End of July, 2026
Don’t ask why, but for some reason this view stood out to me.
I walk past our wine glasses every day – countless times per day, in fact – and see this view often… but something was different today.
Maybe the lighting? Maybe the fact that there was only one glass in front? I couldn’t say. All I can say is that it was pretty, and I enjoyed framing the shot and cropping the resultant photo.
Sunday, 19-July-2026
Continuing on the vein of getting to check out things that I hadn’t had a good excuse to… We went to Kildare! And saw Brigid’s well!
I’ve tried finding bits of history into Ireland’s ancient past – visiting the tombs, looking for museums, that sort of thing – and it’s always exciting for me to find another connection into Ireland’s pre-Christian past. St. Brigid of Kildare is one of those connections – She’s a saint, of course, but looking back into the past it seems that she was “assimilated” into the Catholic pantheon from older tradition.
Going with my friend, we were able to get a glimpse into that… though it all felt like it was intentionally obfuscated, either as a threat to the reigning religion, or perhaps in protection by those who still practice her worship?
I couldn’t say. All I can say is that it was lovely to get out of town, to get to fly the drone a bit, and to get to see some relics of an older version of Irish culture.
Wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigid_of_Kildare
Saturday, 18-July-2026
The botanical gardens are one of those places in Dublin that everyone says I should go see… but it’s just touristy enough that I’ve never actually made the jump to explore.
No more! Today, I do the tourist thing! Today… I see the Botanical Gardens!
See, it’s never possible to go to tourist things in your own city on your own. Just a rule of the universe, like magnetism or the speed of light. It’s just a thing, don’t worry about it. But when you have a friend visiting from out of town… well. That’s a new story!
I had a friend visiting! She’d landed earlier in the day, so as our first adventure… the botanical gardens!
I really enjoyed them. They’re pretty, the greenhouse was great, and the grounds themselves were pretty and immaculately maintained. There were even a whole ton of people walking around, including a random Oregonian who we ended up chatting with for a bit… which is always nice to see. I have a special place in my heart for “third spaces”, and seeing them well attended brings a smile to my face.
Of course, there was one negative… because there’s always some little negative aspect: A very entertaining sign we saw. I hadn’t noticed before, but it turns out that there’s no trash cans in the gardens.
Why?
Well. Did you know that it’s expensive to deal with trash disposal? And it’s cheaper to not do it yourself, and just get the city to do it for you?
True story. So the garden decided to remove their waste receptacles, and instead direct people to the public trash cans outside the gate.
Extra special no comment.
It was really pretty, though. I can’t fault that.