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An Urbandale resident’s interest in creating overwhelming beauty in small spaces landed his yard among the featured stops on the eighth annual Extraordinary Gardens by Ordinary People tour set for Saturday.

The event includes gardens in Des Moines, West Des Moines, Urbandale and Clive. Each site was designed by a Polk County Master Gardener.

“My backyard has been in constant transformation since we moved here in 1979. I add things, move plants if they aren’t doing well and play with the landscaping. One of the main features of my yard is the retaining wall I added,” said King.

The two dispel the belief that good fences make good neighbors. Friends since Borchardt moved to the neighborhood in the 1980s, the two share plants and ideas, and they collaborate on landscaping to be sure it complements the other’s yard.

Krogulski’s yard boasts a garden filled with nearly 125 hosta varieties. Adding to the beauty is a rock-water feature and a dry stream bed that creates a natural divider between the two gardens.

For Borchardt, who volunteers for the Urbandale Demonstration Garden, the thrill of gardening comes from its maintenance.

“I hope people take away from our two gardens that gardening is enjoyable, that it should be an addition to your life and not a chore. For me, it is my little bit of reverie; it’s a stress relief to go out and pull weeds,” Borchardt said.

Tags: county master gardener, demonstration garden, des moines, dry stream, fence, fences, good fences make good neighbors, hosta varieties, Landscaping, master gardener, natural divider, ordinary people, overwhelming beauty, plants, polk county, retaining wall, reverie, rock water, s yard, small spaces, stream bed, stress relief, urbandale, water feature, weeds, west des moines
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Vision Iowa gave a $1 million boost Thursday to fundraising efforts for the new Pappajohn Sculpture Park slated for installation in the Western Gateway in downtown Des Moines.

The grant from the state-funded program will help cover costs for landscaping, lighting and security for the $30 million collection of at least 16 sculptures that venture capitalist John Pappajohn and his wife, Mary, plan to donate to the Des Moines Art Center. Although the sculptures will belong to the museum, the city of Des Moines has been charged with maintenance and security.

Project leaders said they still hope to raise another $1 million toward their total goal of about $6 million, but they’re confident additional donors will step forward.

“This is a jaw-dropping, magnificent amenity for the people of Iowa and visitors to our capital city,” said Jim Cownie, who is leading the fundraising efforts. “The response from the community has been resounding.”

Although some plans have yet to be completed, project leaders expect to start construction during the last week of August or the first week of September. A few of the sculptures may need to be installed before the landscaping is finished, but most are expected to arrive next spring.

“The idea is to have a rolling landscape and cutaways that will provide sites for the sculptures, with vistas from far away and intimate possibilities up close,” said Art Center director Jeff Fleming, who recently hauled a few spotlights over to the Pappajohns’ yard to figure out how best to light the sculptures at night.

At least $1 million of the $6 million fundraising target will be invested in an endowment to cover long-term costs for security and maintenance. Until that kicks in, however, Allied-Nationwide, whose offices border the park’s south side, has offered up to $1.6 million for security equipment and staff to supplement what the city will provide. Security is a particular concern because the park’s design does not include fences, allowing visitors close access to the artwork.

“We’re very pleased that Allied stepped up,” said Steve Zumbach, who is helping with the project. “John and Mary have really done something wonderful for the community, and the community, in turn, is responding.”

Tags: 30 million, amenity, center director, cutaways, des moines, des moines art center, endowment, fence, fences, fundraising efforts, jeff fleming, john pappajohn, landscape, Landscaping, project leaders, s south, sculpture park, sculptures, security equipment, security project, target, western gateway
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Theres nothing like smelling the perfume of flowers and witnessing lush greenery right in your courtyard! Outdoor living, with aesthetic utility, is at its best when nature dazzles the eye and nurtures the soul, explains Neera Gulati

Retreat spaces is what I would call them. Landscaping Services  If you have your own land and are building an independent house for yourself and the family, it would be a wonderful idea for you to create a living space away from your main house, which would be a sanctuary you will want to remove from the house to create a sense of privacy and solace. In this busy world, you would love to be away from the busy household chores and create a space outside your house, that is either in the garden area or a backyard. Or if there is space constraint, you could do something in a balcony or a terrace.

One of the most popular outdoor spaces is the outdoor dining room and kitchen. Plans for outdoor dining rooms can range from the basic to the outrageous, depending on your inclination and budget. Merely placing tables and chairs to take advantage of (or to avoid) the sun, with a barbecue set up nearby, may be all you need.

Even so, consider accents to dress up the space, like container gardens and solar powered lights. If you want to go broke, install an entire outdoor kitchen with weatherproof cabinets and appliances to form the ‘walls’ or boundaries of the space which you can then dress up with lively tiles and a dining set, and use a pergola to provide shade and some cover. Outdoor living spaces are often the only access to nature that the modern lifestyle affords. You can create natural spaces at home. It certainly isn’t difficult to build outdoor living spaces. But it does take an appreciation for the ‘divide and conquer’ approach. We take it for granted that our houses are divided into rooms, but the concept for having similar outdoor living spaces may sound odd.

At first indeed, the biggest obstacle standing in most people’s way is that it just doesn’t occur to them to divide up a yard so as to maximize their enjoyment of it. The more conscious we become of outdoor living spaces, the more we can tailor them to suit our needs. Having separate outdoor spaces allows you to create mini landscape designs. Just as you can paint or wallpaper an indoor room using a colour scheme unique to that room, so also you can use colour to make individualised statements for each of your outdoor living spaces. But here, instead of paint or wallpaper, you determine your colour scheme when you select the plants you’ll be using for the area. Proper application of colour theory in landscape design can even influence mood and perception.

More the merrier

The materials which you can use for outdoor living spaces can be different from the indoor rooms. For floors, for eg, you could use grass, patios or decks. For the walls, you could use formal hedges, fences or informal hedges. For the ceiling pergolas, decorative canvas canopies, awnings or lawn umbrellas will be great. Keep both aesthetics and function in mind when constructing outdoor rooms. But in areas dedicated to physical activity, if you have to choose between the two, focus on function. Never compromise on safety. You can make up for compromises in aesthetics later, when you accessorize your outdoor rooms.

Below are examples of outdoor rooms and how to put them together.

Pool areas: Landscaping around swimming pools presents specific challenges regarding safety, maintenance and  privacy. You don’t want people slipping on anything, you don’t want to spend all your time cleaning the debris, and you don’t want the neighbours peering in at you. In selecting a ‘wall’ to enclose the area, all of these considerations come into play. ‘Floor‘ in pool areas must be slip-resistant.

Meditation areas: For meditation gardens, (which is a wonderful way to de stress from your busy schedule), privacy is very much an issue. Here reflection, not physical activity, takes centre stage. Aesthetic consideration, consequently, will carry greater weight. Most people find plants more relaxing than hardscape, so consider planting hedges to form the wall of such outdoor rooms. For a floor, consider a combination of natural materials.

In meditation gardens, a ceiling may come in quite handy. Here, you’ll choose between aesthetics and functionality. A vine covered arbour may be more inspiring to gaze up at, than a lawn umbrella, but the latter will keep you and the books you may be reading, dry. If you’d like something more solid than an umbrella, consider installing a pergola and covering it with fibreglass. But water shouldn’t be banned from contemplative outdoor rooms. If there’s any place in your yard for accessories such as garden fountains and waterfalls, surely its here. There is nothing like the soothing sound of bubbling water to put you into a reflective mood.

You could also create an living room outside. Deck it up with cozy furniture, speakers and ambient lighting, with plants of your choice, and you would love to use this place, all the year round.

Nowadays, most people want to live and entertain in a much more informal atmosphere. Guests also would love to gravitate towards the great room, which blends into the kitchen and outdoor living spaces.

These outdoor dining spaces should reflect the informal yet stylish design of the interior great rooms. Create an outdoor retreat that allows you and your guests to spill outside from the room. Don’t be afraid to mix chandeliers and old antiques outdoors, especially in outdoor dining areas. Utilise a touch of indoor style and unify the space by adding outdoor drapes, pillows and rugs to complete the look.

The use of colour, pattern and texture in fabrics is an excellent way to reflect the indoor space. Add colourful elements by choosing flowering plants to accent containers scattered throughout the outdoor living space.  Mix and match materials in these outdoor settings, juxtapose wrought iron with glass, steel with terracotta, wood against woven components. Outdoor living is at its best when nature dazzles the eye and nurtures the soul. Create your perfect casual environment out.

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One speciality of St Equipment Landscaping. Anthony Park resident Erik Jorgensen, whose landscaping business is called Wandering Designs, is creating Alzheimer’s gardens, which often include a structure such as a gazebo.

Unless you know someone with Alzheimer’s disease, you may never have heard of an Alzheimer’s garden. The concept is popular on both coasts but isn’t well-known in Minnesota.

That’s changing, however, through the efforts of St. Anthony Park resident Erik Jorgensen and his business, Wandering Designs, which specializes in therapeutic gardens.

An Alzheimer’s garden is usually constructed as part of a nursing home or retirement home in an area protected from the elements. There must be a solid fence at least eight feet high — so residents don’t try to leave or become distressed by what happens outside the garden — and a locked gate. Pathways should be easy to follow.

The garden should be calm and peaceful but have many sources of stimulation: brightly colored flowers with pleasant scents, plants and pathways with varied textures  Equipment Landscaping. Often Jorgensen includes water features or wind chimes, as well as feeders that attract birds and other wildlife.

At the farthest point of the garden is a major focal point —Equipment Landscaping a table with a brightly colored umbrella, wishing well, gazebo, porch — to coax people along the paths, and there are frequent rest stops with benches that have backs and arm rests. Benches are angled rather than facing each other because most Alzheimer’s patients don’t like to look at other people straight on.

Jorgensen tries to evoke childhood memories by using old-fashioned plants such as hollyhocks, clotheslines, picket fences, wishing wells and arbors. He adds an open area for activities: having a barbecue, planting flowers or vegetables, meeting with therapy animals.

“The garden must be an active rather than a passive place,” he says.

Jorgensen grew up in Como Park and attended North Dakota State University and the University of Minnesota, where he got a bachelor’s degree in environmental design. He worked for Bachman’s in Eden Prairie, where he ran the garden center, and later joined McCarron Designs, where he did interior landscape design. He did “The Mighty Axe” at the Mall of America and the landscaping design for the Episcopal Home on University Avenue.

In 1999 the American Society of Landscape Architects began “One Hundred Years, One Hundred Gardens,” a pro bono project on the occasion of its 100th anniversary. McCarron Designs worked with other landscape artists to plan the Tabitha Garden, specifically for Alzheimer’s patients, at the Regina Medical Center in Hastings.

Jorgensen looked for others with more experience to help him but wasn’t able to find anyone. So he began educating himself about Alzheimer’s patients and the general principles guiding their care.

The project was a success and Jorgensen became the resident expert on Alzheimer’s gardens at McCarron Designs. After being laid off there, he received a commission to plan a therapy garden in the courtyard at the HealthEast Marion Center in St. Paul. That lead to other jobs, and he started his own company, Wandering Designs, in 2003, with Alzheimer’s gardens as his specialty. About 85 percent of his business is therapy gardens.

“This feels so much better to me than doing corporate landscaping,” Jorgensen says. “That is often just to feed someone’s ego by constructing a fabulous interior space. This is an ‘egoless’ endeavor — to design a place that feels more like home than an institution for people who are at the end of their lives. It feels right.”

Tags: Equipment Landscaping, fence, fences, focal point, gazebo, landscape, landscape architect, Landscape Design, Landscaping, Landscaping Design, planting flowers, plants, porch, vegetables, water feature, water features
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Constable Daryl Williams said the car left the road on State Highway 1 between Edendale and Invercargill at about 7am, yesterday.
The driver, who suffered minor injuries, told police that he had felt tired before the crash.
%26quot;Sounds like he fell asleep,%26quot; Mr Williams said.
The driver, the sole occupant, told police he had stopped in Waihola for a sleep before he continued his journey south but Mr Williams said travelling long distances and in the night would have taken a toll. He, the driver, was extremely lucky, %26quot;it could, very easily have been a fatality we were dealing with%26quot; , Mr Williams said.
The driver was taken to Southland Hospital by ambulance.
The farm owners whose paddock the car crashed into, Hamish and Kathryn Pinckney, said they did not hear the accident.
%26quot;First we knew was when the cop knocked on the door,%26quot; Mrs Pinckney said.
This type of police call is not new to the family, who said the corner often caused cars to smash through their fences, particularly in frosts, she said.
Not everyone who crashed on the corner was as lucky Mrs Pinckney said two or three years ago there had been a fatal car crash on the corner.

Tags: fence, fences, highway 1
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Leslie David Remuera Laing, 18, a shearer, was convicted in the Gore District Court on March 12 for drink-driving three days earlier.
The offence happened in Gore when the real Leslie David Remuera Laing, 18, a former presser, was in Papakura, where he has lived and worked for five months.
The first the teenager knew about his conviction was a few days ago when the Land Transport Safety Authority rang his father Doug.
They were trying to track down the teenager to get his drivers licence off him.
Mr Laing senior said yesterday he could not believe what he was hearing when he was told Leslie had been convicted for drink-driving in Gore three days earlier.
%26quot;He doesnt drink and drive … the only time he has been drunk was when he was 14.%26quot; The teenager has lived in Papakura since October last year, returning home after a short stint working for shearing contractor Peter Lyon, of Alexandra, Mr Laing said.
His son suspects a man he travelled south with, and who has stayed with the family before, was responsible for the identity theft.
Mr Laing junior has contacted Papakura police about his predicament and was getting affidavits, to prove he was in Auckland when the offence happened, to clear his name.
However, his father was concerned his son could be prosecuted for driving while disqualified or have his vehicle impounded if stopped by police while the conviction stands.
Detective sergeant Cynthia Fairley, of Gore, said it was going to be very inconvenient for the teenager until the matter was sorted but he should not be liable for further prosecution.
By contacting police all the information would be on file and can be checked, should he ever be stopped.
Getting away with a false identity was only possible with traffic offences because people were not arrested and therefore not finger-printed, Ms Fairley said.
%26quot;Its very hard to pick up especially if the person has not been in trouble before or was not known to police.%26quot; Often a driver may claim to have lost or forgotten their drivers licence so its not always possible to check information at that moment in time.
If police doubted anything a person was saying, they can be brought to the police station to verify their details, she said.
When the real offender was located they would be prosecuted for the drink-driving, as well as giving false information to police, Ms Fairley said.

Tags: fence, fences
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Pittsburghers returning to Bethany Beach, Del., this summer will find it a tad farther away.

About 250 feet, in fact, depending on the tide.

That’s the amount of beach that has been added since Labor Day on the 2.8 miles of shoreline from South Bethany through Bethany, as part of a collaboration between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state of Delaware.

If you go: Bethany Beach, Del.

Bethany Beach, Del., is about 350 miles southwest from Pittsburgh.

More information: Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce, www.bethany-fenwick.org, 36913 Coastal Highway, Fenwick Island, DE 19944. 1-302-539-2100; 1-800-962-SURF.

Although the depth of the new beach will ebb with tides, said Tony Pratt of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, no longer will it be a mere spit away from the town center boardwalk.

Access, instead of just down steps to what had become a narrow, crowded strip of sand, will be via gently sloping crossovers that will traverse newly built dunes. The crossovers are at every street that previously had steps. The dunes, where grass has been planted, are about 16 feet above the “mean” sea level — the level halfway between high and low tides, Mr. Pratt said.

The $20 million “beach nourishment and storm-reduction project,” as Mr. Pratt’s division officially calls it, is part of a long-term restoration and support of shores stretching back about 15 years, and miles and miles of beach, from Rehoboth and Dewey beaches, to the Bethanys, Fenwick Island and Ocean City, Md.

“The common denominator [of the projects] is they are constructed in urbanized beach communities with the intent being to reduce the loss that would occur when a major coastal storm would hit,” said Mr. Pratt, administrator of the department’s shoreline and waterway management office.

The project will be completed by Memorial Day, he said.

A peek at Bethany via bethanycam.com shows the broader beach near the town center at Garfield Parkway and South Atlantic Avenue, plus a crossover leading to the shoreline.

The look is entirely new for Bethany.

The beach “has never looked like this before, ever in its history, and the reason for that is that both Bethany and Rehoboth … were laid out at the primary dune line,” Mr. Pratt said. “People didn’t know any better. They wanted a view. They didn’t think about the fragility of the houses on the oceanfront.”

How beachgoers will react to what is truly a sea change won’t be fully known until the season gets under way in late May, but those involved with commerce at the shore seem gleeful at having achieved the wider beach.

“Everybody’s thrilled because [the beach] was so small, every single high tide, the water was up to the boardwalk. There was no place to sit,” said Karen McGrath, executive director of the Bethany Beach-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce.

“I think what we have is an absolutely fantastic, beautiful new beach,” said Mayor Carol Olmstead, a member of Bethany Beach Council for five years.

“Sometimes people were here on vacation and literally, there was nowhere to sit on the beach.”

Townspeople and tourists were very concerned, she said, and put a lot of pressure on Bethany officials to secure funding to complete the project.

They were pleased when they received word of full funding about this time last year.

Not everyone is happy.

“In my opinion, the money would have been better spent in New Orleans,” said Leroy Gravatte, owner of the Addy Sea Bed and Breakfast at North Atlantic Avenue and Ocean View Parkway.

His property, built at the turn of the 20th century by John Addy, a Pittsburgh plumbing wholesaler and one of five founding Bethany Beach families, is a 13-bedroom, cedar-shingle Victorian that he has owned since 1974. Mr. Gravatte has been coming to Bethany Beach since 1946.

The Addy Sea sat on the beach until the Army Corps project came along.

“It used to be oceanfront; now it’s on a dune … I have to go to the second floor to see the ocean,” said the genteel Mr. Gravatte, who is wintering in Florida.

He fears the changes — which right now also include snow fences, in addition to the dune, which he calls a “berm” — will adversely affect him and believes there may be evidence of that already.

Since January, income is down 26 percent since the same time last year and off 41 percent over 2006. “It could be that [the new beach] or it could be the economic cycle. In either case, I’m feeling the financial hardship.”

Coupled with increases in taxes, Mr. Gravatte, who owns two other rental properties in Bethany Beach, wonders if the changes will create problems for employees and the town alike.

“They’re going to feel the hardship I’m feeling because with my income off like it is, I think it’s going to affect them as well.”

He said he replenished the sand near his property in 1998, one of the damaging storm years cited in arguments made for the beach project, and hasn’t seen any properties lost since the storm of 1962.

Each spring, Mother Nature has adequately replenished the beach where he is located, Mr. Gravatte said.

But Mr. Pratt and Ms. McGrath said that not only did beach erosion stand to impact properties, it boded poorly for commerce across the board. In fact, Mr. Pratt said the shrinking supply of public beach put off the people whose budgets allow only day trips.

“We sometimes talk exclusively about the high-end tourist, but there’s also the average tourist … people can get in the car, drive to Bethany and have a totally, wonderfully relaxing day at the beach.”

If they can find a parking space.

Bethany, which bills itself along with Dewey Beach to the north and Fenwick Island to the south as “The Quiet Resorts,” has been challenged in the past 15 years or so by exponential growth in construction of rental properties, private homes and businesses.

The parking issue is met by Ms. McGrath and Mayor Olmstead almost as a fait accompli, one that requires diligence and patience by both officials and beachgoers.

“I don’t care which beach town you go to, whether to Florida or New Jersey or Delaware, parking is an issue in every beach town. It just is. There are more people who want to sit on the beach than parking spots, or parking spots that are close to where you want to be,” said Ms. McGrath.

“If you’re willing to walk a couple of blocks, drop off the kids and the boogie boards, you’re going to find a spot.”

Said Mayor Olmstead: “This is a very attractive location, and whenever you have an attraction, you’re going to have people coming, and you’re going to have change. We try to handle it the best we can.

“We’re always committed to keeping Bethany as a small, community-oriented” town.

And one that welcomes Pittsburghers, who hit the Delaware beaches in large numbers each year.

“The one message I want to get across to the wonderful people of Pittsburgh is how much we appreciate them,” said Mr. Gravatte.

“I think the people who come here this summer are going to be thrilled with having more beach to play on and to sit on and to enjoy,” said Ms. McGrath.

Margi Shrum can be reached at mshrum@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3027.

Tags: area chamber of commerce, dramatic change, fence, fences, grass, minis, money, s south
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Is the breathing room in your home getting smaller and smaller like an icy freezer? Then it is time to rent a self storage unit at your local self storage facility. A storage unit is like adding an addition to your home. In a short time, clutter seems to grow like ivy. Both take over homes and give it a whole new look. Though some people like the ivy look, nobody enjoys the clutter look.

Clutter is a negative term for the things we love and must keep. For example, Christmas and holiday decorations, extra furniture storage, kid toys, and file and document storage are all considered clutter when they become a nuisance with our personal storage space. There is only one way to keep the clutter and the household happy at the same time. Rent a self storage unit. Find a storage unit that is convenient for you get to. There are probably a few in your hometown, maybe one around the corner.

But if you can, find a storage unit that is easily accessible, the trips back and forth will be much easier on your gas mileage. Choosing a cheaper storage unit that is several miles away from a more expensive storage unit that is just down the road could cost more money in the long run. Not only could the trips be a waste of money, it is a waste of time. The times spent running back and forth to a far away storage unit could be utilized doing something more interesting.

Remember the old adage, you get what you pay for. This is true for selecting a storage unit. Be wary about storage facilities that offer cheap storage, because that is exactly what you get, a cheap storage unit. If one storage company rents a storage unit for half the price, the storage company probably offers half the service. There is a lot involved in the price of a storage unit. Number one is security. A cheaper storage unit may not offer the same (if any) security features as a more expensive one. Look to see if the storage company fences in their storage units. They should also have pin-pad gated access and video surveillance. If they do not, your storage, whether you consider it clutter or not, is very vulnerable to theft. Theft is common at unsecure storage properties and thieves will target an unsecure storage unit. If your storage is important to you, pay a lit

tle more per month for a secure storage location. Make sure you can access your storage unit when you want to. Many storage facilities offer different access hours, including 24 hour access. If you have the type of job that keeps you up with the bats, consider renting a storage unit from a company that offers 24 hour access. Or if your only chance to get to the storage unit is on the weekends, check the weekend hours. Many self storage companies offer limited access on the weekends. They do this to give the property manager some time off.

A self storage company may only employ one property manager. If so, expect limited access times. After you find the perfect place for a storage unit, think about all of the different possibilities for its use. Of course you must have some idea, otherwise why would you be looking for storage in the first place. But look around your house and property to see what else you can put into the storage unit.

Tags: amp, fence, fences, lifestyle, money, rta, short time, target
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Mahu Wairau, 42, was remanded in custody until April 9 for sentence after he admitted unlawfully possessing a sawn-off shotgun, threatening to kill, resisting police, driving while disqualified and refusing to permit a blood specimen to be taken at Invercargill on January 22, and driving while disqualified at Hastings on January 12.
He had earlier admitted the January 21 burglary of Lorneville Super Liquor, and the January 22 burglary of Southern Fish Supply.
Police prosecutor Sergeant Ian Temple said Wairau smashed into the liquor store, and he and an associate made off with $2452 of merchandise. The pair had taken the stolen items to their flat and hidden them.
The next day Wairau smashed his way into Southern Fish Supply using a hammer, and took 108 packets of cigarettes, Mr Temple said.
Wairaus van was later spotted by police, and a search revealed knives, a hammer, two Mongrel Mob vests and a sawn-off shotgun, he said.
An application for bail was refused by Judge Kevin Phillips.
Breach
Nineteen-year-old Brayden John Ross-Delaneys sentence of home detention was cancelled after he breached it by using and possessing cannabis at Invercargill on March 18. He was sentenced to concurrent jail terms of four months for the breach and seven months for the original burglary.
Daryl Chasland Bevin, 37, was convicted and discharged after breaching his release conditions at Invercargill on February 25.
Possession
Corey William Marsh, 35, was remanded in custody until May 13 for sentence after he admitted possessing an offensive weapon, namely a pocketknife, threatening grievous bodily harm to a woman and assaulting a woman with intent to injure, at Invercargill on March 12. The court was told Marsh had punched the woman in the head, knocking her unconscious, and had also threatened her with the pocketknife.
Ricky Charles Sheed, 29, of Nightcaps, will be sentenced on April 9 after he admitted possessing cannabis at Nightcaps on March 14 and breaching his community work at Invercargill on February 26.
Intentional damage
Nicholas Craig Kirkus, 19, shearer, of Wyndham, was sentenced to 40 hours community work and ordered to pay $431.48 reparation after he admitted smashing a window at PGG Wrightson at Wyndham on March 6.
Driving
Evan Fraser William Kelland, engineer, of Morton Mains, was fined $600 and disqualified from driving for seven months, after he admitted driving dangerously at Bluecliffs on September 2.
Drink-driving Andre McDowell, 35, engineer, will be sentenced on May 13 after he admitted driving with a blood alcohol level of 82mg at Invercargill on January 11. The court was told this was McDowells seventh drink-driving conviction.
Rory James Officer, 21, shearer, breath alcohol level of 834mcg at Invercargill on March 7. Sentenced to 80 hours community work and disqualified from driving for seven months.

Tags: fence, fences
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DUBLIN, Ireland — Like many Irish-Americans, I’m curious about my roots. Unlike most Irish-Americans, my surname, Nephin, gives little hint that I am of Irish descent.

But I have proof. In County Mayo, in Ireland’s rugged west country, sits Mount Nephin, a half-mile-tall peak.

It was here, 18 years ago, that I’d proposed to my wife Kathleen. But bad weather and lack of a road had prevented us from reaching the top that day. After driving as far up as safety would permit in the fog and rain, I’d opened the car door, plucked some small flowers and presented them and the ring to Kathleen.

Now we were making a return trip, and this time we were determined to get to the top. And as long as we were back in Ireland, we also planned to sightsee, celebrate our wedding anniversary, and run a marathon together.

First stop was Dublin, where we would run the Adidas Dublin Marathon. We curtailed our pub time, not wanting to run the 26.2 miles hung over. Besides, thanks to the weak dollar, pints cost about $8. A bottle of whiskey that would retail for about $25 at home was $35 here.

Then we visited Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, an eighth-century rendering of the four gospels of the New Testament that attracts a half-million visitors annually. The Book of Kells is kept under glass and is known for detailed and brightly colored images.

We strolled about and ate in Temple Bar, a popular tourist area. Besides traditional Irish fare like Guinness stew (made with beer and beef), a diverse range of ethnic food is available, from Italian to sushi. We hammed it up with a street performer who portrayed a living James Joyce “statue” near the original, and we tooled around the city on double-decker buses.

The marathon was also a good way to see Dublin as it wound through the city, Phoenix Park and various neighborhoods before ending near the start line not far from Trinity.

But the race left us depleted and we repaired to the Clontarf Castle Hotel, located several miles from the city center, for long, hot showers and a sound night’s sleep.

Then we picked up a rental car and headed off to sandwich our visit to Mount Nephin with more sightseeing. Scenic stops on our trip included, in County Clare, The Burren, a haunting rocky landscape marked by mostly limestone slabs in otherworldly patterns, and the dramatic Cliffs of Moher, which tower more than 650 feet as they jut out into the Atlantic Ocean.

We also traveled to Northern Ireland to visit Giant’s Causeway and the Old Bushmills Distillery.

Giant’s Causeway is a geologist’s and photographer’s dream. Tens of thousands of basalt columns jut out from the land into the sea. Most are hexagonal and many tower more than 20 feet high. The columns are the result of volcanic activity, but according to legend, a giant warrior named Finn McCool built the causeway to walk to Scotland.

At Bushmills, we learned that we were in the oldest licensed distillery in the world, first licensed in April 1608. The word whiskey derives from the Gaelic term “uisce beatha,” meaning “water of life.” At one time, hundreds of Irish distilleries made whiskey, a liquor made from malted barley, yeast and water. Now, only a handful remain. Irish whiskey differs from Scotch whisky (no “e” in the Scotch term) in that it’s distilled three times, instead of two, and that its barley is dried over hot air. Barley for Scotch is dried using peat, which imparts a characteristic smokiness.

Neither major brand of Irish whiskey, Bushmills and Jameson, are Irish-owned anymore. London-based drinks giant Diageo owns Bushmills and French-owned Pernod Ricard owns Jameson. After a tasting at the end of our tour, I bought a few bottles anyway.

From Bushmills, we drove back into the Republic of Ireland through Donegal and Sligo counties and stopped at the church where the writer William Butler Yeats is buried. All our driving outside Dublin and Belfast was through postcard-perfect small towns and villages and verdant landscapes dotted with sheep, cows and stone fences.

From here we headed to Mount Nephin.

Before our trip, I’d contacted as many people as I could to find how we might climb to the top. I’d gotten some advice, but the mountain is in a rural area and try as we might, we couldn’t find a decent route.

We couldn’t even find out how the mountain got its name. Local phonebooks revealed no Nephins. There didn’t even seem to be an agreed-upon pronunciation. (My family says NEE’fin, but we also heard it pronounced NEF’fin and NAY’fin.)

Eventually we stopped a passing car and were directed to a farmer who lives at the base of the mountain.

His advice was something like, “Go down the road a half-mile ’til you see a fence …”

After many half-miles and many fences, we stopped at another house to ask for help. We were offered walking sticks and invited to walk through the property and up the mountain’s northwest side.

This route took us over ground the consistency of a maple syrup-soaked sponge, amid grazing sheep. The mountain soon steepened to about 45 degrees. A thick fog — again — settled in. We could no longer see the top. We were about two-thirds of the way up when we decided to turn around.

We returned to the house where we’d gotten directions and were fed hearty homemade brown bread, cheese and tea. Our hosts told us that the mountain is a popular climbing destination, but hikers are advised to allow two days in case weather doesn’t cooperate.

I said I’d have to return to try it again some day.

“Well, one t’ings fer sure,” our host said in a thick brogue. “The mountain will still be here.”

If You Go…

ADIDAS DUBLIN MARATHON: http://adidasdublinmarathon.ie . Next race is Oct. 27, 2008.

CLONTARF CASTLE HOTEL: Castle Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin; http://www.clontarfcastle.ie or 011-353-1-833-2321. Rates vary depending on dates.

BOOK OF KELLS AT TRINITY COLLEGE: http://www.tcd.ie/about/trinity/bookofkells .

GIANT’S CAUSEWAY: Near Bushmills, County Antrim; http://www.northantrim.com/giantscauseway.htm

BUSHMILLS DISTILLERY TOURS: Bushmills, County Antrim. Tour times vary seasonally. Reservations not required. Tours cost $10 for adults, $9 for seniors/students and $5 for children 8-17. http://www.bushmills.com

MOUNT NEPHIN: Nearest sizable town is Crossmolina, County Mayo.

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Tags: 18 years, fence, fences, landscape, limestone slabs, rta, rural area
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