Strandhill

I did not realise I had spray on the camera lens but hardly surprising as the surf was pretty high. The tide was just on the turn, the waves were coming in fast but not as driven as they can be. It was windy and cold and just beautiful!

Rhododendrons

The rhododendrons are just coming in to flower now, in a few weeks the hills will be brilliant purple with them. They are an escaped cultivated plant and in places are a fierce nuisance and very difficult to control, let alone eradicate. However when in flower they are just lovely, a poor price to pay for the rest of the year but I guess you win some, you lose some!

Sea and Sand

Streedagh

I know we all moan about the weather, heck! its a National Pastime here, but occasionally, just occasionally, the sun shines and the view is beautiful.

Evening Light

 Benbulben in the evening light, quite the county bastion, yes?

Further inland along the same line of hills. There's something so beautiful about the golden evening light, I never get tired of admiring the scenery then.

Spring Sprang...or Sprung

Spring is finally springing and the buds on the trees are hatching. It was lovely this morning, but very cold; if I was a leaf I think I'd stay furled a little longer. The mountain in the background is Benbulben, a local, very distinctive landmark not normally viewed through a haze of trees!

Looking Down

You can see just as many interesting things looking at the ground...

The Back Strand

The Back Strand, Lower Rosses: sometimes it pays to get up before the sun rises above the mountains and the light isn't really awake.

We walked and played here as children, whole gangs of us left to our own devices for long afternoons and if it rained we walked home or if we fell in the sea we were pure kilt for tracking wet sand into the hall and not using the kitchen door! I was reminded of this when at the funeral of a friend recently because his sister was telling stories of their childhood spent on the Back Strand. Continuity.

Harebells

The harebells this year are prolofic, giving a blue sheen to the laneways. They prefer light sandy or poor soil so tend to grow on banks and amongst the moss and daisies on stone walls.

I clearly recall the firset time I noticed them; it was as a child, struggling crossly up the lane from the beach with arms full of beach gear and sisters! We never wanted to go home at the end of the day and our poor mother had to almost horse-whip us from strand to car! Along the sandy banks of the lane, in amongst the marram grass and smelling of hot salty greenery were these small papery blue flowers swinging on the most delicate stems.

To this day the first sight of harebells takes me back to childhood.

Harebells are difficult to photograph as they seem to prefer hiding behind grasses and stones, but the warm green summery scent of them is still lovely. I had a grand time climbing around the laneway trying to get some good photos!

Flower Festival

On our August Bank Holiday Weekend, the Methodist Church in Sligo Town had their Flower Festival. The theme is a hymn, and this year it was 'All Things Bright and Beautiful' written by CF Alexander, wife of the then Bishop of Derry. She wrote it whilst staying at Markree Castle in Sligo, about the scenery here, so we all sing this hymn with particular fervour! The arrangements began outside the Church, and each arrangement embodied line of the hymn- over 30 arrangements in total, and so very beautiful.

The Model Arts, Sligo

I took this a few weeks ago, but because the Building is something of a landmark here, I thought I would post it anyhow. This place was built as a Model School in 1862 and was used as such until the 1980s ,I think ,but then the Dept of Education gave it/ sold it(?) to the The Arts Council to be re-furbished and used as an Art Gallery. It is now known as The Model Arts.

Generations of Sligo's children did their primary schooling here, although in later years it was very run-down and blinkin' cold too! Mom used to knit us really thick school jerseys to keep us warm, and we wore tweed kilts. My sister once found a mouse in her coat pocket when she was looking for her gloves, and bats were regular participants in class! Imagine what parents of today's children would say to that?!

(This is the main web page.)

O'Connell St., Sligo

The Chamber of Commerce is taking down the last of the Christmas Decorations, end of the season, I guess. They make the town look so festive after dark.

Ah well, until next year, folks!

The Road to Heaven?

If one was aiming to get to Heaven through attendance at Church the last two Sundays, one would have been foiled! The drive was lethal!

Shell

Shells are such a miracle of engineering, don't you think?

Just Seaweed!

Streedagh

These are the Donegal Mountains as seen across the bay, Streedagh being in north Sligo. As you can tell, its a wonderful view on a clear day!

Yeats Country Hotel, Sligo

This is the old part of the Yeats Hotel in Rosses Point, Co. Sligo. It was begun as a Guest House sometime round the 1890s, I think, and has continued to grow and be added to ever since. Apart from being a landmark in the Village, it is the sort of place you stagger into after a freezing swim on the beach or when the rain overtakes you out walking! A real country hotel!

Where's Alice?

Sorry this is out of focus; its just that the toadstool was so startling I had to show you! I don't know where the Caterpillar went, but Alice has definately been past, judging by the missing bite...

Seed Head!!

Cow Parsley seed head- it was very striking, and rattled in the breeze!

Sweet Cecily...maybe?

I think this is Sweet Cecily, but am not sure. It is very similar to Cow Parsley, but the individual flowers are smaller. It grows wild and seems to prefer damp shady places, so is very much at home here!

Ripples