Home Turf

Yesterday, after we walked to the pier and along the shore walk to the end, we turned onto Quay Street and walked down that way for a while. When we came to a narrow road, we walked up that, too, to see what we would see.

Not far up the road was this abandoned house.

It's sad to see homes like this--it could be a cute house and probably was once, but now it's just left to the elements. The way things are built here, using concrete block and sometimes stone, means that there are many abandoned buildings still standing. The buildings last, even when windows and roofs are long gone. This one isn't so far gone yet, but if left alone, eventually, it probably will be.

This pile of turf was a bit puzzling because of where it is.

It's a lot of turf--the work involved in cutting it, drying it, and piling it up would have been extensive,. The pile sits in a back garden (yard), behind a stone wall and in back of a house that does not look like it is currently occupied, but is having an extension built. I am not sure whether work has stopped on the extension or not as there was no one working on it yesterday. I wondered at first if someone who lives nearby was using the space to store their own turf, but the house across the road has old stone outbuildings and we could see in one of them that no longer had a door that they use it to keep wood. It's a mystery.

Back on Quay Street, we saw this tableau in a front garden. I didn't notice the daffodil peeking out from behind the little house until I looked at the picture. I love the old couple on the bench.

Today's walk was to Aldi for a weekly shop. We stopped at the hand/trolley handle sanitising station at the entrance. There were few people in the store and while most of the shelves were full, the produce section had some bare spots. I got everything on my list, though. They have marked distances on the floor for when waiting at the till--rectangles of bright colour that say, 'please wait here.' People were complying.

There was one person who passed us heading the other way when we were on our way there, but on the way home, the only people walking were on the other side of the street. When we got home, I put the groceries away and washed my hands. We went to the store today because we were about out of milk after last week's shop. We figured that since we were going to the store anyway, we might as well pick up more things at the same time and avoid any extra shopping trips.

The Irish government announced some new measures yesterday--closing non-essential businesses, telling people not to be together with people outside the household in groups larger than 4, increasing the financial assistance to businesses and individuals harmed by the pandemic, and more. Closures have been extended to April 19 and may be extended further. I read today that postal carriers will be checking in on elderly people. All in all, I think the official response here has been good. And although there are people who think these rules and guidelines should not apply to them, it seems that locally, people are taking this seriously, at least based on what I've seen.

And now, I'm off to make a cup of tea with a splash of milk 😀 While I wait for the kettle to boil, I will decide what book to start next. I would not have thought that I could be any more grateful for the existence of books than I already was, but I have found that there is always room for gratitude to be moved up a notch. I am more grateful than ever for my books and yarn!

 I hope all is well with you! Stay safe!

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