Cows Loose on the River Martin

The river that runs through Blarney is the River Martin and there’s a nice walk next to it near where I live. There’s a field close by where horses and cattle graze from time to time but I don’t remember ever seeing the animals straying from the field.

You can imagine our surprise when we saw a group of cows walking up the river last night, and then jumping up the bank and off towards Waterloo on the public path. I wonder if they were going to the Waterloo Inn for a refreshing drink?

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My wife rang the Gardai who said they’d deal with them. Cars flew up the Waterloo Road at their usual speeds but thankfully we didn’t hear the crunch of metal or skidding wheels while we were down there…

Dog peed on the carpet?

shih tzu eyes

In any home where a dog is indoors that dog is going to pee on the carpet sooner or later. Hopefully the “little accident” will be noticed quickly but if not it’ll dry into your carpet and you might not even notice it for a while if the house is well ventilated.

Then some time later comes that unmistakeable odour. The sickly sweet smell of urine, of a dirty public toilet in your living room corner or in a neglected spare room. You just know that it’s deep in the carpet by now. Bacteria doing their thing in the fibres of your precious floor covering. Ugh!

You’ll be happy to hear there’s a really easy way to clean it up. No need to buy an expensive carpet cleaner containing exotic sounding chemicals. There’s no need to fumigate the room, or steam wash the carpet. Just white vinegar and water first and then dry it. Follow up with bread soda and then a dilute bleach, 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed with a little washing up liquid.

It’s quite amazing how well it works.