Cutest things in the world.... Baby Sheep

Spring is lambing season across Scotland.  You cannot drive anywhere without seeing lambs playing in the fields which has definitely become one of my favourite things about this country. 

In April, Luke and I went on the Spring WOLS (Water of Life [aka Whisky] Society) trip.  The trip took us to a region of the highlands called Speyside because the distilleries in this area are using water that flows (indirectly) from the River Spey.  We stayed in a hostel bunkhouse that just happened to be located on a farm.  When we first pulled in I didn’t think anything about it.  Until I heard someone say “There are baby lambs in the barn that were born 5 minutes ago!” and out the door I went.

There was a barn about 100 yards from the front door of the bunk house filled with pregnant ewes.  And there were small pins around the boarders of the barn for ewes and their new lambs to keep them safe.  It was AMAZING!  And I spent most of my free time in the barn just hanging out.  I’m pretty sure the farmer, Grant, thought I was crazy but he patiently answered all my questions and let us get up close.  He also tried to get me to take one home but I didn’t think Luke would be very keen on having a lamb (soon to be sheep) in the flat.

Because I like to know things I learned a lot about sheep in that weekend.  I won’t bore you with all the details, but feel free to ask.  Instead I’ll let you enjoy the cuteness that exudes from these pictures.

Love you & miss you,

Aubs, Luke & Luther

The Breathtaking North Coast of Northern Ireland

For the last day of our N. Ireland trip we hopped in the car and headed to the North Coast.  I had looked at a few websites before our trip but I wasn't expecting that much.  As we headed north we could see the sun trying to break through the clouds and started seeing patches of blue skies.

When we arrived at the coastal road, the sun was shining and I'm pretty sure that angels were playing harps in the background because this is what we saw.

I felt like we were in the Mediterranean or the Caribbean.   The water was turquoise blue and crystal clear.  It was AMAZING!

We stopped at a small harbour first just to get close to the water and took a few pics before we hopped back in the car to get to our first destination.  We knew that we were chancing fate with the weather and we had to take advantage of the sun while we had it.

The first stop on our itinerary for the day was Carrick-a-Rede Bridge.  Unfortunately you have to pay to go across the bridge, but it was pretty cool.

As we walked back to the car it started to sprinkle on us and it was raining pretty hard by the time we made it to the second stop on our itinerary - Giant's Causeway.  We decided to eat lunch in the car to sustain us through the hike to the causeway and by the time we were done the sun was back out.  However, Kurt wanted to be prepared in case of more rain and donned his rain pants (aka candle pants).

The Giant's Causeway is an amazing volcanic formation where the rock forms pillars in the shape of hexagons.  It's all natural and crazy to see.  The wind was also ridiculous while we were down there.  There were times when we all had to drop to the ground not to fall off the rocks.  You can see in the picture below how far I'm leaning back into the wind and still staying upright.

From here we headed to Bushmill's Distillery - one of three Irish whiskey distilleries.  And then on to some of the coastal towns.  Along the way we stopped to take far away pictures of a castle ruin and a rainbow.

And then our luck with the weather ran out and it started to rain.  Luckily it was just about time for dinner before we headed to the airport to fly home.

Every time I look at the pictures I remember just how beautiful it was and hope that we'll get to go back again.  I'd love to hike the north coast and have more time to take it all in.  Hopefully we'll be here long enough to do just that.

Love you & miss you!
Aubs, Luke & Luther

Swimming in the Irish Sea

Apparently part of staying in free accommodation includes participation in the "Man Test" - swimming in the Irish Sea.  Patton (pictured above in the middle) is a member of the Newcastle Yacht Club and decided that swimming in the frigid sea was exactly what we needed/wanted to do on our holiday.

We arrived at the yacht club (or small sailboat club) and got a brief tour of the building where we were able to change into our suits.  Then we headed for the boat ramp.  As we started walking towards the water, we passed a group of women ranging from age 60 to 70+.  Patton asked them how the water was this morning.  We thought he was being funny but come to find out they take a swim in the Irish Sea every morning.  Those are some tough Irish chicks!

But it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.  Erin and I passed the test - we submerged ourselves and headed back to dry land.  Which after getting out of freezing cold water happened to feel quite warm.  Luke, Kurt and Patton however decided that it would be a good idea to swim to the buoy and back.  Fortunately my husband is a strong swimmer because he says that his arms started going numb about halfway back to shore.

After our invigorating swim it was time for some food.  Patton treated us to a nice lunch as the inn next door and then we got a chance to walk around the city of Newcastle for a bit before driving the long way back to the house to see the Irish countryside.  Unfortunately it decided to rain pretty heavily so it was hard to see much.

The rest of our day was spent relaxing by the fire while listening to the rain outside.  While not your ideal weather for a holiday it was actually quite nice.

Miss you & love you!
Aubs, Luke & Luther