Outside the kitchen window above the sink, adjacent to our cow conversing window, a small rose bush with a single vibrant pink bloom has greeted me every day since our arrival. I do not typically have a fascination with roses. They are beautiful but do not usually spark extreme interest for me. I view them as fussy and serious flowers, which inevitably die after two days of sitting in my kitchen at home. Kevin does not bring me flowers very often as I get sad when they die but when he does, they are usually daisies as they have happy little faces and are cheerful and fun. However, this single rose outside the kitchen has captured my attention since I first walked through the cottage door. No matter the weather this single rose, in its bright shade of pink has been happily blooming everyday lasting much longer that I thought normal for a rose and every time I pass by it, cannot help but pause to take in its beauty, smile, and feel a boost to my spirit. I was saddened to see over the last few days, the single rose was looking a little worse for wear and its time was coming to an end, much like our time in Ireland. I stopped looking; its deterioration, a constant reminder of how few days we have left on our adventure. However, much to my delight this morning, two new blooms have taken its place. They are open, and bright, and appear to be just as happy as my single flower friend was. This morning’s contemplations circle around the adage that one must experience sadness in order to fully appreciate joy; as sad as I was over the loss of a single rose, I am extremely grateful for the two new blooms that have replaced it. Despite our time here in Ireland closing soon, those fresh blooms serve as happy reminders to fully enjoy the remaining time I have left here as there are more days left to come, and when this adventure ends, look forward to the ones that await at home.

Over the course of the last few weeks, we have slowly made our way through activities and sights I thought Kevin and the girls would find fun and interesting. Today was no exception. We drove about twenty minutes northeast of Dungarvan, after a light sandwich lunch at The Blue Door, to the town of Kilmacthomas and experienced three delightful hours with Willie Corcoran, the owner, and his amazing birds at the Mayfield Birds of Prey Education Center in a private showing. We began with Willie’s history with birds, how his education center began, his training, and a tour of the facility and moved on to individually meet his owls and hawks, receiving a plethora of information on each one. Kevin and I were completely fascinated and could have sat listening to him speak of the birds for hours. During the explanation of the safety precautions to be taken while bird handling for both the handler and the bird, an injured owl was dropped off and Willie walked us through the steps that would be taken on his end, to care for the bird until its move to a rehabilitation center.

Next up, a hawk walk. The four of us donned blue nitrile gloves and over top of them, thick leather gloves that reached up our arm. Willie chose a hawk named Mikey to be our companion for the walk and while still standing on the porch of the center, placed a small piece of chicken atop my glove and Mikey, in all his glory, swooped onto my arm to take his prize. We all had a trial run there on the porch, left the center and walked up the road, through the trees, and into a field. During which, Willie continued to explain about the birds and place bits of chicken on our gloves, and Mikey continued his dance through the trees, gliding onto whichever arm was holding his treat. At one point we spread out in the field and Mikey soared from arm to arm across the field and it was amazing. We returned to the center and each of us were invited to choose birds we wanted to hold and take pictures with. It was incredible. I said once that it would be hard for me to pick a favorite part of this trip outside of experiencing it all with my family; I think, perhaps, that was shortsighted of me as this was so incredible.

We wrapped up our adventure by picking up postcards of some of the birds we held, thanking Willie for his time, educational presentation, and hospitality, as we stayed an hour longer than the show was to last, and headed back to Dungarvan for dinner. We had Dinner at Ming’s Court, a Chinese restaurant over-looking the harbor, where Ellery spotted a rainbow from the window, and we devoured more food than our waitress thought possible. There is no question as to everyone’s thrill for the day as spending time with the birds, learning from Willie, and flying with Mikey is all any of us can talk about. An experience of a lifetime that will never be forgotten. I have all but finished my breakfast and we have more activities to engage in today, but only after I finish my cup of tea.