Burren Nature Sanctuary

We did a little Kindergarten science project with the apple blossom from the tree outside. It is so cool that the flower shape remains while the apple grows from the blossom. God’s design is amazing! We saved the seeds to plant in the orchard.

On Thursday we visited the Burren Nature Sanctuary, just a short drive from the house. We arrived just in time to help feed the baby goat.

Next, we got to hold and pet some guinea pigs. They made the cutest little squeaking sounds.

In the field outside the barn there was Frank, a very friendly alpaca. He came right over and waited to be pet. He even rested his head on my shoulder for a snuggle. Now the kids want an alpaca, too! That’s a little more tempting than some other animals they have asked for.

After seeing all the animals, we took the route through the woods that was shown to us on the map. There we saw the remains of a pre-famine village. This circular structure was believed to be a pen for animals. There were also several small houses, which were harder to see because they were covered in ivy. There are plans to excavate the site in the near future.

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A little further along the path there was a little wooden sign with an arrow directing us through a vary small opening in the underbrush into a magical, mossy fairy forest. It looked like The Shire in miniature, and there were tiny fairy doors hidden in various places. Some had signs indicating which fairy resided there.

Our next stop was the cafe, where they served tea and scones on the way through to the other side of the property. After tea, we played in an amazing playground with a zipline and a giant seesaw. Even the big kids had loads of fun!

Friday was spent doing schoolwork and getting ready for Aunt Carrie and Aunt Jacquie’s arrival on Saturday. We did take a walk down the road to the local fish restaurant, Linnane’s, for dinner. Their fishing boat is docked behind the restaurant, behind those parked cars. Needless to say, the fish was very fresh!

We stopped to pet the neighbor on our walk home from dinner.

This was the view of the sunset on our way home from dinner. Hoping it’s a good omen for better weather for the weekend.

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Found some pictures of the chocolate factory from last week on Maggie’s phone. On the left is the the man making dark chocolate sheep. In the center is the roasting room; it smelled so good! On the right is a happy group, full of chocolate samples made from beans from Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela.