Monday, February 17, 2025

Off To Ireland, Part 11!

 This was our last full day in Ireland.  What we did on this day was something I was eagerly awaiting the whole trip.  A visit to a sheep farm complete with sheep dog demonstration.

After overnighting in Galway, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast at our hotel and then boarded our tour bus.  We headed north to County Mayo.  Glen Keen Farm was our destination.




We met the young sheep dog.


He even let me pet him.
And Eleanor wasn't afraid of him.  He's a sheep dog, not a bunny dog, after all.


Waiting patiently...



OK!  Go get 'em!



Uh oh.  They ran off into the other pasture.


Not a problem.  He still quickly rounded them up and brought them to the pen.








Did I do a good job, Dad?
Do I get a snack?



After the demo, we headed to the farm house and the dog headed off to get his reward.  We were treated to a wonderful lunch and traditional Irish music and a wool spinning demonstration.


I was quite surprised to find that, according to our hostess who was doing the spinning demonstration, there are only TWO spinners in all of County Mayo.  If you have been reading Willow's Cottage blog for any amount of time, you will know that I am a spinner and know many other people (men and women) who spin.


Finally, it was time to depart.  I hugged the spinning wheel and wished it many more years of productivity creating yarn.

Then it was on to our very last stop...


7 comments:

Tom said...

...their sheep are so much nicer looking than ours!

Willow said...

Yes, that's true. In a few days, I plan to post many photos of Irish sheep :)

Carla from The River said...

I love the sheep dog!! :-)

ellen b. said...

What fun to see the sheep dog doing his job well. That is very surprising at the lack of spinners in Ireland!

Wendy said...

I'm surprised too that there aren't more spinners. Those dogs are incredible when they're working and rounding up sheep.

Jennifer said...

I think to see a sheep dog in action would be the most fun! I need to add that to my bucket list:)

Dianna said...

I enjoy watching sheep herding events. Border Collies are my favorite breed because of how amazing they are. It's all in that look in their eyes.
Glad you were able to see the spinning demonstration.