Looking into each others eyes

My children once explained to me that although animals share our world, we treat them as inferior instead of as different. O yes they argued humans think we are vastly superior, so clever, so advanced. But we are wrong they said, all the beings on the planet are just different versions of life, intelligence, adaptation. Each have special skills and advantages. The sense of smell in a dog is 40 times bigger than ours, just for one example. In fact the lads always believed that dolphins might even be superior to all life forms.....

They knew more about it, being closer to animals than I ever was. They slept with them, they kept them in the pockets, under their jackets, about their person. They kissed them and talked to them. They dressed them up in clothes and fed them with a spoon. They studied them.

When they faced me with deeper philosophical teachings like this, most of the time I was willing to learn.

Now looking into the eyes of animals I feel apologetic for all our human superior attitudes and ignorance. They look back into my eyes as if they are listening intently, but especially if we have never been introduced, they look kind of wary........and who could blame them.....

An unlikely pair of romantics

The evening light is warm as toast casting long terracotta shadows on the woodland grasses.

The Robin is back! The bare branches allow me to follow him along the track.  But mostly he is following me, popping up ahead, appearing when least expected, and looking at me....I'm sure of it....

She is up ahead walking with her 5 dogs. Now in her late 70's she only goes to the top of the first hill and back, very slowly. She likes to stretch her legs in the evenings glow.

We talk about sheep, dogs, cats, rats. Rats are the big topic today, we both detest them. All my fear and darkness bubbles to the surface when I see one. It can ruin my day. I tell her how I was walking through the forest and one was sunning himself BRAZENLY outside his home. Although charming in a "country rat" kind of way, I couldn't pretend, he just made me shudder.....

You should have a dog she says, they can be great ratters......

She has no romance for this place. She saw too much misery in it. Until she married well enough to a small farmer she didn't have the luxury of a bathroom or a stove. This whole place was full of cottages and houses once, before the Famine times, the few local children now play in the ruins.

We layer year upon year. The past doesn't go away. We resurface it and call it a fresh start.

I'm a romantic I say to her. Look at me taking pictures of sun beams and raindrops.

She laughs. Well you might be, but I'm a doting old thing when it comes to dogs. I haven't an ounce of sense....I have them all spoiled.....

Today I have discovered that we are a pair of romantics and we have more in common than I once thought............isn't that always the way.......

Was hoping Jessie would sit for a portrait but not a chance....

It's a rainy day in Foxglove Lane, and I was hoping Jessie would sit for a portrait, as you know I'm a bit short of candidates (not counting the cattle and the bees).......but I got action pics instead! Jesse in and out of the water, and in and out of the water and again, and again, and again! All that effort just to make everyone delirious with joy that a green tennis ball has been rescued from the Atlantic Ocean. Well we are happy Jessie, very happy, but it's just because of your tenacity and sheer energy, we don't really love that ball like you do.......

The focus, commitment and especially the love affair with the ball I hope will inspire my own work as today I move into a new studio and feel quite challenged by that. It's full of boxes at the moment and I'm not even sure what I will be doing.......but I am here!



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