Teas and T's: Thursday, Killarney-Ring of Kerry-Killarney

We got up to wet sidewalks and gray skies, but the rain was over and the sun came out. Finally, I did my arm exercises. I got to try kippered herring. One of the ladies ordered it for breakfast and didn’t want it all so was passing around samples. Glad I didn’t order it. It tasted like smoked, salty mild salmon. Not my idea of breakfast fare. I had some oatmeal (porridge if you’re Irish) and a wheat roll with a slice of cold ham and a slice of cheddar.

Our entire day was spent driving the Ring of Kerry. The scenery is breathtaking, and surprisingly, the terrain is quite rugged in some areas, tall hills (or mountains depending on where you live) with gray rocks and green, green, green.

We stopped at a little village of thatched hut cottages with vintage furnishings. They weren’t reproductions – they were actually moved onto the property. In the pasture was a sweet little yellow-gold horse with a white face. Her baby was there and was a miniature replica of mama. They’re bog ponies who pull the wagons loaded with peat, bred with wide feet so they don’t sink into the bogs. A black and white kitty, identical to the one at Blarney Castle, came over for some pets. The kitties are little here, like Susie.

This is what peat looks like when cut.

One of the cottages had a peat fire burning so I was thrilled. I’ve wanted to smell a peat fire since the day I first read about them. The smell is actually quite nice – earthy with a little not-too-sweet pipe tobacco thrown in for interest.

I saw bogs as we were driving by and they just look like what I call “wetlands”. I expected something a little more exciting with dead tree stumps and limbs, murky black water, with mists hanging over all.

Another stop was for a demo of sheep and Border Collies. The owner had a collection of a dozen different kinds of sheep and he’d isolate one and send it over by the fence where we were standing while he told us the name of the breed and the ultimate products of each. They were all colors; white all over, white with black faces, black and white spotted. The brown one was about half grown and Brandon (owner) said that particular breed is black when it’s born, turning to brown and then eventually becoming white. He said that they call it “the Michael Jackson experience”.

I must have “soft touch” written on my forehead and sheep must be able to read, because they came right to me to get a head scratch and they’re dirty and smell absolutely terrible.

There were three dogs and six sheep in the demo. The young dog went into a frenzy. He wanted to run those sheep so badly. He’d get so excited; he’d jump up and down like a bucking bronco.

Finally, Brandon sent one of the older dogs to the dog house and took the young one to work the sheep. You could almost see worship in that dog’s eyes when he looked at his master. All in all, a very enjoyable experience.

The Ring of Kerry has some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve seen. Lakes and streams and lots of green, of course; but also quaint little villages, churches, sheep and cows, houses old, new, and falling down, flowers of all colors, and giant boulders of a shade of gray which looks like silver or pewter.

We had a lunch stop overlooking a beautiful cove with more green beyond. The hill across the street from the restaurant had been planted - not the same pristine presentation of flowers I'd see in towns, but natural and untended. I ordered lasagna and salad and then discovered I missed my chance at authentic Irish stew. I checked off one more item at dinner, however, when I had Irish soda bread. My starter at dinner was a puff pastry shell with shellfish and cream sauce, lamb with potatoes and cauliflower, then butter brickle ice cream for dessert.

Before dinner I had a chance to walk the downtown shopping area, take pictures, and buy a couple of remaindered history books of Ireland. I know to stay out of bookstores, but a magnet just seems to pull me in.