Green Acres is the Place to be...

ALL OF MY PICTURES CAN STILL BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell. I have more photos, but I've run out of uploads for June - the rest will follow in July.
So I don't think I'll ever live on a farm, but I'm quite enjoying my stay here at Ardagh Castle Goat Farm. Don't let the name mislead you - all that's left of the castle is a stack of stones almost completely overgrown with grass. The property is still gorgeous, though, with your typical Irish rolling green hills. My host is a great woman named Judy who manages the farm only with the help of WWOOFers like myself; how she does it is a mystery to me. Aside from caring for 8 female goats, 1 to-frisky-for-his-size male, and 3 "kids", she also makes cheese from their milk, keeps chickens, a boarding kennel, and rents out a cottage (a converted dairy cow stable) to holiday makers. On top of constantly being busy, she has to retrain and put up with inexperienced workers every time a new WWOOFer comes in. I wouldn't have the patience for it all!
Judy's house is a beautiful one that had been abandoned for over 20 years before she took it on as a project - inside she found old furniture, lots of garbage, and a shrine to the pope amidst a chimney full of crows, a house full of sparrows, and a balcony full of honey bees. Over the next 2 years she turned it into a livable place and working farm again. In the picture you see, the house on the left is Judy's, the small building in the middle is the creamery where the goats are milked, and on the right is the cottage that used to be the cow shed. To the right of this is the vegetable garden and the tiny white building almost covered by the hedge is the chalet where I sleep.
Mornings and evenings are spent milking goats and walking dogs - both more time consuming than you would expect. The days are filled with whatever else needs to be done, be it battling the stinging nettles in the garden, or mending hay racks; and I can muck out an entire goat shed in no time flat! I also get to trap magpies - as cruel as it sounds, I quite enjoy that job only because I know what a nuisance they are! And the trap is the greatest invention I've ever seen! I was the only WWOOFer my first week here, which can get a bit lonely working during the day, but since then a Frenchman named Laundre has come and this week we're expecting a full house - a Spanish guy, 2 French girls, and a German couple. I mistakenly made the comment that there won't be anything to do and in return I got a list of projects to be finished this week. That will teach me to keep my mouth shut!
I walked down to the Lough Ine (pronounced Lock Hyne) on my last day off; it's a saltwater lake that meets the ocean over a narrow rapid. There's a giant hill you can hike up for an absolutely fantastic view of the area. On 2 sides all you see is ocean and rolling green hills with farms and cows. The sailboats on the water look like little toys that are barely moving. Another great place to go is Cape Clear island, a 45 minute ferry ride from Baltimore. It's a tiny island with not much to do - you don't need more than a few hours, but it's worth seeing. It's got great walking trails and beaches comparable to some in Seattle (you Californians would still call them fake beaches), and the views are incredible. Overall, South Cork is a quiet are and the people are great. Again, Not the type of place I think I'll end up, but perfect for a quiet holiday.

Oh how easy it is...

ALL MY PHOTOS CAN BE FOUND AT www.flickr.com/photos/jamierushell

How easy it is to re-adapt to the traveller lifestyle. It's a constant whirl of new people, new places, lots of sights, and exhaustive amounts of walking - all while running on as little sleep as possible to stay on your feet. I love it!

New York in 12 hours really isn't very interesting. I definitely want to go back, but once airport and transport times are factored in, I had just enough time to glance at one sight before dashing off to the next one. I started in Times Square after meeting another Seattleite named Ralph on the subway. He kept claiming to know this great breakfast cafe but it didn't seem to exist, so we settled on bad omelets instead. Other than shopping, there's really nothing to do in Times Square except to marvel at the number of people that can fit in such a small place. I was able to nap in Central Park for a short while, which was much needed - I hardly slept on the plane at all. I also got to see ground zero, which was kind of eerie. I could picture people running through the streets I saw on TV and couldn't even imagine what it must have been like. The monument they're building is going to be called the Freedom Tower - who's surprised? I'm not anti-American in any way, but aren't we going a little overboard on this whole freedom-this and freedom-that name thing? Maybe it's just me, but I think it's too much.

I got to the hostel in Dublin at 9am, but I couldn't check in till 2, so I ventured out in the same pajamas I'd been wearing for 2 days, counting down until I could shower. When you start to smell yourself, you know you have a problem. If you don't know much about Irish history, it would be worth reading up on - or rent the movie Michael Collins. I visited Kilmainham Gaol, which started out as the first (unsuccessful) rehabilitation jail in Ireland, but eventually became the place where most political prisoners were held, and a lot of them executed. I know almost nothing of Irish history and I thought it was a really interesting place to be able to see. Being as this is my third trip to Dublin, I've already seen the sights I want to see and this time around I've done a lot of lounging around at St Stephens Green and meeting other travellers. I love to sit and people watch, especially when you get snippets of conversation - you can sit and ponder what they're actually talking about. My favorite snippet I've caught so far went exactly like this: "ok so now this vagina has balls..." hmm the jokes that could be told...

Anyhow, my roommate Lucy and I went out on a pub crawl the other night, where we met 4 guys from another hostel - the Canadians Richie, Gorp, and Rouie (rhymes with Louie), and the Californian George. It was Brazil night at the last bar we went to - there was a band playing traditional Brazilian instruments, but it was still dance music, and a kind of bad DJ with a hat that made him look like Kevin Federline - I tried to steal it but he wouldn't let me keep it :( I'll dance with anyone who wants, but only if they don't touch me - I need my bubble and I wasn't getting it at this place. Finally I got sick of pushing people away, so I jumped up on the stage and danced with one of the band members. He tried to teach me a Brazilian dance, but I think I just embarrassed myself in front of a bar full of people. I'm cool with it though because who else gets to say they learned to dance to Brazilian music in an Irish bar, embarrassing or not!

Tonight I'm venturing to Trim in county Meath to visit my friend Yvette - and Yvette is always a good time! I get to go to a real Irish pub - not the mainstream touristy pubs you find all over Dublin. And after that, it's off to the goat farm! Wish me luck and I'll let you know how my adventures in cheese making go.

Cheers!