Something precious to belong to; home.

Today it is the stillest, sunniest spring morning. 

To the east the hill of gorse is in full flower and the exotic aroma of sweet coconut brushes against my jacket. Birdsong fills the fields as nest making and nest guarding goes on. In the distant sky the Coastguard helicopter is rumbling it's way out over the Copper Coast. 

The golden light smothers everything in streams.  Later the wind will probably pick up from the southern Atlantic, a front might approach from the Comeragh Mountains to the west or from the plains to the north.

For now Waterford on a still spring day, in the golden light of this spring flowering, is something precious to belong to. 

And it's home.

Check out a new gallery called Up close in the Hedgrows here

An icy road trip

Our Celitc Tiger motorway from Waterford to Dublin, the M9, bypasses Thomastown, Kilkenny, Carlow and all the narrow villages we used to know so intimately. Unfortunately it's also now against the rules of the road to stop and photograph the landscape. 

This part of Ireland has it's own story; gentle rolling hills, the flat plains of the midlands, and lots of old trees. A journey through an inland maze of fields, all sky and agriculture.

So on this eerie early morning road trip, I shot these frosty trees and fog as the sun came up, just because I was a passenger and for once and I could..... 



PS 

Thank you so much to everyone who shopped here in the Foxglove Lane Studio over Christmas. While it was a very busy time it was also good to connect with so many of you who are becoming like old friends at this stage! Thank you from the bottom of my heart, it has been very encouraging.

I'm having a short SALE at the moment and while the hardback book is still available you can now get the download version of the book here  here reduced to 1.99 euros.  

In other news I have just begun to sell a new range of Limited Edition Fine Art Prints  Each one is a result of layering paintings, textures and photographs and is something I hope to explore much more in 2015. 

Here's to a fresh New Year! 

November morning in Ireland

It's early and deadly still. The best part of the day. I can see my neighbour on the hill checking her sheep. It's the same lane, the same field but in the morning frost, this dawn creates another world. 

Later, the wind will whip up a little and the sun will fill up these shadows with light. For now the long dark tree trunks cast black lace onto the horizon. 

I startle the heron as she waits at the edge of the lake. The robin nestles in the crook of her hawthorn.

It doesn't last too long, this newness of the day. I breath it in, and although the feet are frosty the heart is light.



See more of of the Winter mornings Gallery here

And if you are gift shopping this weekend you can get my new book "Seek light, embrace shade, live colour" here

Early morning web magic

Very early in the morning, before the sun casts it's spell, there are spidery webs everywhere. Have you ever seen the heavy curtains of sparkly fabric draped between the branches, leaves and blossoms? The first time I saw this phenomenon I was shocked by how much of the land is covered in the creative productions of what must be an army of arachnids!

When it's early like this, the light is soft and dew highlights the patterns and extent of this magical world. By sun up when most people begin to go about their daily lives, the webs have dried out and are strangely invisible again.

Besides the fact that I am not a morning person (in the slightest) over the last three years I have taken every opportunity to get out early with the camera and experience the slowly emerging day. It's a time of calm before the onslaught of alarms ringing and phones hopping. Wandering through this secret webby world always sets me up for a much more positive start to the day ahead. (Except when I lock myself out of the house in the dead of winter!)

This month you can see another web image of mine showing in a group exhibition called Being Here in Aoife's Gallery in Waterford City. This photograph was taken one icy morning in winter when the dawn light created a mini light show of rainbow colours. You can see the image HERE



And if you share this weird fascination for webs You can also visit the Gallery of Web photos here.

Easing softly into the frosty morning

On days like this I open the curtains slowly so as not to startle the neighbours. Sure enough, when I do,  there are five rabbits frolicking in the early morning frost just a few steps away.  A good start to Christmas morning, when I often remember the giddy excitement of my childhood. Today the magic is in this moment, in the simple everyday goings on of two families. One outside the window sniffing out green shoots, one tucked up in their beds; growing, changing, transitioning.

It's the best part of the day, this early coffee and toast, a private photo opportunity over breakfast. And even though they are men now, it is always the same when they sleep in this house, I have the illusion that they are protected and safe from harm. And especially at Christmas that dreams will come true.

This year in the space before the expectations set in, we made a joint decision that dreams are not necessarily made of gifts wrapped in packages or by playing happy families. We let each other off the hook. The perfect Christmas, the perfect day would be best if kept to a day like any other. One with love, peace and understanding, full of pleasure and freedom, a day of winter warmth inside while it freezes and storms outside.

And so here I am, easing softly into this frosty Christmas morning. Happy in these moments of calm and eager to experience a post Christmas, adults only alternative.