Ireland

My “feral” family

Sitting on the neighbor's balcony, Mom kitty

Back in June, for about 2-3 weeks, I kept seeing a little mottled black and gold female kitten wandering around the area and up to the local grocery store. Not too long after, I saw the same scrawny cat in my back garden, and realized that she had had kittens. Because I’m such a softie, I decided that I couldn’t watch the cat starve to death (she was all skin and bones) and had to start putting out a bit of food for her.

Mom kitty getting fed

By the first week of July, I started seeing random fluff balls peeking out of the bushes in my back garden. They would scatter at any bit of noise. Eventually, as I continued feeding the momma kitty (now nicknamed June), I got to see the kittens playing in my back garden romping about on a sunny day. It was then that I realized that momma kitty had 4 tabby kittens…one of whom would always be in hiding when 3 others were out.

Most of the kitten family

After several weeks of daily feeding of her and the kittens, I’ve now reached the point where they know what time they get fed. They sit outside my back door and meow, curl up in the window sill, and even know their names – even if I can’t pet them, per say. They’ve become my “feral” family, and I do worry about them – especially now that I’m not sure what happened to Bibs. Last weekend, when it turned colder and the fall rains started, I decided it was time to buy a “cat house” for them. Unfortunately, I didn’t find one that I thought would work. So, I improvised and bought a storage box with a lid – and cut a hole in it. Then, I filled it half full with straw. The kittens shunned the box for 2 days, despite my putting their food on top.

The "winter box" of kittens

Today, when I got home from work, it was pouring down rain. It’s been raining all day and the weather service is predicting floods. I figured that by the time I got in, I would have some seriously soaked, miserable, bedraggled kittens to put food out for. I opened the bedroom curtain and peeked out, and could just see what looked like two “logs” pressed up to the side of the box. I started to think “great, they maybe think it’s a litter box” and put on some shoes to check if that was the case. As I opened the back door, I was quite relieved. Why? Because this is what greeted me:

Runt and Two Socks We're here, k?
(we’s found a warms, we stay in here, okayz?)

Yep, Runt, 2 socks, Ms. Piggy and momma kitty were all curled up inside the box, warm, dry, and purring happily away. It makes my heart sing.

Share

Victorian Leeds

The end of September I went on a short hop trip to Leeds, in the UK. It’s a part of England, and sits sort of in the middle of England. The weather couldn’t have been better – and the company of the Jovial Miss J and her family was brilliant. I’m in debited to them for sharing their home with me and showing me a little bit of their world. I had a great time going to Synagogue, enjoyed Schul immensely, and having the chance to participate in Yom Kippur from the Orthodox perspective was grand.

IMGP2934-1

After the holiday celebrations, J and I took some time out to head into Leeds proper and have some girly time shopping. One of the things that she kept telling me about were the beautiful Victorian buildings that the center of Leeds has. She wasn’t lying. There are a series of Arcades (Victorian indoor shopping malls used to protect shoppers from the elements) which are basically city streets connected by stained glass awnings over them. They are amazing and a feast for the eyes. The most famous of all of these is the Victoria Arcade.

IMGP2939-1

The Victoria Arcade itself has two “long streets” connected by a middle “street” and plaza area. The shops are mostly 2 stories with a promenade style balcony along the top windows.

IMGP2953-17

Nearby is the local Kirkgate Market building, which is carved yellow sandstone from the outside.

LeedsMarkets-2

Inside, it’s about 3 stories high, with steel and lots of small kiosks. Here, they used to sell all the market wares (meat, fish, fruit, veg, etc. ). Today, it’s a variety of shops selling everything from hair accessories, to underwear, to arts and crafts goodies, and live flowers. There’s also plenty of fruits, veg, and meats available too.

IMGP2972-1

IMGP2975-37

Finally, there’s the lovely Corn Exchange. This was built in the 1860’s and today is a shopping mall. From the outside it looks perfectly round but in reality it’s an oval. The roof is an open plan structure and the inside has shops all the way around the outside of the oval.

LeedsCornExchange-1

I like how the round arches on the doors and windows inside echo the shape of the building, and the detail on the stairs and railings.

IMGP2983-41

And the end cap? The tiny little medallian… that ties it all together like a sun out from which radiates the arches that make the roof.

IMGP2984-42

Share

Dunseverick castle ruins

Dunseverick castle ruins
This way to Dunsverick Castle

Last April, I took a beautiful day trip excursion to the Giant’s Causeway with my friend Jacqui and her long time friend, Liz to see the coast of Northern Ireland. I happened to have a map with us (let’s just say we had an adventure in getting there because the GPS ran out of battery) and we ended up taking the scenic route on the way up. One there, we saw the Giant’s Causeway, and decided to pause for the other very close by sites. I would have to say that the most unimpressive site was the castle ruins at Dunsverick Castle.

Dunseverick castle ruins

Basically, this castle was built originally sometime around 1525 BC. Surrounded by the ocean on three sides,Dunseverick was a key ancient site in Ireland, one of the royal roads from Tara, seat of the Kings of Ireland ended here. The site was originally founded by Sobairce, one of the Kings who built a fortress here to rule the ancient Kingdom of Dariada, the location is named after him – Dunsobairce (Fortress of Sobairce) now Dunseverick. Around 500 AD, St. Patrick visited the location, and around 900 AD, the Vikings are said to have raided the fortress extensively. Sometime around the 1500’s AD, a small fortress with round tower was built on the spit of land, and these are the remains that are there today. (There are also sheep, who apparently are great climbers down one steep drop and up to the top of that spit of land…)

Dunseverick castle ruins
All that remains of a once impressive fortress… time and tide wait for no man…

You can see more photos on the Giant’s Causeway flickr set here.

Share