In comments on an earlier post, "Looks like you've found a bit of heaven there," Andrea wrote. She liked the chickens, remembering roosters that wake vacationers up way too early.

On Inis Meain, there are chickens but no roosters --"He left," their keeper told us, making me wonder if roosters can swim. His departure lets us sleep late.

And yes, these Aran Islands hens are Rhode Island Reds. Because of them, people have heard of us. A surprising number of people here have heard of Rhode island for other reasons -- a fisherman has been to New Bedford, a neighbor worked in Narragansett for Dodi Sinclair, living in a cottage on the grounds of The Outlet Company chairman's summer home.