Real Life Sheep Herding

Here is a video from my day on the farm. I never thought I would see a scene like this in real life. Enjoy!

Getting Bogged Down on the Farm

It was like being back in Champaign (or at least it smelled like it)!

Quinn Business School organized a trip to Causey Farm and the day was so amazing it ranked in my Top Ten for Ireland. Dorothy, our usual trip leader, could not be there because she was stuck in Barcelona due to the volcanic ash that has grounded most planes, but we had a great time nonetheless.

Our day started with an hour bus ride from UCD to Causey Farm in County Meath. We got off the bus and could immediately smell that we were one a farm, and don't get me wrong, I actually enjoy that smell.

The first task of the day was making Irish brown soda bread. Our host for the day, Debbie, first demonstrated how to make the bread then we got to try our hand at it. The recipe was simple and included brown flour, white flour, egg, and buttermilk. Then they baked the bread and we had it with our lunch.

I'm like an Irish Betty Crocker.

After our bread was in the oven we began our tour around the farm. They had plenty of baby animals and I have discovered that there is nothing cuter than baby animals. Our first stop was a sheep who had just had triplets. By the time I return to the US I will have seen literally thousands of sheep; they are everywhere.

Cute!

After seeing the lambs we went to the barn next door which held the cows and donkeys. Another farm worker offered to let us milk the cow and Brittany jumped at the opportunity. After Jen and my skinny dipping episode yesterday Brittany was in the market to do something crazy and when the farmer asked if she wanted to try the milk she said she was game! When Brittany asked where the cup was the farmer told her she had to get under the udder and squirt it in her mouth. For us city folk that was a little much so Brittany settled for having the milkmaid squirt the milk into her mouth while she was standing up. That's straight from the udder to your mouth. Go Brittany! (And she was the only person brave enough to try it!) In the barn was also a calf that I made friends with. I went down to pet him and he put two of my fingers in his mouth and sucked on them like a bottle (and it tickled a lot). We obviously had a connection and I considered taking him home but there were many problems with that plan, the least of which was what happens when it gets to big to share my bed with me.

The collies on the farm had just had puppies so the tour of baby animals continued! We each got to hold a puppy and they were so soft and sweet (except when they defecated on some of the students). They didn't really look like dogs, more like guinea pigs, but cute nonetheless.

Stacy and her puppy.

After puppies we also saw chickens and rooster, pigs and boars, a goose, rabbit, and even a billy goat! One of the boys we were with even rode the giant pig for a while which took some skill.

It was a very Irish day, and although we did not see any leprechauns, we did do some Irish dancing in the barn. Debbie taught us some basic steps and I think we did a great job. I couldn't stop smiling and laughing at the fact that here I was in Ireland, dancing to Irish music in a barn. It was a perfect memory. It was so perfect one of the collies tried to join us in the barn, jumping through the half door into the barn. We are just that fun of a group!

Block the Dog wanted to join in the fun!

After baking bread, dancing, and milking cows how could this day on the farm get any better? Well, one of the workers asked if we wanted to see the dogs do work. He then brought us to one of the fields and had the dog herd the sheep for us. It was something that I never thought I would see in real life and the whole time I kept thinking this was like a scene from Babe (of course a dog was herding the sheep, not a pig). Still very impressive! I have some videos that I will get up eventually.

And the Irish fun continued with a lesson in Bodhran, an ancient Irish drum made of goat skin. We got a quick lesson and then drummed along with Irish music being played by a stereo. I don't know if I have a career as a Bodhran player but it was fun and another "Wow, is this really happening?" moment in Ireland.

Up next was lunch. We had our bread, some cheese that was delicious, and veggie soup. We also got fresh scones and tea or coffee. Perfect farm lunch.

And after filling up we went out to the hurling pitch to learn how to play hurling. Hurling is a traditional Gaelic sport that is considered the fasted field sport in the world. All the towns have hurling teams and it is a big part of the Irish culture. All the players are also amateur so they play only for the love of the sport. I tried my best to show off my hurling skills but it is a difficult sport. I did however have the farthest hit for a while!

I'm starting a hurling club at U of I

After learning that hurling might not be my sport we headed to the bog! Brittany and I changed into our junky clothes in preparation for jumping into the bog and then the crew took a tractor over to the bog. A bog is a marshy area of land made of decomposing plant material and water. The ground is very squishy and basically waterlogged peat. Bogs are very important to Ireland and the peat gathered from them was used as the primary from of heat (they burned it) for many years. This is also were the bog bodies are found. Bog bodies are human remains that are almost perfectly preserved in the bog because no bacteria can get to the bodies. I, however, did not encounter any of these today.

When we got to the bog we asked Debbie how deep she thought we would go in considering all of us were a little concerned about just jumping into a bog. She thought we would probably go up to our chest. A little concerning but this didn't stop the first boy (coincidentally named Pete) from jumping in.

Then his friend jumped in...

Then Brittany couldn't wait anymore and jumped in (after I promised that I would dig her out if needed)...

And it turned out she needed to be dug out, so I jumped in too!

The trick to bog hopping is to not land in a straight line because your legs will go straight down and it is rather difficult to pull them up. The bog just molds to your legs and created suction. It's almost like being in play-doh or maybe quicksand (I assume). Anyway, I literally jumped right in to save Brittany and dug her legs out.

Rescue Mission!

And then we jumped in several more times. Notice Stacy climbing out behind us.

As I've mentioned before, we've met two other Deltasigs while being here named Lauren and Bridget. We thought it would be a good brother bonding moment to jump in the bog together and through up some Deltas. So...

I threw up the Delta to signal to them to come in...

And we were all in the bog together!

And that was not enough adventure for us so the four of us decided to jump in from high up the hill to really get waist deep into the bog. Lauren and Bridget were a little scared so Brittany and I jumped in first holding hands.

And then we were really "bogged down."

Don't worry, I'm not screaming, I'm laughing.

And so the struggle to get out begins...

You have to crawl because if you walk your legs will just go right down.

The bog monster emerges.

While we were stuck in the bog together I threw some peat at Brittany and she through a little back but for fear of starting a full on peat fight we stopped. Cleaning bog out of hair did not sound appealing to either of us.

Bog Warriors!

All the Bog Warriors by the bog.

And then we had to clean off. Apparently bog hopping isn't as common as we thought because when we arrived back at the farm the farmhands exclaimed how dirty we were and didn't know what to do. We hosed off with one spigot, buckets, and some hand soap. We also got disposable dish clothes and the staff kept remarking how we were living luxuriously by getting soap and clothes. 

After getting as clean as one can with what we were given we hopped back on the bus and came back to Dublin. And I can't wait to go bog hopping again!

Blessington: Not all who wander are lost

Blessington Lake

Hitting the "one month before classes end and most the wolf pack leaves for home" mark has really lit a fire under all of us and therefore we took advantage of a sunny day in Ireland (although apparently there is quite a lot of ash floating around because our airport is closed). Brittany suggested and planned a trip into the Wicklow Mountains to see Blessington Lake, which is apparently one of the filming locations in PS: I Love You. We didn't have much of a plan other than seeing it and taking in Ireland.

Jen and Stacy also joined Brittany and I for the adventure. We hoped on the bus in Dublin and after an hour ride we in Blessington. We got off of the Dublin Bus in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, literally on a country road next to a gas station. Guess Blessington isn't a big tourist destination. We headed into the gas station to pick up some ice cream bars to munch on while walking and then headed over to the lake.

We got to the lake itself and what can I say? There were gorgeous views that seem to be everywhere in Ireland. The four of us found a perch above the lake, kicked off our shoes, put on our shades, and soaked up the atmosphere and sun. It was a great time just enjoying the blue sky and each other's company.

Taking it in

After resting for a while we decided to try and get closer to the lake so we could dip our toes in. We climbed down to the shore and put our feet in the water to discover that it was very chilly. Of course, with all my exposure to chilly water through my years of diving and vacationing to California during March this was not going to stop me from enjoying Blessington Lake.

Jen was in awe of the beauty standing before her and had to embrace it the only way she knew how- by stripping down and jumping in. So Jen peeled off her clothes and waded into Blessington Lake to become one with nature. I had her camera and stood by the shore snapping pictures (because she wanted to capture the moment, not because I'm a creep). I'm sure you can guess what happened next...

I couldn't let Jen have all the fun with this once in a lifetime experience so next thing I knew I was laying my underwear on the beach and walking in after her. Of course, the moment was slightly dampened by my constant fears of being arrested for not only swimming in a lake that you are not supposed to swim in, but swimming there in the nude. But to contrast that, it was also a very liberating experience. (And Brittany and Stacy have seen more of Jen and I then they ever cared to.)

So we hopped around giggling and taking in nature for a while before the cold water was too much for us and we headed for shore. I sundried for a little bit and then we packed up and hiked a little more.

Our goal was to get to the bus station in town, a little farther down the road from the lake so we started walking that direction. Turns out what could have been a quaint country road was a death wish. The cars were going very quickly and there was no shoulder for us to walk on so we had to get in the shrubs on the side of the road and walk there. At one point we ran into a path that went into the woods and walked down that for a while. While in the woods, which Jen thought definitely held fairies, we stumbled across a bunch of shamrocks. They were so cute and green and Irish. We also made friends with the sheep and lambs in the fields, but our interaction consisted mostly of them running away from us when they heard us trudging through the brush.

Can you believe this? That's real life Ireland!

Not all who wander are lost. 

Successful day.

Eventually we were walking down the road when I spotted the bus coming. I flagged it down like the pro I am and we hopped on to head back to Dublin. On the ride back Jen and I discussed Harry Potter and when we arrived in Dublin we finished off our Irish day with an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet.