Deluges in the early hours had me pondering where we could find shelter... The  first gales of an early autumn had already scuppered the idea of the Waterbus...

Ye  of little faith!

By the time I reached the appointed meeting place, a pretty-off-the-road stream-side picnic area near Laghey, the rain had stopped... By the time Dude swung in, hitting the kerb in her excitement, the sun was peeping shyly out between dark clouds....

What a wondrous meeting; hugs all round.....

And after chat, we set up "shop" at the back of the car...... Jams. rosaries, jewelry, knitteds, scattered and strewn as choices were made....

And Dude's large suitcase of "goodies"; the generosity warms and reassures.. a rainbow of wool... and the Crocs! A perfect fit, and so light.. Who cares about winter with feet warmed and kept dry by the caring of friends..

And the camera, now installed here and ready to use; there is an old saying that if you feed a man  fish today you save him today.. if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for life.... So now we can create a sales web page, using the xanga system, to help us to care for many children in great need.. Italian Chauffeur; thank you and bless you for your part in this..

NB we could not find the software in the parcels, but when I got home, there it was...

I explained about the Waterbus. And suggested either Rossnowlagh Friary, or Murvagh beach.... The former won the vote..

So off we set in convoy, first in heavy traffic on the main Donegal/Sligo road, then off to the right down the tree-shaded, sunny Irish lanes. still green, yet the denuded hawthorns cloaked crimson with haws....

As Michele has said, we who live here know our environs in great detail. Rossnowlagh is still, just - the Franciscan Orders here are dying out now - a working Friary, purpose-built only 60 years ago...

It is a place that has been a resource for  me over many years, offering hospitality, and the freedom to explore every part of the grounds...

So we turned in on a perfect late summer day; sun shining warm from a blue sky.

The museum caught the attention first...

I had asked if Fr Sean was around; yes, he was on duty in the Church, ie available for confessions etc.

We went outdoors, to the pretty gardens, as I wondered how to meet him... and lo ! There he was, old Friar, walking in the sunshine..clad in Franciscan brown.

Warm greetings - and when he heard that two of our party were from Oklahoma, he led  them in a rousing chorus of the song, there in the sun outside the Church...... One of those unforgettable moments...

Then up the steep back path, breathing in the fresh aroma of the great pines and firs the Friary nestles among, to the View Point... A breath taking panorama of beach and sea,  creaming gently in, with the backdrop of the lumpy Donegal hills, clouds catching at their summits.

Then the Pieta, and down again through the pines... parts of the grounds now, with the lack of manpower, are sadly neglected, upsetting when you have known them in their full glory..

Then back to the cared for parts; rich green sweep of grass.. the small, peaceful Friars' graveyard... the Peace Garden and the Creation gardens..roses hanging heavy on frail stems.

And into the Church then a while...

And out, under the hanging baskets bright with lobelia and surfinia and impatiens..

A blessing and a perfection of a morning that could not be added to. Sun gilded.....trees and birds adding their beauty...

Complete.

So we adjourned for a simple lunch of home made soup and brown bread, at The Pantry in Laghey, new to us all. Rather than get embroiled in the Town.

And there we parted then. Judy and co to continue theit tour, heading for Derry then.

A day not to be forgotten, but treasured and cherished.

Blessings this night...