Strawberry Heaven

Another lovely day here in county Wexford. I took advantage of the lack of rain to walk down to the Village at Wheelocks. It's about a mile and a half away so that made for a pleasant 30 minute walk. The road is narrow and somewhat overgrown, the ditches are in need of a good trim. Fortunately there aren't many cars, I just need to remember to walk down the right side of the road here. I passed curious sheep and indifferent cows as well as the occasional tiny guard dog (much less intimidating to walk past than their larger counterparts). Big birds that look like crows but sound too sweet fly overhead, black birds perhaps? As well as the ever present swallows, doves, and pigeons; the cry of the occasional pheasant. Upon arriving at Wheelocks I'll admit to being rather lost... Their signs could be a bit more clear and the onsite vacation rentals added to the confusion. I wandered about and just followed my nose, the smell of strawberries is floating on the heavy Irish air. Rows upon rows of poly tunnels shelter the beautiful red fruit from the weather, and the birds. The scent coming out of them was heavenly. Once I found the main building I was seated outside at a heavy duty, yet intricately wrought iron table. I was the only one that was outside (I requested it), I think the warm sun chased the locals inside. After my trek I was a bit warm so the sun wasn't needed but I'll always take it. There was a nice breeze that eventually cooled me off. I got a mini farmhouse breakfast (the smaller version of the full Irish). So one each of: rasher, banger, black pudding, white pudding, egg, hash browns, and two pieces of fresh brown bread. It comes with beans too but I prefer not to eat those so had them left off. It's enough to keep you going for most of the day. Oh, and I upgraded to a mocha that was quite delicious and had a cute little heart on top. Now that I was fortified and caffeinated, I set off to explore their nature walk. They had placed very cute little fairy doors throughout as well as lights and streamers. There was a good sized stream overlook as well as a smaller burbling brook. It was quite nice overall but smaller than I expected. You come out near a couple farmyard animals that you can feed and pet. A small cow, pony, goat, and a sheep. I think there are chickens and rabbits somewhere... There were some families enjoying this so I moved on, I have animals back at the farm that I can mingle with. Arriving back at the main building I browsed their local shops. A cute little garden shop, nothing small enough for me to buy; an osteopath that wasn't open, rather surprising option. There was a shop that said beauty and massage that I was very interested in but they weren't open. I did buy some candle wax melts at the next little shop. They are black berry and I will always associate that fruit with here, very authentic scent. I was going to pick my own strawberries but it was cheaper to just buy them, I've picked fruit before and didn't feel the need to pay extra for the "experience". With time to kill I tried some local Wexford gelato, chocolate mint and salted caramel (of course). As well as an iced latte, salted caramel for that as well. Although it is a favorite there weren't many flavor options. I found another little table outside, away from the playground and children, to enjoy my treats and spend some time doing research and taking notes for some of my future plans. I finished up by purchasing a bottle of wine, the aforementioned strawberries, as well as some local and organic chicken eggs. Luckily, they had a box to put my purchases in to carry. Not the most convenient but better than making jam in my bag on the walk home.