September 2024, Harvest Moon and Happy Memories.

 Happy Wednesday my lovelies! How are you all doing so far this week? I am very proud to be able to tell you that this photo dump is from last week! I am fully caught up, woo hoo! That is, until I go away on a trip this weekend and then I'll be behind again, haha!
Last week was a pretty quiet one, so once again I don't have much to tell you. I was busy with lots of work and studies, as well as doing my best to catch up with this Blog. I did get out for a walk to the village one day, and treated myself to an amazing breakfast special at Nancy's Barn. One evening I went down to the shore to visit one of my cousins and her wife, neither of whom I'd seen in about eight years, so that was lovely. I also went down another night to see them, and another cousin, and we stayed in and had a game night, which was great craic.
It was the Harvest Moon this week, and the moon was so, so big and beautiful. It meant that even though I was walking home in the dark, I could clearly see the road without needing a torch. I tried to take so many photos, but as always, they never do it justice!

Bright night, taken 02:03.

Sunset over Pollan Bay.

Sunset over Pollan Bay.

Harvest Moon rising over Crockaughrim.

Evening light.

Evening light over Pollan Bay.

Nancy's Barn Selfie.

Another absolutely incredible meal at Nancy's Barn.

Harvest Moon reflecting on Trawbreaga Bay.

Harvest Moon reflecting on Trawbreaga Bay.

September 2024, Autumn and the Aurora.

 Well hello my lovelies, and happy Monday! I wish you all a fun and successful week this week, whatever you have planned.
I have some photos from earlier this month to share with you. It feels strange to be saying that they are so recent, but I have been doing so well about catching up, haha. (With my Blog anyway. The rest of my life is still in shambles!) The second week in September was a pretty quiet one, so I don't have much to tell you. I did get to witness the Aurora Borealis again though!! 
I wasn't very well that week so didn't get a whole lot done, and only out for one walk to the village. Luckily for me, that was a beautiful Autumnal day, at least on the walk there! By the time I got to the village it had started to rain, but that just meant that I got to see some rainbows, so I didn't mind. On the Saturday I went out for dinner and drinks with a good friend of mine, and it was nice to get out after mostly being a hermit all week.

Autumn Walk.

Delicious soup at Nancy's Barn.

Local caught mackerel open sandwich at Nancy's Barn.

Rainbow over the Green, Ballyliffin.

Aurora Borealis, 12/9/24.

Aurora Borealis, 12/9/24.

Aurora Borealis, 12/9/24.

Aurora Borealis, 13/9/24.

Aurora Borealis, 13/9/24.

Meal out at the Ballyliffin Townhouse.

September 2024, Family, Friends, and Fresh Fish.

Hello again my lovelies, and happy Saturday! I hope that you're enjoying your weekend so far? I have some more photos to share with you of my beautiful surroundings. There will always be more photos to share, because I will never get tired of just how stunning the part of the world is! These are from the first full week in September, and I am very proud of myself for being almost all caught up, haha.
That week I was busy with a lot of work, so I don't have much to tell you. I did get out on a few walks, and one day I had two of my aunts come to visit me. At the weekend I got to see some of my cousins and their friends down at the shore for a BBQ party. Another cousin and her husband were out on their boat in the bay fishing, and brought us back two huge Pollock, so we got to grill up some fish fresh from the ocean and eat it barely an hour after it was in the water. That was a real treat!

Morning rainbow over Binnion.

Blue skies over Pollan Bay.

Sunset over Binnion.

Starry night with a hint of the Aurora.

Starry night with a hint of the Aurora.

Starry night.

Stony shore, Pollan Bay.

Stony shore, Pollan Bay.

Sunset over the Cliffs, Pollan Bay.

Over the Cliffs, Pollan Bay.

Windswept Selfie.

Stunning sunset over Pollan Bay.

Stunning sunset over Pollan Bay.

Sunset over Binnion.

Starry night.

August to September 2024, End Of Summer.

Hello my loves, and happy Friday! I hope that you have a fun and/or restful weekend planned? I am pleased to tell you that with this post I am caught up through August and into September, woo hoo! Hoping to keep that momentum going, haha.
With the end of August and all my visitors going back home to work and school, it really felt like the end of the summer. I know a lot of people find that depressing, but Autumn is my favourite season, and I find that I become much more active in the cooler months, so I was looking forward to it. Of course, it was sad to say goodbye to my visitors, but it will be good to be able to focus on work again. It was a very busy summer and I'm afraid I neglected my little business, so I am determined to pick up the slack in the coming months.
Gareth left on the Tuesday of that week, but we had a trip out on the Monday and stopped at the Drift Inn again in Buncrana for a drink. I had a doctor's appointment in Clonmany on the Wednesday, and then went for a walk along the Clonmany River Walk since I was in the area. I used to go there so often when I lived nearby, but it had been a while, so it was nice to go back. It did start raining while I was at my appointment, and it got steadily heavier, so I stopped at the Market House Cafe for cup of tea and a wee treat to see if the weather would ease up before my walk home. It didn't, so it was a very wet walk back, but I actually enjoyed it. If you have a good coat and warm clothes, and are heading home to a warm, dry house, it's really not bad at all. I like to remember how lucky I am in moments like that!
I was lucky to catch a couple more glimpses of the Aurora that week as well! It wasn't nearly as bright or spectacular as that time back in May, but still so magical to see. Once again I have to think how lucky I am to live here and get the chance to see such beauty!

Drinks at the Drift Inn, Buncrana.

Grey Skies and Green Grass.

Glimpse of the Aurora, 04:21 on 28/8/24.

Clonmany River Walk.

Clonmany River Walk.

Clonmany River Walk.

Tea and Tart at the Market House Cafe in Clonmany.

Sunset over Pollan Bay.

Glimpse of the Aurora, 00:17 on 31/8/24.

Glimpse of the Aurora, 01:31 on 28/8/24.

August 2024, Wild Waves, Wild Ireland.

Hello my loves, how are you all doing so far this week? I have lots of photos and videos to share with you today, from the third full week in August. It was another busy week with family in the area, and then Gareth came over for a visit and we had some fun days out as well.

Rain, mist, and a stormy tide, Pollan Bay.

Rain, mist, and a stormy tide, Pollan Bay.

Stormy tide, Pollan Bay.

Stormy tide, Pollan Bay.

Rainbow and a stormy tide, Pollan Bay.

On the Tuesday I went to Nancy's for lunch with my Mum, sister and niece, and then spent the rest of the day down at the shore with them. It was a pretty wet day, so mostly we stayed in and played games, but we did get manage to get out for a walk to the beach as well. There was an extreme high tide, which combined with stormy seas made for some spectacular wave watching. Which is always a fun pastime!

Watching the waves. (Photo credit to Kate Sanderson.)

Rat in a kettle, Wild Ireland.

What the sign says!

Gareth arrived early on the Thursday morning, and later that night I hosted a dinner party at mine for my family. I do like an excuse to host and set a fancy table! The next day we all went to Wild Ireland in Burnfoot for the day. Gareth and I had been there before, but it was a first for my Mum, sister and niece. They all loved it, as I knew they would. If you're in the area, I highly recommend Wild Ireland for a day out, whether you have children or not! You can find out more HERE.  We spent the day exploring, managing to avoid most of the rain, and brought a picnic with us for lunch. Afterwards we stopped at the Drift Inn in Buncrana for a drink, and then on to the Ballyliffin Townhouse for a nice meal.

Arctic Foxes, Wild Ireland.

Red Fox, Wild Ireland.

Bear, Wild Ireland.

Wild Ireland with my Love.

Fawn, Wild Ireland.

Raccoons, Wild Ireland.

Parakeets, Wild Ireland.

Parakeet, Wild Ireland.

Wolves, Wild Ireland.

On the Saturday, my family were traveling back to England, and Gareth kindly drove them to Derry airport, putting up with our Disney singalong the whole way, haha. We said goodbye and then went to explore Derry a bit. Gareth recently got a new job and I wanted to treat him to celebrate. First we had an absolutely incredible meal at Pyke 'N' Pommes, which I had heard many good things about. All true, as far as I can tell! I'd go back just for the loaded chips. You can see more about Pyke 'N' Pommes HERE.

Tacos at Pyke 'N' Pommes, Derry.

Loaded Chips at Pyke 'N' Pommes, Derry.

Exploring Derry with my Love.

After that Gareth and I went for a walk around the Derry Walls so he could take in some of the sights. He has never had a chance to explore Derry before, so we definitely need to go back and spend more time another day. We went to the cinema later on to see Deadpool & Wolverine, and then stopped at the Point Inn for a drink on the way home. It was a fun day out, as it always is with Gareth.