The maple tree, a present from my Dad, has always struggled with the prevailing south westerlies. Trees in Ireland are bent over towards the east, from gales blowing up from the Atlantic. This elegant maple has always been out of place in our wild and lazy couple of acres, home of beech, willow and pine trees. My father was . . .
Ripening
You won't usually find me photographing dying exotic flowers. But these ones are ethically traded and were left on the shelf of the local supermarket. Himself succumbed to their vibrant beauty. They just got better and better as they shrivelled up and died. Yes, BETTER! You can see for yourself, although maybe . . .
Midlife and the great unknown
In the middle of the road of my life I awoke in a dark wood, where the true way was wholly lost. Dante Alighieri David Whyte has a great image in his audio set, Midlife and the Great Unknown. He describes the moment when you are at the end of a project or when you have settled your affairs. You finally tidy up the house, make a cup . . .
Endings
This crop's life in the field, glowing in the evening sun. In the cycle of farming, beginning anew, harvesting seeds, some endings are also beginnings. . . .
The mother shaped Hen Blackbird
It's been a busy time for myself and the birds around here. There are a number of nesting families very close by and I am watching their progress from my desk. There's a nest of Blue Tits just above the window, a pair of Great Tits under the granite bird bath, and a number of Blackbirds living in the willows. Out of the . . .
Wabi-sabi and the beauty of imperfection
Every year at least once I remember the lines of this poem. Usually it's during Autumn in the dazzling russets of dying leaves. This year it was while walking in Mount Congreve during Magnolia time. Magnolias were flowering on dark branches and there are some ancient specimens there, but it was the dying petals strewn . . .
First frost and final freedom
It's been a great year. One of the best. After years of campaigning for women's rights, I turned 60 and realised I could finally LIVE liberation rather than just hoping for it. What took me so long? What changed? Growing up in Ireland during a different era, we girls were rewarded for CARING. I wasn't . . .
Just before they fall apart
Just before they die off for the winter they have their most spectacular show. Faded edges, crinkled old flowers, their faces a little worse for wear. The October sun catches them in their last glory. Having been down this path before, I know there will be one more beautiful phase as the papery petals . . .
Embracing shade
During the summer of 1975 when I was on the road with an architect, a singer, an uileann piper and a gypsy guitarist, we diverted from lucrative street performing in Germany to visit Scandinavia. We travelled in a green VW van which had been gifted to us one night during a dinner party in the home of an . . .
In their stillness
Every year I choose a word to guide me on my way. Last January I chose Pilgrimage and set out to undertake "a long journey especially one undertaken as a quest, or for a votive purpose, to pay homage." As an agnostic, sitting on the fence as to what it's all about, I am still drawn to the idea . . .
