We have a garden?

We spent part of the morning in the back garden, pulling weeds, trimming hedges, deadheading flowers, and scything the edges. In Pennsylvania, I tried to spend an hour in the gardens before work and at least two hours in the evening--weeding, watering, planting, hacking at invasive vines. That lifestyle seems bizarre now that I'm here and have spent zero time in the garden before today. It's so strange how you can do a 180 and not even notice. It didn't seem strange to expend all the energy I had on my 12 gardens in the U.S.; it doesn't seem strange to not expend any energy in the gardens here.

In the afternoon, we went back to the walled garden at Bangor Castle to enjoy the art installations.

This one is by Sharon Regan, a wonderful sculptor:

There was the obligatory weird stuff:

We also went to the marian to visit one of the tall ships:

We ended our day in Belfast with my cousin Bill and his wife Mary Beth. We went to the Crown Bar for a pre-dinner drink, had dinner at a fancy place called CoCo, then went to the Cathedral Quarter for a drink at the Duke of York. It was a festive night. And who should be two tables away? Rory McIlroy. Bill & Mary Beth were on a golf tour of Ireland, so this was perfect. Unfortunately, we didn't get him in the frame.

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