Jaunting car thru the park

Tuesday, June 4, 2019 -- Tuesday morning was what the locals call "a soft morning". There's just a light cloud cover and a mist of rain in the air -- these conditions cause the light to be soft and gentle. Indeed, everything looked beautiful in the morning light as we started out for Killarney National Park for a Jaunting Car ride.

The jaunting cars are horse-drawn wagons which seat 8 in the back and 2 passengers on the front seat with the driver. The car has a roof and plastic sides which are rolled down in the event of rain. Jim and I were asked if we wanted to sit with the driver and of course, we said yes. So one foot on the hub of the wheel and another on an iron step at the top and we were seated about 6 feet above street level.

After taking our picture, our driver, Mike, climbed on with us, and the horse backed out of the parking space. "Horses love a soft morning like this", Mike told us, "because it's gentle on their eyes". We proceed down the road and into the park, past a beautiful church -- here, away from the noise of the traffic, all is quiet and calm. We occasionally hear birds, the gentle babble of water running over rocks and the rhythmic clomping of the horses feet.

Mike covered us with a wool blanket, then a tarp -- "one layer for warmth, one to keep dry", he explained, "just like camping". Jim told him we were campers and the connection was made. Realizing our love of nature, Mike told us about the plants and animals in Ireland. There are no large predators here, such as wildcats or bears, no snakes (whether or not St. Patrick drove them out), no wolves any longer, only foxes. So deer have only one enemy -- man. The beautiful red deer are abundant here in the park, but virtually no where else in Ireland due to over-hunting. We saw a number of them, large antlers still with velvet, and several young ones. In the sun, their hide shines a deep auburn red and they are just beautiful -- about the size of North America's white-tail deer. We also saw some Siki deer, which have been introduced from Japan.

We saw a beautiful cottage with a thatched roof. At one time these cottages were the prevalent homes in Ireland and there are still some around, although the majority of them are in parks or attractions. Mike explained that each family cut a unique pattern into the thatching so you could readily identify the family whose members lived in any given house. The one in the park is the home of the caretaker, and it looks so beautiful in this idyllic setting.

The park is abundant with old-growth Irish oaks. At one time, these native trees covered much of the island. But when the British arrived, they realized their tall straight trunks were highly prized for ship building, and stripped the country-side of much of the old-grown forests. The forests here in the park represent the majority of the trees which still remain.

Mike pointed out the ruins of an old structure and assured us it was the home of leprechauns, hiding in the crevices there. He then explained the origin of the legend -- during the time of the Great Hunger (the Potato Famine), several generations of families lived together. The children would be inside the house, looking out at the rain, and they were so hungry. So to lift their spirits, the grandparents made up stories of leprechauns for the children to watch for. They told them of the rainbow with a pot of gold at its end to give the children hope that a day was coming when they would not be hungry. The tenderness with which he told this story really touched my heart. As grandparents, Jim and I would do anything for our grandchildren and its so hard to see them sick or hurting. I think it really speaks to the character and resilience of the Irish people that they would use their wit and humor to entertain their grandchildren, rather than succumb to the desperation of those times.

The Irish love their horses and these are no exception. Our car is being pulled by Mr. Tom, a 6-year-old Irish draft horse. His huge feet make a wonderful clomping sound as he almost pranced down the street, occasionally splashing through a puddle. He was trained for a couple of years before he started working full time. He works one day on, receiving oats after each 45 minute trip. At the end of the day, he's returned to the stable where he'll get a full day's rest before he works again -- 3 days one week, 4 days the next. Mike explained that these horses are cared for so well that they live 7 to 10 years longer than a horse that doesn't work. The horses are amazingly calm, merging into traffic flow without hesitation. At one point, we came to a traffic circle -- the traffic light was red but the horse turned left and proceeded thru. Jim commented "Oh, you go left on red -- that makes sense -- we have right on red". Mike answered "No, we don't have left on red. You have to stop on red and go on green. But Mr. Tom here, he's color-blind". And we drove on down the street as though that were the most sensible of explanations.