brown bracken - a bleak landscape.
Hibernate for warmth.
As we left the highway and headed into the hills the temperature gauge in the car dropped from 4 to 3 and finally down to 2 before we pulled over to get out into the fresh air. And fresh it was, an icy breeze that did not let up as we walked down into the Cloghoge River valley between Lough Tay and Lough Dan.
Instead of shedding layers as we walked and warmed up, we were putting on more layers as the day grew progressively colder. Leaden skies threatened sleet or snow and the occasional single frozen spit of precipitation lit the greyness.
An animal preserve, normally there are Sika Deer aplenty ranging over the hillsides and the river flats but today they were huddled in the warmest part of the valley or sheltered near the few buildings. No rabbits to be seen frollicking among grassy ruins and no Peregrine Falcons crying from the rocky crags.
Just one solitary Grey Heron on the riverbank amongst browned fronds of bracken.
And dozens of noisy walkers in their colourful plumage.
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| Frothy swirls on the Cloghoge River |
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| Sika Deer in the lowest, warmest part of the valley floor |
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| Neil wearing a pack on two shoulders for the first time since his operation |
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| Deer amongst the buildings |
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| Lichen covered trees hanging over the Cloghoge Brook, Knocknacloghoge behind |
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It is so quiet and peaceful in this part of the valley.
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| Always a smile, outdoors |
By the time we returned to the car a couple of hours later, the temperature was showing 1 degree celcius and we were glad to be out of the breeze.
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