This past winter I picked up two volumes on the archaeological monuments of Sligo. The one volume is difficult to lift and the inventory only covers the southern half of the county. We haven’t made it a mandatory weekend trip, but we have quite a few sites to visit. Today we went to the Ballindoon Friary, not ten minutes from the house.
Overlooking Lough Arrow, this Dominican friary was founded in 1507 and stands today as a complete 16th century ruin with no later appendages. There is a headstone in the nave dating from 1717.
Gabe and I disturbed a pheasant’s nest behind the building. I still struggle with the focus on this new lens, and even though the photographer in me knows this isn’t a perfect picture. I still loved the colour.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Dan Allen // 23 Mar 2008 at 16:09
Hey Justin,
I haven’t thought about pheasants for years.
Growing up on a farm in rural Pennsylvania, they were prevalent — if you didn’t see them in the pasture and back yard on any given day, you at least heard the distinctive call of the rooster. Now,if they are not completely gone, they are certainly mostly gone. I wonder why.
Interestingly,I only ate pheasant once, and that was in Dublin, in 1985, in a restaurant called Blazes, long gone.
I have been enjoying your blog, your photos and writings, for some time now. I hope things are going well for you. They certainly seem to be.
If you are keeping Easter, then happy Easter to you and Lisa and Gabe. If not, the I wish you a wonderful spring, always a great season in Ireland.
2 verticalbones // 23 Mar 2008 at 17:17
Dan,
So nice to hear from you. Yes, we hear the distinctive call of the pheasant around the house regularly. Frankly, you don’t hear much more than animal calls around here. (That isn’t a complaint.)
We actually just finished a lovely Easter dinner and wish you a happy holiday as well.
3 MEECH! // 25 Mar 2008 at 14:11
I don’t see many pheasants around my house anymore, as most of the neighbors have really turned redneck (whose yards contain more dead cars than dead leaves). Turkeys were regulars also. Your photo is splendid. Hope all is well with you and your family.
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