It feels like it’s been raining for the past week but somehow, last Thursday I managed to find myself on a beach with the sun shining and I don’t think I dreamt it. Looking for my regular ‘nature fix’ I made an amazing rockpool discovery and witnessed a whole host of seaside critters, scuttling, swimming or splashing about their business at a place called ‘Annestown’.
Don’t ask me what these creatures were, I’m no expert but I do seem to have developed what naturalists call ‘an eye’. This technical term means I can spot wildlife that I would never have been able to see before. I have acquired it simply by going outside and taking the time to look around me.
Ok, so let me at least try to name some creatures. I saw shrimp (I’ve been to Maxi Zoo), crabs, some diamond shaped creatures which moved under the sand, something beetly and a large dark shape which could have been anything from a jellyfish to a shark. All I know is it lurked, it moved, I ran!
Hmmm, I’m beginning to see a pattern in my descriptions, an emphatic shift from the definite to the obscure. Anyway, I was transfixed by these tiny animals, fascinated by their movements. And then there were the stationary creatures, the mussels, (or cliff hangers-on) holding on for dear life, stubborn and immovable. There were wild flowers too, stunningly bright in shades of yellow and pink. I must get a nature book and look them up.
Surrounded by all this beauty I began to think about spending whole days exploring beaches and countryside. I could bring a backpack filled with healthy snacks, I would acquire a bronzed glow (not a red shine) and people would remark on how well I looked . . .
Of course the next day brought rain and reality. The only exercise I’ll be getting this weekend will be the ‘pint to mouth’ arm reflex as I watch others running around. Yep, hubs and I are going to watch the football (Ireland v Croatia) in our local. I’m actually really looking forward to it as a) I don’t get out much these days and b) Hubs bought me a new Ireland top especially for the occasion 🙂 . Yes, I know I’m not Irish but if I was waiting for Wales to make it to a big event I would die in the process. Besides, I’m married to an Irish man, I live in Ireland and my great grandmother was Irish. Enough connections for you? Let the games begin.
Picture Sourced at: http://www.documentingireland.com/products/annestown-waterford/