Alone with my thoughts

 

On a small strip of land between the sea and the wall of the house, this beautiful horse has been casually grazing. He is a constant presence and from the house can be seen peeping up over the stone wall, his dappled coat blending in perfectly with the misty landscape.

If ever an animal or a scene was conjured up to convey "a typical Irish landscape" then maybe this is it!

The neighbours feed him vegetables and he shyly takes everything he can get, soon going back to his strong silent pose just over the wall. 

His gaze follows my route back to the house, our bar-b-que, the evening swim, the Weather Forecast on TV. Through it all he is there, still curious, still watching, still negotiating that little strip of land he calls home.

I struggle with his isolation. I think about what he might be missing. But then I remember my own world, often alone with this camera and my thoughts. We look into each other's eyes, a small moment of shared experience.......

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....and in no time I began to forget.....

There were 5 kinds of weather in that sky and the mist hanging over the mountains made the beach disappear in an endless haze. Sun filtered through from time to time and the surfing classes, picnics and family gatherings continued, in spite of sprinkles of rain, thickening fog or sand blowing.....

We could no longer resist a dip in the Atlantic. Balmy salt water and soft waves. An eery light that made the whole of Inch Beach look like an alien planet.

I let the sea water and the dramatic ocean bay of weather sweep over me. The silky sea, the cool sparkly dazzle, the dark mountains and those busy beings like so many ants, undertaking a thousand happy tasks.........and in no time, I began to forget.......

You wouldn't get the likes of it in Killarney!

He was walking towards me from further on up the hill. We often have conversations about the state of the country, we grumble about the weather or maybe share the latest from the children who live abroad. I usually stop photographing for the duration of the chat and sometimes we walk on a little together. He has never, ever, mentioned the camera........this large camera that I lug around everywhere........he sees it but he never comments. That would be his way.

This evening the valley is dark and the setting sun is beaming colour down on the Comeragh Mountains towards the west of County Waterford. A sliver is caught by the reflective calm water of the lake below. He looks out " Sure you wouldn't get the likes of it in Killarney!"

I laugh, and yet it's true. Killarney may get all the rave reviews but County Waterford where we have put down roots has taken a big chunk of our hearts and has it's own gentler beauty.

We look out west and the chat continues; the great peace we have, the fact that the tourists don't know about our little neck of the woods, that at least the rain makes the whole place nice and green!

Then the moment has passed and my neighbour and I start to go on our way. I turn back towards the sky changing by the moment and he goes back to haul bales and feed calves.

Those deep dark blue days

There is a cold blue light that we sometimes experience in Ireland especially on an overcast day. The land becomes deeper and darker and occasionally a streak of sunlight will flash on a ditch or on a hill spotlighting a paler green or the gold of furze. This contrast between the dark sky and the bright hills creates layers of colour from the deepest blue greys to the paler mauves.

These layered and darker days draw me towards the bigger picture landscapes. On my creative path I still have a lot to learn but I now see the limitations in the longed for purely "blue sky days". I never thought I would be saying that!

The darker cloudier days have a soulful still quality. You can see further to the horizon, the mountains soak up the light and the hedgerow plants sparkle against the fierce grey backdrop. I still love the warm sunny days but the cold blue cloudy ones have won me over to their unfathomable mysteries.

A blanket of green moss soothes the brain

These familiar walls on the lane border my regular walks. They are old walls, built by hard labour when fields were cleared for tillage or grazing and in this area small bogs were reclaimed and drained. In places the stones are blanketed in generations of moss and creeping greenery which thrive in the exposed damp winter.

When there is little else to feast the eyes on, these mosses and grasses are layers of greens on other greens and feed the insatiable need for comfort and beauty. The nooks and crannies created by the neat stone drains are ideal for frogs and newts. These walls support a whole world of life and growth that has taken so many years.......

This week the headier issues of work and problem solving befuddled my poor brain. Thanks to the soothing beds of moss I perched on a customary old softish spot and chatted to a couple of bullocks.  I already have hundreds of photos of mosses and green stuff......but these stones are photogenic specimens, not to be ignored on any given day. No, these shots just seeped into my camera unbeknownst to me!

Green is the perfect antidote to brain weariness, and harmony is restored in the old and the very familiar fabric of the landscape.......