A Five Minute Walk
Despite the relentless drizzle that turned to rain before we’d gone that far at all, the walk was still pleasant enough. It was even better when the rain suddenly tapered off then stopped altogether. Rain and Ireland go together. It’s the reason everything is so green, grass loves rain. We’d noticed that people accept it, are resigned to it, and some hate it. For the most part, it was like water off a duck’s back, no big deal. It amuses me to see the different reactions to a bit of precipitation. Some go along as if it’s not raining at all, some simply hurry a bit more, or hold a newspaper over their head, and some go full on raincoat, umbrella and rubber boots or wellies. I suppose it’s all a frame of mind. You can whine about the weather, or go with the flow. Most just go with the flow.
By the time we’d reached the outskirts of Kildare, the rain had stopped. We stopped to admire the view and rest a bit, when sweetpea slowly said, “Um, what’s going on in that field, mom? Am I seeing things, or does it look like the ground is moving?”
I gave the field in question a hard look, only to realize she was right. The ground was moving … with rabbits, so many rabbits. With little to no natural predators, they’d clearly multiplied beyond the imagination. The field we looked down upon was wall to wall, rabbits. We’d never seen anything like that before, ever. Thinking back on it, the sight still amazes me. The damage rabbits can do, can be significant. That many rabbits, damage would be a given. Back home, we have fox, coyotes and all sorts of birds of prey to keep populations down. Obviously, the necessary predators were absent from the area.
Leaving our purchases in the bed and breakfast, we ventured out to find a phone to call home. Internet cafes were easy enough to find, and calling home was incredibly inexpensive. Sometimes these cafes were a bit on the seedy side, and the one in Kildare was definitely in that category. There were a few booths with phones, and after making the arrangement to use one, we looked forward to chatting with the family back home. Stepping into the booth, one breath had us leaping from the small space, gagging with disgust. The smell … well, it was horrible. Honestly horrible. There was a stench that overwhelmed and disgusted. I can’t even describe it, that’s how bad it was. Still, it was the only phone available, so we had little choice in the matter. If we wanted to call home, we had to use it. Catching my breath, I dove back in, quickly dialed home then leapt out again, gasping for air but with receiver in hand. There was no darn way either of us, were going to stand in that small space. To try would surely result in some rather serious upchucking.
We called hubby at work, chatted with Christina, the shipper at the gravel pit for a few minutes, and were lucky to catch him between loads. Yes, we were having a great time. Yes, we’d been riding, and Ireland was beautiful. Were the horses okay, everyone and everything doing well? After being assured that all was as it should be, we said good-bye and got ourselves out of that smelly place. The need for a shower was great. It was the only time a single booth was so disgusting. I can only imagine how disgustingly filthy, the person who’d left the stench behind, had been.
From Kildare, we made our way back to Dublin again. With family in the Netherlands, we had to pop in to visit or feel the wrath of dismay. There was no way we could go all the way across the ocean and not visit, so that was our next stop. After that, it was off to Scotland for us. The dream and story went to Scotland, so we had to as well. There were horses to ride and adventures to be had, but first, a whirlwind tour of Holland.
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