Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, colors, dublin, feathers, Inspiration, ireland, myths, nature, Photography, st. stephen's green, storytelling, swans, travel, white, wildlife, William Butler Yeats on November 9, 2013| 3 Comments »
Okay, I have to admit, not only the mallards paused to let me snap a photo. As I watched the swans’ feathers rustling in the winds whipping through St. Stephen’s Green, I thought of the Greek myth Leda and the Swan. Only later as I walked through the National Library of Ireland’s exhibit on William Butler Yeats did I learn that Yeats had published a highly regarded sonnet on the subject in 1924.
Posted in Inspiration, On the Road, tagged architecture, art, beauty, dublin, Inspiration, ireland, libraries, National Library of Ireland, Photography, public libraries, stained glass windows, travel on November 8, 2013| 3 Comments »
In my travels I have not forgotten stained glass or public libraries. Here is but a small section of a window found in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin. Via this link you can actually see a 360 degree view of the front hall where this and several other windows can be found along with beautiful mosaics and fine carvings. A lovely place to visit.
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged autumn, Branches, colors, dublin, Inspiration, ireland, landscape, nature, Photography, travel, trees, University College of Dublin, walking on November 8, 2013| 12 Comments »
There are many beautiful trees making up the woodland walks of the University College of Dublin – Belfield Campus. There are actually 5 walks that were formed through the purchase of old estates with woodland areas dating back to the 1800s, and the subsequent planting of many new trees. According to the campus website, there are now over 50,000 trees in place representing over 75 species. More information can be found here. I am still sorting through pictures from my campus meanderings, but I think this tree is one of my favorites — new growth against an old estate wall, bright leaves and bark on a cloudy afternoon.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, dublin, ducks, Inspiration, ireland, mallards, nature, Photography, travel, water on November 6, 2013| 3 Comments »
I don’t remember seeing any ducks where I grew up in Virginia so maybe that’s why they caught my attention so much in Boston. Plus they are one of the few birds that don’t seem to mind me stalking them from shore. Sometimes they even come right up to me. Like this little lass on the Liffey River in Dublin.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, colors, dublin, feathers, Inspiration, ireland, nature, phototgraphy, swans, travel, water, white on November 5, 2013| 4 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged abstract, autumn, colors, dublin, Inspiration, ireland, leaves, light, nature, Photography, st. stephen's green, sunlight, travel, water on November 5, 2013| 7 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged color, flowers, Inspiration, nature, petals, Photography, red, water on November 3, 2013| 4 Comments »
Posted in Kitchen Inspirations, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged flowers, hiking, Inspiration, Middlesex Fells Reservation, nature, Photography on October 30, 2013| 5 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Kitchen Inspirations, tagged black rice, creativity, flowers, food, Inspiration, mochi ice cream, petals, Photography, recipe, rice, rose, rose petals on October 30, 2013| 2 Comments »
That was my intention when I walked out of the Brazilian grocery store with the bag of dried rose petals. To mix rice and roses. Perhaps sprinkle the petals on top of steamed black rice. Or photograph them as they fell upon a bit of mochi ice cream. But so far I’ve just let them sit in a small bowl in the kitchen, catching that light, their pinks and golds stirring my imagination. I did find this really cool recipe for rice with rose petals. The ingredients of the recipe read like a poem. I’m not into pomegranate and I don’t think I can afford saffron. We’ll see what variation on a theme unfolds in my kitchen this winter.
Posted in Inspiration, Music, Nature Notes, tagged colors, humor, Inspiration, leaves, music, musical note, musings, nature, Photography, poetry, prose on October 29, 2013| 5 Comments »
As I work with this image of a leaf
for this post to share with you
I find myself singing these words
with great zest and sincerity
and yes I sound pretty good (or maybe not)
but since I cannot read or write
a musical note of any kind
the rhythms of this song will be lost to time
but this image of the leaf
in its fine autumn dress
will hopefully brighten your day for quite a while.
* The title refers to a guest post I have asked my younger brother, who does have an ear for music, to write about music and nature based on his life experiences down in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a treat I hope to share before the end of the year. Stay tuned. Get it? Tuned … Have a good day, folks. 😉
Words + Images 