Mount Usher - part one.

Busy weekend - out last night, out tomorrow, a visit to the Botanic Gardens this morning as it wasn't quite nice enough to be going all the way to Birr for an anniversary treat (never mind the Bank Holiday traffic!). But I've managed to pick and re-size the best photos from Mount Usher. It was such a treat to have got there last weekend. We used to go often when we were children - I can still remember Mum dropping the car keys on the slatted wooden bridge, and how we all had to stay still until she picked them up, in case they fell through the gap into the river. We used to regularly when we lived in Bray and Dun Laoghaire, but it could be ten years since we were last there. Avoca Handweavers are certainly doing a good job keeping it well-maintained and looking good. We came back part of the way along the old road, which brought back memories of driving lessons, and learning to change gear to take all those bends smoothly.

And the Handkerchief Tree - we saw three this morning in the Botanic Gardens, but none of them looked as good as the ones in Mount Usher. I wonder is it something to do with the hard winter - it's years since I remember seeing the one that I knew was in the Botanics in bloom, and we go there pretty regularly.