They say there are 40 shades of green in Ireland. You can find almost that many shades in some yards. As well as shades of reds and oranges and blues and pinks and violets in flowers from cultivated beds and hanging baskets, to the wild heather that grows out in the peat bogs and in between the limestone outcroppings in the mountains.
And that doesn't even take into account the greens and yellows and blues and reds of the brightly painted buildings in the small villages and even the large towns.
In total land area, Mississippi is slightly larger that Ireland, whereas Ireland's population is a little over a million more than Mississippi's. A shade over four million there, whereas Mississippi's is a little under three.
But Ireland is very old. Vikings settled here in the 700s. But there were people here long before then. When the Vikings came, they sacked monasteries for a living at first. And many of those monasteries had roots going back hundreds of years before that. There are ruins of castles and monasteries and watchtowers all over Ireland.
Nature puts on a great show in Ireland. The Emerald isle is emerald. Green, green, green. And it stays that way because it is wet. Et, wet, wet. Even if the sun is shining when you get up in the morning, take your umbrella anyway. Rain is likely before long. "Changeable" is an accepted weather forecasting term in Ireland. And it does change, literally in five minute increments sometimes, from rain to sun to rain again.
This is the stereotypical landscape you expect in Ireland. Stone fenced pastures, all green, cascading before you in a panorama of tranquility. But there are also the mountains of the Connemara. And in the valleys, peat bogs.
Dublin in the east is the biggest city in Ireland. Galway is its counterpart in the west. With charming villages and enchanting lanes connecting them.
And Ireland is green. At least 40 shades of green and at least that many opportunities to get rained on in a day, too.
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WLBT 3 - Fox 40
