Some time, make the time...

Tuesday night was Allison's turn to cook. She produced two quiches which were exemplary in taste and aesthetics.

Allison's Quiches

On Wednesday, we headed to our first official Irish Studies lecture and field trip. We were to visit the immigration officer on Friday, so the usual time slot was pushed ahead. The lecture was fascinating; our professor, Gordon D'Arcy, has written and contributed to several publications on the Burren, and takes a scientific approach in his lessons, something I did not expect, and am delighted to have. Today's subject was the Burren as a place of rock and water; the ancient limestone and how it shapes life in the region. Turloughs were the star of the day. They are not lakes (being covered in grass and sedge rather than reeds and other aquatic vegetation), but flood in winter, sometimes cutting off roads or stranding cattle. They drain to the sea from swallow holes when the weather dries up, but some have been permanently drained to maximize agricultural efficiency. There are just forty or so left, all in the limestone regions of Western Ireland.

Not sure why this was so funny to me.

We bussed around the Burren and inspected some turloughs, then headed to the Flaggy Shore. This is the site of inspiration for Seamus Heaney's Postscript. Standing on the rocks imbedded with ancient corals, watching the glinting breakers of the bay on one side and the stillness of Loch Muirí on the other, you can indeed feel your heart blow open.

Coral fossils. About 330 million years old.

The Flaggy Shore.

For here on, our Irish Studies field trips will be on Fridays, but not until mid-October, as our professor is away for a few weeks. Apologies again for posting this retroactively; we have determined the rain to the be the culprit in our internet woes, which in Ireland is sadly comical.