Bernard aka "Bernie" is the nicest man.
He grew up on a farm but spent his career working construction.
Now he's retired and doing what he loves: working with and training Border Collies.
We met Bernie and Sally yesterday in the midst of a lesson. Bernie has his own dogs, but Sally, who's 4, belongs to a client.
We really enjoyed watching the tail end of the lesson and visiting with Bernie.
As we left, he and Sally were headed back to the house where Bernie was planning to have a cup of tea.
Bill braving the fierce, cold wind at Malin Head.
We learned that the Atlantic at Malin Head is governed by Great Britain, while below Malin Head, County Donegal is in charge of ocean happenings.
Bench of Hope, dedicated at Malin Head, northernmost point of Ireland in 2022.
Dedicated to all my friends and family who cling to hope of better health and better times, whatever their circumstances and wherever they may be.
Let us hope that our personal visions are granted and that we can continue to spread and share our collective light.
Note: I've tried to find the words to this poem because they're a bit hard to read on this plaque but have, as yet, had no luck.
But if you stick with it, reading line by line, you'll get enough of the message.
Yesterday was Election Day in Ireland.
The lady above is a favorite to win the Presidential election.
The Irish won't know the results, however, until today when counting begins.
What a simple and sensible change that concept would offer to our American elections!
For once, the people on the West Coast could vote for national candidates before the results are reported nationally.
America could use some fixing, in a lot of ways.
The restrooms at Malin Head are reported to be the cleanest in Ireland. That's because Collette tends to them.
It was nice to meet Collette and visit with her for a few minutes yesterday.
Ireland's roadsides often feature religious shrines, often works in progress and many devoted to the Virgin Mary.
One such display is located at Mamore Gap in County Donegal.
The shrines are fascinating and the view down toward the farmland and the ocean is unparalleled.
There are sheep for Collies to herd in the fields and sheep that do as they damn well please along and in the roadsides of Ireland.
Sheep figure they have the right-of-way on the road, so drivers can maneuver around them as they rest and chew their sheep cuds.
Whatever the case, the sheep are ubiquitous and whole lot prettier than our ubiquitous turkey flocks in North Idaho.
I'll take sheep any day.
Compliance
At the end of a day in the north of Ireland, Bill and I love to come back to one of our homes away from home here at the Seaview Tavern B and B.
We stay in unit 3 above the restaurant and bar. We look out the window at white caps of varying degrees on the North Atlantic.
We love our time spent visiting with Catriona, Michael, Maura, the Ashleys and the rest of the gang. We appreciate the attention to our room overseen by some of the above, along with Christine.
And, we love sitting at a table with an ocean view enjoying a Guinness or Chardonnay and a meal so tasteful, so filling and so comforting. Thank you Senan for sharing "the soup."
It's a place where the locals hang out, so we've seen parties honoring christenings, anniversaries and birthdays of the locals and whoever else loves coming to the establishment.
We also have met lovely people from other parts of Ireland and from around the world. Yesterday we met Caroline whose daughter is a harpist with the Irish Symphony Orchestra.
Today we met a fun family from India who work and live in Letterkenny and who, I have observed, have some of the best smiles ever.
We're all friends now, and we'll probably keep up the relationship through the magic of Facebook.
In short, our stay at Malin Head has been every bit as wonderful as past visits.
Thank you so much, all you wonderful people who inhabit or pass through this glorious spot in Ireland.
We'll move on today to Clifden to see some more hosts who have become good friends, John and Sue. We keep going there because they have dubbed us oldsters as "the kids."
The real kids are now on a flight from Seattle to Dublin, and later today we'll reconnect with Willie and Debbie at Sharamore House where Sue makes the best pancakes ever and John serves as a hero to many as a fisherman and as a member of the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) which performs ocean rescues.
So, as we say good bye to Malin Head, we'll be looking forward to the next leg of the trip and the people we are so fortunate to meet.
We are blessed, and that helps us immensely in the "hope" department.
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