Broken. Again.

...While trying to photograph Cedric the Gnomad among the charming crocuses that are popping up all around here the camera decided to go on strike and once again I am faced with the same issue that my last Canon had: The lens wouldn't open. My old camera was brought to the camera doctor but after finding out that the repairs would amount to the same price of two basic cameras (the exact words of the technician were that it was so ancient and outdated that they might not have the parts to fix it) I decided to buy a new one.

It was an old camera, I was emotionally attached, that's all. We had some good times travelling around and of course snapping some saucy shots made me treat it like it was more than the giant silver dinosaur it really was (and after ten years I still hadn't figured out what most of the buttons did, but I really liked its swiveling screen thingy)

I bought a no-frills compact replacement for eighty dollars and happily started snapping away until the crocus incident and now I have to replace this sucker as well. It might be a sign that I should move on and get up to date with some iPhone Instagram Plan but my mobile phone works just fine (it's a dinosaur too), doesn't take pictures and for some reason I like that.
Cause when I am having a drink with someone my attention is focused on that person and not on some fancy touch screen, apps, texts and lord knows what else.

...I think I really need to get over my technophobe tendencies.

Photo derived from web

Gone

Vee has left and I feel somewhat forlorn without her. Our visit lasted five days and I was filled with such joy to have somebody I love and who knows me so well by my side in this rainy land of green hills. The more time spend away from home the more a certain amount of sadness seeps into my soul, and Vee's gift of traveling all the way here meant the world to me and lifted my spirits enormously.
Don't get me wrong. Northern Irish folks are plenty nice. And kind of reserved.
Back home we don't do reserved. There is an openness spread throughout the community that has become part of being. Often accompanied by a generous sense of kindness.
I miss that a lot.
Friends hold each others' hands and provide loving shelter when life's storms have knocked the breath outta ye. This I know. And I am one fortunate woman, to have such a strong base back home who rally around me every step of the way and who are willing to cross the Atlantic to hold me close. Damn.

That thing about finding pots of gold here under the Irish rainbows? I'm not even gonna try. I already got the Motherload back home.
See ya soon(ish), Gabriola Island.

V-Rock

Daunting Cliffs, High Winds and a Rope Bridge

A few miles from the Giant's Causeway there is Carrick-a-Rede, the rope bridge. My sweet pal Vee and I clambered onto it and although I threatened to jump up and down on the middle part when she was crossing I behaved most ladylike and we made it to the other side just fine. What a beautiful place!
In April two wondrous friends are coming and one of them is already shitting bricks but is adamant that she will attempt to cross it. I know she will be marvelous at it and I will be a good girl and not make the bridge sway like I did with Vee...

Ancient mustard-colored seashore lichens adorn the cliffs and gulls nestle on little perches, unaffected by the strong wind gusts and cold weather. The ocean here is as always roaring and wild, bashing against the rocks. After Vee and I made it to the other side we had to go back. With an entire schoolbus of teenagers right behind us on the bridge...

Carrick-a-Rede

Roadside Attraction

I love this.
On the side of the road, somewhere in Northern Ireland

Towering Heights

You can spot Scrabo Tower looming above everything else from miles away. It was build in 1857 as a memorial for some marquess (Imagining some architect in the 1800s: 'Hey! I have a great idea! Let's haul shitloads of building material up onto that big wicked windy hill with cliffs there and build a very tall tower! It will be a pain in the ass but it will really stand out!') Yeah.
Veronica came all the way from Canada and together we hiked around Scrabo. The 360 vista there is lovely, and although the tower was closed to the public for the day we gallivanted around the hiking paths and when she asked me for the name of the bushes that grew around there I promptly named them Thistly Thorn Thingies. It was windy and sunny and I was filled with utter happiness because a piece of home was walking next to me.

Vee amid the thistly thorn thingy thistle bush