father's blessing was coming from "God," then that certainly isn't a kind of god that women would ever care to follow or believe in. She was a hero to escape the abuses and make her own way in the world. I applaud her with every page turned. Every abused woman understood.
Academy,
Salt Lake City, UT
I think you are probably correct Steve as It was a “sensational” book. Perhaps to put it in perspective we should keep in mind the words of the brother of the author of “Angela’s ashes” who said, “I don’t know what house he grew up in but I don’t remember most of that.” He was feted all over NYC. People often improve on a story as they tell it. It is very human and the Irish are famous for embellishments.
Comic Mom,
New York City, NY