A gorgeous castle hotel and equally gorgeous hydrangeas.

Ken

I don't know how these colors occurred. This part of Ireland is completely peat and thus very acidic. In fact, during our drives on the back roads, I saw hundereds of piles of peat "bricks" that are used for heating in this part of Ireland.

I just have to send you a few more pics, if I can find it. All the trees, stones, and grounds around the Ballynahinch Castle were covered in green, and I assumed it was just a heavy layer of lichens growing on them. The climate there stays cool and wet all year long. When we took a guided, three-hour nature tour of the grounds, the guide told me this was all sphagnum moss, not lichens. Gosh, I use bales and bales of sphagnum moss for my tropicals, and buy New Zealand sphagnum. I have seen it growing naturally in S. Mississippi but never have seen it literally growing on everything.

Ken

Very nice. I love the blue hydrangeas
That moss is super cool! It must have smelled very Earthy (not sure if that is an actual scent description)

Earthy is a great term and is even used when describing very high-end and very expensive red wine, such as burgundy wines from the Chateau Lafite Rothschild winery in France.

Ken

Love the pictures! What a beautiful castle. The hydrangeas colors are nice and I like all the variations of colors in them. All the pictures have a sense of "cool" to them:) That moss is awesome and a little scary at the same time. It looks like it could harbor some strange wildlife

Thanks, Vickie.

Ken

Wonderful photos Ken - Is that a mountain behind the castle?

Yes, there are mountains west and south of Ballynahinch and beyond the mountains is the North Atlantic. Here is another view on the river, with the castle hotel further away and a better view of the mountains. The other pics show the only fiord in Ireland, connecting to the North Atlantic; the North Atlantic coast line; and a castle, built in the 1200's, atop a hill on the western coast of Ireland. The castle has been abandoned for several centuries. Click on the pics for the best viewing. Ken

Oh man! An abandoned castle has got to be the best! I reallllllly want to go there now:)

Those pictures are stunning.

Thanks, Vickie. I am glad I got to visit one of the countries of my and my wife's ancestors. Ireland is a beautiful and yet still wild country, at least along the North Atlantic shoreline.