October 8 - Jake & Leah!

Friday

Several people think they look alike. I'd have to agree. :)

'Superhero' shirts from Leah - the boys get themselves dressed every day...these are getting a lot of use.

"Cheese"...or close enough.




We started another day of sight-seeing at Kilmacduagh monastery, founded in the 7th century (link).






Daniel took the day off to be with us. Moriah was not pleased that he was trying to hold her hand while she walked...

...but look how delightful she is when she gets her way.

Aaron was very amused when we showed him this picture.."Hey Silas! Look at the picture - the top of the tower looks like it's my hat!!"

"Here, Mommy."

Jake seemed interested in the grave stones. He noticed this one from 1799.

A small, slit window is the only opening into this room. Taking a picture with flash was the only way to see it well.

On our drive through the country, we passed lots of cows - not unusual...but the site of this calf (on the left) nursing from it's mother (the slightly larger cow on the right) was shocking to Jake. (He grew up on a farm raising cattle.) Our staring distracted the calf, who then turned to look at us, but you can see milk dripping from the corners of her mouth. "When do they wean their calves?!" Jake wondered in amazement. The breastfeeding proponent that I am, I informed him that breastmilk is best and that babies should receive breastmilk as their primary source of food for at least their first year - why would this not apply to cows as well?

Another mother and large nursing calf joined in the stare-down.

We got to Roscommon Castle, where we had not been before, and had a fun time exploring!

"Roscommon Castle...is regarded by scholars as one of the finest Anglo-Norman castles in Ireland. A rich monastery, a well endowed Dominican Friary, and a lay settlement existed at Roscommon, and the importance of this centre on a local and provincial level were the main reasons Roscommon was to become one of the most important royal castles in Ireland during the late 13th and 14th centuries. The site for the castle was selected by the Dublin government in 1262 during the course of a hosting against Aedh O'Conor, son of Feilim O'Conor, the Irish king of Connacht. Robert de Ufford, the Justiciar or chief governor in Ireland for Henry III, ordered work to begin on the fortress in 1269. Aedh had succeeded his father as king of Connacht and was deeply hostile to the Anglo-Normans. Roscommon Castle represented a threat to Aedh's power, and he repeatedly plundered and burned it in the early 1270s. These attacks slowed down building works on the castle and really very little of it had been completed by the time of Aedh's death in 1274. The sources suggest that most of the castle was erected in the late 1270s. It was to be the centre of Anglo-Norman power in this part of Ireland until the mid 14th century...

The castle was repeatedly attacked by the local Irish and was in O'Conor hands by the mid 14th century. The O'Conors, usually the O'Conor Don branch of that family, held the castle for over two hundred years.... Roscommon Castle saw many sieges during the course of the 15th century in the internecine warfare that characterized this period.

Roscommon Castle was regarded by the English government from the mid 16th century onwards as being of strategic importance in restoring their control in western Ireland. The castle was given back to the Dublin government by the O'Conor Don of the day in 1569. In 1677 the crown granted the castle and 17,000 acres to an English soldier, Sir Nicholas Malby. The latter turned the northern half of the inner ward into a symmetrically-designed, Renaissance-influenced fortified house. This made Roscommon Castle the centre of one of the largest New English estates in Ireland at this time... Defense at the castle was still a priority due to political conditions in Ireland at this time, which were far from stable, and gunloops and other defensive features can be seen in this house. Many of the defensive features of the original 14th-century castle were retained as well...

Malby was correct to maintain the defences of Roscommon Castle as it was attacked and besieged by Red Hugh O'Donnell for three months in 1596 and again in 1599 during the course of the Nine Years War. The castle saw action during the Confederate Wars of the 1640s and surrendered to a Cromwellian force in 1652. It seems to have fallen out of use over the course of the late 17th century."

Daddy tricked the boys into believing that he is the real Superhero.

A little work went into climbing down from up there.

"I'm the king of the woooorrrlllld!!"
This fantasy hasn't lost its thrill for this little boy yet.

Auntie Leah is having a little fun with optical illusions. Aaron, excuse me, Superman likes looking at himself in this picture...

...and this picture...

...and this picture. :)

This was a really fun "exploring" castle! We were the only ones there for a long time.

The boys could have climbed around for hours!

At about this time, an hilarious scene unfolded. Poor Silas, but it was SO funny!

Here's the video - it's just a little over a minute of good comic relief.

She ditched the effort.

Looking out from the front of the castle. So pretty in fall colors.

The boys were pretty close to falling into the pond a few times while playing with the ducks. I thought the setting was so pretty that I took lots of pictures and then couldn't decide from among them which to keep...so here they all are. :)