Another quiet day in Carlow, visiting cousins. This afternoon, we took a cold, windy walk through Altamont Gardens in Tullow, Co Carlow along the Slaney River. There are many big houses and gardens in Ireland (some very grand, some less so). Once owned by the gentry, many are now open to the public.
A relatively modest estate, Altamont was owned by a Quaker family whose last descendent donated the house and grounds to the State. Five hundred year old oaks, planted beds, lawns, and a lake dug in the mid-19th century as Famine relief.
Like so much in Ireland, the house is surrounded by fields of cattle and sheep.
Back at the house in the evening, I showed Kay some of the photos I'd take earlier outside. She counted the chickens in one and worried that one of the hens seemed to be missing. That prompted me to mention that I hadn't seen any ducks at all (I'd had a duck's egg for breakfast). Kay said that the fox had taken the last one a few days earlier, which prompted Alan to observe that it was a dead duck's egg I'd had for breakfast.
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