tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634969979683449053.post3422682479935731264..comments2024-03-27T22:32:32.190-04:00Comments on Granny Sue's News and Reviews: Ireland, Day 4: In the BurrenGranny Suehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01129064020727041161noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634969979683449053.post-26689400398921573772017-10-12T16:48:41.020-04:002017-10-12T16:48:41.020-04:00I have read about The Burren, wonderful to see it,...I have read about The Burren, wonderful to see it, less barren than I'd imagined. You guys were brave to drive and parallel park even!harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17429442912701353172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634969979683449053.post-1244898065116446442017-10-09T08:44:06.993-04:002017-10-09T08:44:06.993-04:00Yes, very like some places here in WV--the Dolly S...Yes, very like some places here in WV--the Dolly Sods is a good example. Still for plants to gain a footing there is not easy, given the strong winds (as in Dolly Sods) and lack of soil. And yet they do, which is amazing. I have photos, I think, of some of the plants we saw there. It's a lovely place to my mind. So wild, and a strong example of nature's power and variety. I hope to go back again. <br /><br />I edited the post re karst! Thanks for that correction :) <br /><br />On the tour Theresa and I took through the Burren in 2015, the guide said that people would plant potatoes in the cracks in the rock; the English thought the place uninhabitable and impossible for food production, but the Irish managed to grow their potatoes anyway. They stuffed seaweed into the cracks to provide some fertilizer for the plants. <br />Granny Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01129064020727041161noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2634969979683449053.post-28433576551135259192017-10-09T03:39:03.078-04:002017-10-09T03:39:03.078-04:00To someone from the Appalachians I suppose any lan...To someone from the Appalachians I suppose any landscape without trees would be something of a novelty. The Burren is famous for its wild flowers in springtime with many rare plants growing in this specialised habitat, especially in the cracks in the rock. The rock is actually limestone and it dissolves, very slowly, in rainwater. The water finds the lines of weakness in the rock causing it to form blocks (known as clints) divided by cracks called grykes. "Karst" is a name for the type of scenery rather than the rock itself and takes its from an area in Slovenia that has the same rock.John "By Stargoose And Hanglands"https://www.blogger.com/profile/00832873074550725579noreply@blogger.com