Photographic Views

Achill Island, Ireland

Connemara, Ireland

Culmstock, Devon, England

Osprey with flounder, Assateague Island, Maryland

Cawdor Castle, Scotland

Sligachan Bridge, Scotland

Skellig Islands, Ireland

St. Patrick's Day By Numbers

This is taken from a CNN release; parts not in quotes are my own comments.....
   "When you suit up in green and head to the St. Patrick's Day parade or your favorite Irish bar to celebrate, dropping these facts and figures about the holiday's origins will impress your fellow revelers!"  -  Originally, the color blue was used to celebrate Saint Patrick.

" 5 - St. Patrick's Day began as a religious holiday to honor the the man who, in the fifth century," did the most to introduce and spread Christianity across Ireland.  There were two other Christian 'missionaries' in Ireland prior to Patrick's arrival.

" 1762 - The first St. Patrick's Day parade took place in New York on 17 March 1762.

149 million - Number of people in the United States who plan to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in 2018.

83 - Percentage of those celebrating who plan to wear green.

27  - Percentage of Americans who plan to go to a bar or restaurant to celebrate.

$5.9 billion - Expected St. Patrick's Day spending in 2018.

3,400 - Species of snakes in the world.  According to legend, St. Patrick drove all of the snakes from Ireland. "  In truth, there were never any snakes living on the land that became Ireland.

" 5 - Approximate number of hours the Chicago River remains emerald green after being dyed for the city's St. Patrick's Day parade.

17-5641 - The Pantone number for the color emerald green, which was the 'Pantone Color of the Year' for 2013.

32.3 million - People in the United States with Irish ancestry, as of 2016.

1 in 10,000 - Your chances of finding a four-leaf clover.

6 - Ireland's global rank in beer consumption per capita in 2016, with 98.2 liters.

21 - The United States' rank in beer consumption per capita in 2016, with 74.8 liters.

170 - Rank in popularity in the United States of the baby name of Patrick in 2016.

460 - Calories in a 12-ounce (small) McDonald's limited-edition green Shamrock Shake.  The large size contains 800.  "


My husband's male ancestors came from Ireland.  The surname is Devine, which was from the Irish Gaelic  Ó Daimhín.  The root of this name is believed to be "damh," which supposedly means an "ox" or a "stag."  The name Devine is chiefly found today in the Irish counties of Tyrone and Fermanagh.  Up to the fifteenth century, the chief of the sept was Lord of Tirkennedy in County Fermanagh.

Lonely Roads - Photos

Scenic Views

Villarrica volcano at Pucon, Chile erupting yesterday

Mohawk Valley, New York

Stone house, Indiana

Second-oldest building in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

1783 barn in Bridgewater, Vermont

The Kerry Way walking path, Ireland

Sunset at the Curtis Merritt Harbor Marina, Chincoteague Island, Virginia

Santas Around the World

Polynesia

Finland

Russia

Prussia

Great Britain

Ireland

Hong Kong

Old Stonework Photos

Buildings in Tibet

Crom Estate, County Fermanagh, Ireland

St. Andrew's Cathedral, Scotland

Engelsburg castle, the Czech Republic

The Great Wall, China

Animal News

The mother bear and her two cubs vacated their tree on Uni Hill soon after dark last night, and ambled west, back into the Foothills and Open Space of Boulder County.  That's a big relief to me, because the Denver news stations kept on broadcasting that the bears would be killed if they weren't out of the tree by midnight...

Bear cub in tree on University Hill in Boulder, Colorado

Irish horse-racing star St. Nicholas Abbey is progressing well, now, after yet another set back.  The handsome bay colt broke the pastern of his right fore during a gallop, and had surgery to place a weight-bearing pin in the bone.  Two days later, he had emergency colic surgery, and his status was "guarded."  A week ago, he appeared to be in pain, and his pastern was X-rayed; the pin and screws had separated, so he had to have surgery on the leg yet again.  He is currently on his feet, with a cast on his broken pastern, and a cast covering his opposite hoof, in order to keep his legs and feet at the same height, to fight laminitis.

St Nicholas Abbey at the equine hospital in Ireland

Back to Boulder for another chapter in the story of Edward, the Mapleton Elk, who was killed by an on-duty police officer, without cause.  Samuel Carter, the ex-officer, who killed the trophy elk out of season in a residential yard had asked, several weeks ago, for a change of venue, stating he wouldn't get a fair trial in Boulder.  A judge today denied the change of venue request.  Two ex-officers were involved in the conspiracy to kill Edward; the other was Brent Curnow, who ran a taxidermist business from his home. Curnow had called in sick for his work shift the night Edward was killed, but arrived soon after Carter telephoned him, to load Edward's body into his covered pickup truck, to start the taxidermy work on the big elk.  The Boulder Prosecutor's office offered Curnow a plea deal last week, which he accepted yesterday. He will be under house arrest for 60 days, must perform 120 hours of community service and will be on probation for one year, but will serve no jail time.  This was because he pled guilty to the felony charge of tampering with evidence, and four misdemeanors involving the death of the trophy elk.  I'm afraid his plea deal is a slap in the face to Sam Carter (hee-hee!)...

Edward the Elk, in a yard on Mapleton Avenue, 3 days before being gunned down by a policeman

Views Around the World

Riding at Black Mountain Ranch in Colorado

Karlskrona, Sweden

County Louth, Ireland

I think  this in the European Alps - but I might be wrong...

Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Hawai'i

Around the World

Black Caviar winning her 24th race today in Australia

 

Coastal Ireland

 

Home on a Norwegian fjord

 

Sunrise under the St. Augustine, Florida pier

 

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trees lining the road in Northern Ireland