Sunday Musings

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I was gently nudged by one of my DK friends to write some more musings and today as I watched Riley slosh around in a  muddy stream in the beautiful surroundings of Castletown House it proved the ideal time to let my thoughts drift to memories of childhood.  Castletown (link below)  boasts a large stately house where classical concerts are held on Sundays and hundreds of terrific acres of land which are totally unspoiled. It is the perfect place in which a dog can amble and play while erstwhile owners can stretch their limbs whilst allowing memories and thoughts to permeate their conciousness. It is five minutes away from the town of Maynooth in County Kildare where I live. 

It is Fathers Day in Ireland which brought me to thoughts of my father whose memories and presence is felt in both my head and heart every day.  I inherited my love of animals from him.  It was Daddy who insisted that we have a dog and from my earliest memories I have never been without one. It was Daddy who helped me nurse a seagull with a broken wing one summer and drove to the fish shop in the local town to provide that bird with food.  It was Daddy who rescued a dog who had got a fish hook caught in it's mouth and the two of us performed the operation to remove it because there was no vet within a large radius and the dog was in pain.  The first time I saw tears in his eyes was when our Summer home and car was burnt down and my dog Jet died in the fire.  The tears were for Jet as he told me that everything else was immaterial.

And so on this day as I walked the Castletown grounds with one wet dog trundling along beside me I remembered with  fondness and great love, my dearest Daddy.

Castletown House

[David and Murphy]

Thank you for sharing such a great personal memory.

And I must say it's very interesting for me to know someone in Ireland,

especially having a carefully named dog, Murphy.

[Carol and Banjo]

Nicky, I've always loved your Musings.....and I love the walk you took us on.   Thanks for sharing.

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Glad you're musing again, Nicky!!  Thanks for sharing about your wonderful father.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Thank you for sharing.  Your dad sounds like he was a wonderful man.

[Doris, Knox & Flash]

I have loved all of your musings, and this one about your dad is no exception! What a great Dad he must have been!

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

What a nice tribute to your Dad. Such lovely grounds to walk, how great to live so close to Castletown House!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Laurie, I agree.   I  wondered why she stopped posting The Sunday Musing Blogs.  My thoughts were that she posted all those before Riley. After Riley, she became a busy woman with no time to write because she was having fun with her doodle.  And that was a good enough reason for me.  

So glad she posted another and on such a perfect day.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Nicky, I, for one, have missed your Sunday Musings :) This was lovely and your dad sounds like he was a wonderful man. Thank you for sharing.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It sounds like you had a perfect day, Nicki.  Your Dad sounds like a wonderful father.  I really love the Castletown House "guided tour"....such a beautiful house and grounds.

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Really lovely. Obviously he was a deeply compassionate man which is a great gift to pass along to your children.