After getting settled, I headed north on the Atlantic Coast Highway with no other agenda than to look for blooming wildflowers. The clouds had cleared, but the wind was howling. I stopped at the first place I saw where I could safely pull over. With the Atlantic on my left, and the limestone landscape of the Burren on my right, and armed with my copy of “Wildflowers of the Burren” I started wandering.
As luck would have it, one of the first tiny flowers that caught my eye were small, brilliant blue blooms holding their own against the side of a rock. The Spring Gentian! I had read that it was rather rare so I checked and double checked my field guide. Yep, it was the Gentian! Soon after I came across a mountain aven, an early purple orchid, and several others that I had no idea what they were. It was amazing to me that these tiny plants could withstand the harsh weather conditions that were currently pummeling me.
