Hello there Beastie friends! And welcome to February… Spring is now juuuust around the corner, right? And with days lengthening and daffodils and snowdrops starting to poke their way through the earth, is it possible that the lockdown is thawing out a bit too?
Paddy certainly thinks so.
“Camera, car keys, a box of travel sweeties – I think the humans are going somewhere!”
But Plunkett isn’t so sure. He suggests they check the news before they start making travel plans.
Ah. Oh dear.
“Sorry, Paddy. Lockdown continues… It looks like we’re staying home for the time being.”
But Paddy, as we know, is an optimistic creature. And lockdown or no lockdown, he’s still happy to tuck into the humans’ travel sweets. Except…
“Gaaaah! Plunkett! WHAT ARE THESE? They don’t look like sweeties!”
Isn’t it lucky that tech-savvy Plunkett is on hand?
“It’s a memory stick, Paddy.”
“Huh?”
“Come on, I’ll show you. It’ll help us put in the time until lunch.”
He selects a nice bright green one, to match his lovely mossy complexion, and…
“Pop it in the side of the computer here… We’re on our way! Look at all those photos.”
“So, where would you like to go, Paddy?”
“Oooh… How about those ones there?”
“Carlingford? Good choice!”
He’s right! It looks beautiful there.
Let’s swing in for a closer look.
I don’t know about you, but this is EXACTLY the kind of view I needed to see today! And the boys’ tour isn’t finished yet… Now they’re off to Carlingford town.
“Oh cool, a castle!”
“Yes, Paddy! Carlingford Castle was built by King John of England, and has been here on the shores of the Lough since the 12th century.”
And it’s not the only castle in town, either.
There’s a medieval church too. Plunkett is in raptures over all that lovely stonework.
“I’ll just zoom in here, for a closer look…”
“Do you see any leprechauns, Plunkett?”
“Noooo… Why would I?”
“Carlingford is the leprechaun capital of Ireland, of course!”
It really is, you know. Paddy pulled up this website to prove it! And if you want to capture your very own leprechaun, you can join the annual Leprechaun Hunt. It takes place in the Cooley Mountains, up behind the town.
I can think of worse places to spend a day looking for the “little people”! The Mourne mountains are also nearby.
“And there are some incredible beaches, too.”
“I’d love to go there sometime, Plunkett!”
“Well, with a little technical wizardry…”
“… We can!”
“Cool! Hey, if we travel like this, just imagine the places we could go!”
Good thinking, Paddy. So, is there anywhere you’d like Paddy and Plunkett to virtually visit over the coming months? Be sure to let us know in the comments!
… Got a Covid-19-era update!
The face mask is made from cotton, pleated and lined with felt for some good woolly air filtration. Then, a pretty ribbon strap with a little elastic helps to hold it in place.
Two needle-felted wool sponge cakes, sandwiched between layers of felt jam and icing? That would put a smile on any Beastie’s face!
She’s also dressed to impress, in a sweet floral print sundress with ribbon ties on the shoulders.
And finally, check out those lustrous alpaca tresses! I really should get the Beasties to share their hairdressing secrets.
Now all we need to figure out is how she’s going to blow out the candle without removing her face mask!
Big thanks to Annemarie for suggesting this fun and timely project! And speaking of fun…
As such, I have been avidly following the daily patrollings of Big Ginger Cat and Little Tortoiseshell Cat, who swing by several times a day to sunbathe, hunt bluebottles and wage war on the magpies in the big tree. It’s nice to see them continuing about their usual business!