Timeless timepiece

This sundial is in a courtyard beside Malahide Castle, in north county Dublin. It's not just a functioning timepiece, but also a piece of art with a point to make. The inscription reads: 'May 2004. Time standing still. Time crawling. Time flying. Time to halt biodiversity loss by 2010.' The exif data shows a time of 6.05 pm, while the sundial indicates a time of 4.45 pm before summertime adjustment.

It was yet another glorious day, even if not particularly warm. I worked until 5.00 pm and then just had to get out and about. I'd arranged to visit my friends Derek & Rita this evening (haven't seen them for a while), so I thought out around Malahide would be a good bet, allowing me to cut across to their neck of the woods after a bit of a blip session. I've no idea why I thought of it, but I suddenly got the urge to investigate Malahide Castle, so that's where all today's shots came from. I spent almost two hours wandering around, admiring the beautifully maintained rolling parkland, encountering some budding roses and some equally budding kite enthusiasts, and getting up close and personal with a remarkably unphased peacock who was soaking up the evening sun.

Rather than spend time around the castle itself, I explored other areas behind it, but at this stage it was too late in the day for the restaurant or the model railway or the doll's house or the craft shop to be open. I still saw enough to make me want to return some time soon, especially to the craft shop, which is situated in the same courtyard as the peacock and the sundial.