Uncle Tom is visiting!

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Uncle Tom arrived on the Sunday before Easter, and we packed in quite a few adventures in the five days he was with us. We visited the haunted and historic Wicklow Goal, the Glendalough Monastic site begun by Saint Kevin in the 6th century, and the Greenan Farm and Maze. These pictures are from the Greenan Farm and Maze, which we visited on the day after Tanya (Tom’s girlfriend) and Bob and Thomas arrived. Thank you, Tanya, for sharing your pictures for the blog!

We visited the large barn, which was a museum of old farming equipment. They had all kinds of interesting things, such as “pig swatters,” hand cranked clothes wringers, kerosene heated egg incubators, and they even had an original hand loom from the historic Avoca Mill, which is a local attraction in Co. Wicklow. The Mill is almost 300 years old and is the oldest continuously run business in Ireland and the second oldest Mill in the world. You can see some of the farming tools in the photo, behind Nora.
Just next to the big barn was this old stone house. Before the current owners bought the farm, this building had been the home of many generations of the same family. They lived here for almost 200 years, up until 1985.
Next we visited all the farm animals. First was the mama pig and her TEN piglets! Naturally, she was napping in the shade.
We had never seen pigs this color before. Their hair was a reddish-brown color, with black spots. The sign on the fence said this color keeps them from getting sunburn. Did you know pigs could get sunburn?
The piglets were so cute! We have now added piglets to our list of desired animals for our ever-growing menagerie in Tennessee. We know nothing about pigs, aside from that they are very cute when they are small.
We also saw a very friendly donkey.
The peacock’s amazing feathers were iridescent in the sun.
Our timing was perfect for a display of his feathers.
Mother goose and her goslings…we counted four.
A lovely white Irish Cobb horse
Photo opportunity in front of the chicken coop
Another flower I had never seen before. Aren’t they pretty?
After all the farm animals, we visited the maze. Everyone thought it would be easy, but it was pretty tricky to find the center. Colleen, Tanya, and Nora after finishing the maze.
From the lookout above the maze.
Some tree-climbing while we wait for the others to be finished.
All done with the maze, but there’s always time for a hug, and one more picture.
Behind Kelly and Bob in the last photo the bushes were covered in lady bugs. There were hundreds of them!
The last picture before heading back to the car. We had a great time!
We finished up with a nice lunch at the Glenmalure Hotel and Pub, which at one time served as an army barracks for soldiers. The view from this spot was stunning, and it seemed to be a very popular stop for hikers and bicyclists as they travel through the Wicklow Mountains. Thank you to Uncle Tom and Tanya for a lovely day together!
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Published by broganfamily8069

We're a homeschooling family of eight - five girls and three boys. Our children are ages 20, 19, 17, 15, 12, 10, 7, and 5. We will be living in Ireland for the next six months, and then going to Tennessee! This blog is a documentation of our travels. Enjoy!! :)

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5 thoughts on “Uncle Tom is visiting!”

  1. Pretty hilarious to know they even consider sunburn a thing in Ireland! Perhaps those flowers are a form of wild fuchsia which grows well in Ireland? These photos are fantastic. I’m beginning to get an inkling that a farm may be in your future!

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    1. Would you believe that we all did get a little bit pink on the day after Easter! It was the warmest day we have had so far, and we spent HOURS outside with no sunscreen, but it did happen. The warmth of the sun was glorious after so many cold and dreary months.

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    1. Yes, my “baby” brother, Tom! He’s the one who started me on this path to being a mom of many! I was almost 8 when he was born, and I absolutely fell in love with him at first sight. He was the world’s cutest baby!

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