We head out west where the roads are small and everything takes time. We arrive in the rain of course and the van winds across the mountains of Connemara as we aim for Killary Harbour. The family are gathering with a small Swedish Grandnephew as the centre of it all. He is a smiling bundle of energy with a thing for household and domestic . . .
On the road
Here comes the time of the year for going on the road and visiting friends out west along the Wild Atlantic Way . This time we will amble from Killary Harbour in County Mayo down to to the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. From east to west, north to south and back again. We are also getting ready for the annual trip to France . . .
Our eyes have a field day
It is summer. Maybe it rains a bit too much, maybe it's been too cold to swim recently. But the flowering in the wild garden goes on regardless. "Weeds" as they are sometimes called, wrap themselves around bushes and bulbs. The whole exuberant over the top lushness of it will be short lived. Light catches petals and pinks dazzle in a . . .
Listen to your own soul
It's hard to stay on track with what's authentic and enriching for the soul. At times everything gets out of whack. Since our economic crash we have lived with the challenges of stagnation and lack of opportunity. We dealt with it all as best we could. But now? Enough already. Time for new dawns and gaudy . . .
High up in the Shard
I've looked up at it before and my image of the Shard taken from the river was part of the London Open House Exhibition in 2014. It has been love from a distance. I don't like heights. But Himself was really up for it, and as I survived the Freedom Tower earlier in the year, I decided to join in. I shuddered a little when I stepped . . .
The Sea Horse
"As a conscious act, we document our inner and outer selves, meticulously curating the facets of our existence, both the painful and the triumphant, that we wish to leave behind in the world. And from these archives we hope that others can learn – to look inside themselves, to reconsider their stereotypes of those around them, to remind . . .
Summer walk with a Cherokee
An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life... "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. "One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false . . .
Foxgloves in June
It's been a busy time. The sun came out and that drew blossoms, bees and foxgloves into it's light. Then, against all the odds, it came out the next day too, and the day after that. And the sun is still shining as I write this. It is unusually fabulous weather in Ireland. Himself and myself keep ooohing and . . .
Pushing up daisies
Old graveyards can be places of great wild beauty. This one, St. Mary's Church of Ireland in Dungarvan, County Waterford, fronts onto the shoreline and is blanketed in wildflowers. Did some one with an eye for eco-design create such a beautiful tranquil meadow? Over time the graves here have become one duvet of daisies. Modern . . .
Unfurling
Everything is lush; the lane is coming into the best part of the year. I am besotted with green, tiny buds coming into flower, light as it illuminates petals and unfurling leaves. I wonder sometimes how nature can survive our bleak winters and the onslaught of chemicals and factory farming? Today I realised that I needn't worry too much. . . .
