Saturday Slight

County Kerry: The Ring of Kerry is "a must for any trip to Ireland, with its spectacular views all along the way," said Annie Love. 

County Kerry: After a day exploring the Dingle Peninsula, a stop in Dingle town for dinner is in order.   Photo and caption by Annie Love

Two days 'til St. Paddy's and just 10 full days 'til departure to Ireland.  Bill has a new suitcase, and this morning he's headed off to Cabela's to find some new walking/hiking shoes.  

The long-awaited dream of the family visit to Ireland is unfolding with day-by-day preparation.

Annie added to her excitement by entering some of her scenics of Ireland, from past trips, in a CNN photo campaign. 

Yesterday she was thrilled to learn that two of her pictures (above) were included among the 27 in a CNN online feature called "Glorious Ireland."  

The full feature can be found at CNN Travel:  http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/travel/irpt-glorious-ireland/index.html?hpt=hp_bn10

Also, on the pages for Annie's photos, links to others she submitted are available. Congratulations, Annie.  We are proud of you.

And, a very special thanks to our daughter for setting up this trip, starting March 26, for the rest of the family.  She has mapped out the itinerary, which includes geocaching adventures in Ireland and Northern Ireland, she's ordered the cars and made arrangements for all accommodations.

All those gestures make for a wonderful experience for the rest of the family, and I do believe Annie's pretty excited to show off the beautiful countries to all of us. 

The big item of preparation for me today is holding horses.  John Fuller will be here at noon to put shoes on Lily and Lefty.

They'll be leaving next week for their month of boot camp in Spokane with Monty.  Lily's already noticed that something is amiss.

A couple of days ago I quit adding a flake of alfalfa to her morning and night feedings. She still stands in wonderment for several minutes after sniffing through the hay piles and finding just grass hay to eat.

Lily looks pretty plump after her winter, and they don't feed alfalfa at the stable, so I figured I'd let her down easy on the good stuff here at the Lovestead.

Time for her to firm up the fat and get into working condition. 

As for Lefty, he's content because we don't dare even show him alfalfa or he'll gain an instant 100 pounds.  Dr. Grace provided me a shot of silennium to administer to Lefty in hopes that it might calm down his chronic skin irritation.  

Only time will tell.  If we go for several months with no rubbing the hide to raw skin, then silennium does the trick.  If not, we'll try whatever suggestion comes along next. 

Anyway, horses will be here for just a few more days.  Our Lovestead sitter comes Monday to get acquainted with doggies and Festus and the place.  

I had my hair zapped yesterday. More stuff will go in suitcases, and soon the day of the Big Trip will come.

In the meantime, a nice day provides more opportunity to clean up residue in the yard as snow continues to recede.  

Lots going on.  Great Saturday ahead, so I'll wish all a great day.