…I have an azalea blooming in mid-November?
Nov15
Category Archives: Ireland
Nov12
I’m NOT Gunna do Something Crazy-Fun…
They canceled for lack of participants. Heartbroken, me.
Next year… heavy sigh.
Here’s a pic of Lokii looking sad on my behalf.
Nov7
I Am Gunna Do Something Crazy-Fun…
I have just committed to WALKING ON FIRE next Thursday.
Yep.
I think the first time I saw someone walk barefoot on hot coals was on one of those early-eighties TV shows, That’s Incredible! or maybe Real People. It was probably some “Indian Swami” who laid on a bed of nails for his next trick. I always wanted to know how walking on fire was done – and in less than a week, I’m going to find out!
I am inordinately excited about doing this. Been 43 years on this rock without someone saying, ‘Hey, want to firewalk with me?’ You bet your bippy I jumped at the chance.
My awesome Canadian friend is the one who asked, and so far I am the only taker. Would you walk on fire, if given the chance?
Sep24
Black and White Three – Beautiful Messes
Urlaur Lake, Mayo – one of my other favourite places and so close.
More boats from around Killala harbour.
I took the same shot in colour – it is good too, but I still like the B&W better.
Which do you like better?
Sep16
Black and White Two – the Aneala and a Druid’s Glen
More Hipstamatic shots!
Taken on the Mayo Coast near Killala a ship out of water.
Taken while driving near Kilkelly – hence the blur, which I think makes the shot. I always call out ‘druid’s glen!’ when the trees meet over the road.
A reminder: these photos are under my copyright and cannot be shared without permission and a link to the original source, this blog. Thanks! (don’t make me have to watermark the shit out of these, okay?)
Sep15
Black and White One – Mary and Spot
I love the Hipstamatic application – I love the setup I use, anyway. I’ve never gotten around to playing with the dozens of other ways the app can be used. I know my favourite grouping of lens & film will always capture the image I see in my head.
I have too many good ones to share all at once – I’ve just realised this as I started uploading. I’ll only do a couple at a time.
Taken inside a local pub.
My good boy Spot on a sunny day.
A reminder: these photos are under my copyright and cannot be shared without permission and a link to the original source, this blog. Thanks! (don’t make me have to watermark the shit out of these, okay?)
Sep11
Take a Deep Breath and Swallow
A family of swallows made a nest under an overhang at work.
They grow so fast! Last week all four babies took their first flights.
Some were better at landing than others. The flying seemed easy for them – just not the landings.
One crashed into a box inside and knocked itself silly. Little birdie was handed to me, so I could make a rescue attempt. He was scared, but not shivering, so I thought there was a chance still. I took him outside and set him on a quiet curbstone to recover.
After about 10 minutes, I could see he had perked up but was still dangerously close to the ground. I went back out to check on him…
He let me stoke the back of his neck, where birds like being petted best. But he still didn’t fly away, so I took the chance to get pictures with my iPhone.
I got one of the best shots I ever have taken!
Aug19
Tigridia Tuesday – Week 5
Well, I was warned in the comments last week that if I looked away from my tiggies, I’d regret it. Of course I have still been taking daily photos over the last two weeks, I’ve just stopped flooding my followers with flowers of the same feathery form.
This week, something new grew!
We’ve all seen the pink ones:
We’ve all seen light yellow ones:
We’ve all seen bright yellow ones:
We’ve all seen orangey-red ones:
And we’ve all seen red-orangey ones.
But: what happens if these two mix? Red-orangey and light yellow:
It seems that these two got together last year, *cue 1970’s style porno music* and they made a new bloom!
My first hybrid!
I love the stripes, don’t you? Like they were painted with a dry fan-brush.
All of these are coming up on just one stem. I am pretty sure it is one of the new baby ones from seed I stuck in that pot.
Pretty cool, eh? I wonder if it will grow true next year from seed, and I wonder if I am the only one to have it? I’m not going to Google it just yet and possibly ruin my fun.
I wonder what I should name it…
Aug13
Coastline, Downpatrick
Part of what I love about the area around Downpatrick Head is that you can walk down to the shore and investigate all the tidal pools. It’s rock, so no sandy beach to play on, and I’d not swim there, either with the crashing waves.
Unfortunately I was there at a higher tide than last year, so I couldn’t walk out on the rocks half as far as I hoped. I was really worried I’d miss the sea-life I’d seen last time.
I still got a little bit. Sea grass flowing in the current.
The cracks in the rock surface were so very straight. I loved the miniature pools left in the hollows.
Seagulls riding the updraft above us.
I wonder what the broken bits are. Looks like fan coral, maybe? It was so pink compared to the stone and the blue of the mussels.
But this – this is what I was seeking! Tiny little sea-anemones. Aren’t they lovely?
I didn’t find a live starfish, or an empty urchin shell, like I did last year. But I was happy to see the anemones. They were only a tiny bit below the surface, and I have to admit I did tickle one to see what it felt like. Reminded me of the touch of a tarantula’s foot – sticky without leaving any goo behind on your finger. Like each waving arm grabbed on to me, and then decided I wasn’t food and let go.
I also learned a good lesson on photography – when taking pictures of something underwater, shadows are your friends! These would have been immensely clearer if I’d blocked the hazy sunshine with my body. I’m just so used to not doing that, I never even looked at the phone to see the results of my efforts. Next time!
Aug11
Downpatrick Head, Co Mayo
One of my favourite places on the planet.
This is the sea stack, known as Dun Briste. Photo taken by iDJ last summer, a much brighter day. It’s also my background on my iPad.
Two weeks ago.
It was warm, and not too windy, so I got closer to the edge than I ever did before. I think all the ladders at work have helped me get over my fear of heights.
All taken lying on my stomach, looking over. I felt pretty safe.
A man fishing over the edge! That takes talent. Even on a not-so-windy day, it has to be hard to cast out so far into the Atlantic from a huge cliff. We saw him reel up something that looked an awful lot like a shark, too. But hard to say from such a distance.
I was rather worried when I heard that the Council is ‘developing’ the site. It’s wild and natural and I didn’t like the idea of anyone screwing with it. They have started already.
Walking up: that wasn’t there before. They have raised an earthen rampart around the blowhole.
It has a viewing platform now. Do you see all the foam in the blowhole? That will be important later.
View of the overlook and blowhole from further up the hill.
Yeah, heavily fenced off. Well, the blowhole was fenced off before – just not as prettily. Still, I fail to see the point of fencing off a hole when there are miles of cliff-face all around with a raging Atlantic right there. I’m really hoping they don’t fence all that off, too: like they did with the Cliffs of Moher.
Me! That’s where I took most of my over-the-edge pics from. In no danger, unless a huge collapse happened.
Which, of course, it might. And then some lawyer-happy-jackoff will sue the County. But… will the leeches be more likely to sue before they put up fences or after? Right now the place is still wild – and you damn well know it. If you fall off, it’s your own damn fault. Once there are fences: well then, the government didn’t protect you enough so you deserve money for being stupid. You can see they are placing fence-posts there, well behind where I’m lying.
Sigh.
That’s also me. I scared my friend by walking there – but it was entirely stable and clearly the sheep fed there quite often. What’s that on my shoe? Awwww, dammit.
My view of the same area as above. See? Perfectly safe. Because it wasn’t windy and I’m not a goddamned idiot.
Ah, the foam! Even on such a calm day, the ocean coming in under the cliff and the way the tide was flowing meant there was a good amount of sea-foam being thrown into the air. I really wish I could have videoed it!
heretherebespiders 