Today's Random Pic...

Things I love about Ireland...

There has been a bit of excitement in our neighborhood this week. The cow in the field across the street give birth to a little calf on Sunday. You might remember that she had twins last year and triplets the year before that... This year she had a little brown calf that the neighborhood kids have named "Brownie". I know it is a goofy thing... but I love this part of life in Ireland!



Brownie and mom




The twins keeping watch

Fun with the camera...

I resisted going completely digital for a long time. We made the plunge last summer... and I am so glad that we did. When we used the regular 33mm camera I was always guarded while taking pictures. It was hard to experiment because I knew that every picture was going to cost me.... and it is REALLY expensive to develop pictures in Ireland! Now that we are digital I am really learning how to change the setting on the camera and to take some very different pictures.

On a clear night not long ago I went into the front garden and experimented with some night photography. To my surprise I came away with a ton of cool pictures of the stars! Who would have thought that they would turned out so well.

Be sure to click on them to see a larger version:

Today's Random Pic...

This is Buddy. He is a sheep dog that lives on our road. Buddy does not have any sheep to herd but he loves to attack the tires of passing cars.

Behind the camera...

It is a funny thing to be on this side of the camera. What you see really never tells the whole story. You guys see the peaceful mountain lake, but you never see the 18wheeler nearly blow me off the road while I snapped the picture. You guys get to see the beautiful old building but never see the grafiti on the building next door. So.... I have decided for once to pull back the curtain and let you see what is going on behind the camera.


What you see:

Beautiful and sleepy harbor after a long day of work:







What you don't see:

Stinky (wet) neighborhood dog that has been pestering me for the past hour... wanting me to throw sticks and a plastic bottle for him to fetch.







What you see:

Beautiful 14th century Norman castle reflecting in a perfectly still lake.







What you don't see:

Neighborhood dog spraying me with the stinky lake water as he shook it off.






There is always something going on on the other side of the camera. I enjoyed the peace of the day... and I did enjoy my new little doggie friend. Here is the catch. What was the first thing Dee said to me when I picked her up after my little adventure? "Whew! What did you step in?"


Yes.......yes......... I did!


Now my friends, you know the rest of the story.

SS Minnow?

It does not look like the Tango2 had any better luck than the Tango1!

New Landmarks...

Just a quick note to say that our little website had its 20,000 visitor last night. I can't believe that so many people have visited our site. Just in the past month we have had visitors from India, Russia, Australia, France, Germany, and Thailand (just to name a few)! Thank you to everyone who checks in on us from time to time!

Here is a random pic that I took this week. This mountain loch (Lake) was a new spot for us to visit. This was just up the hill from where I ran into Pat (see previous post).

Strangeness...

A strange thing has happened.... Summer has come to Ireland!!! I know that it won't last... but for the last three days we have had some summerish weather! As I sit here, there is not a cloud in the sky... no rain... no wind... and Dee isn't wearing a coat! Miracles do happen!

I have to say that yesterday evening turned out to be one of the most beautiful nights we have had in months. Dee and I had a very busy (and good) day yesterday and decided to get out for a bit of a drive and walk before the sun disappeared for another month. Along the way we met a farmer named Pat (which I'm sure is short for Paddy or Patrick). He and his sheep dog came riding up the road while I was taking some photos. He jumped right off the bike and greeted me with a very firm handshake. We stood and talked about the weather - a conversation I have had a million times here. He asked where I was from. He wasn't familiar with where the state is located so I tried to act out it's location with my hands. In the end he was convinced that I was from Florida. I couldn't correct him. We stood and talked about the differences in our two homelands, and he shared with me how he has seen Ireland change over the past few years. With a twist of the head, a wink, and a smile he told me that he has been speaking Irish ever since he was "a bab in the cradle". He had come out that night to do some work. He had cows in the field that needed to be taken in before the temperatures dropped. He laughed and agreed when I asked if I could take some pictures. Now that I think about it, it must have seemed absurd. Here is this lad from Florida wanting to take pictures of something that is so normal and routine.... I'm sure he didn't know that I love this part of life in Ireland - a part that has not changed for generations. The last thing he told me as he walked away with his cows was that I needed to take the pictures home and show my friends and family in Florida.

There will be dancing in the streets...

We have been back from our meetings for a couple of days now... but I wanted to share one last story with you. On Sunday last week I wandered the streets of Barcelona enjoying the blue skies, warm breeze, and sun-baked buildings. I wandered around the coin and stamp market... discovered an art market... and eventually ended up at the city's cathedral. There at noon I watched a timeless ritual play out in the middle of the square. The cathedral's bells echoed the midday hour off of the stone buildings as a small band begin to set up on the steps of the great church. A large crowd - although it was no larger than normal - was gathered in the courtyard watching and waiting. It was not long until the band began to play a music completely foreign to my ears. The high pitched music is native to Catalunya (the region where Barcelona is located). The crowd begin to move and I noticed a few older people starting to hold hands and dance. The ancient dance was nothing like you would probably picture. It wasn't full of flare or dramatic moves, but was simple in it's movement. Slowly other people joined in the dancing until a small circle began to form. Each person held hands slowly taking steps in and out and side to side so that in unison the circle moved and turned to the beat of the music. The dancing looked a lot like the Celtic dancing in Brittany, France, but had a unique rhythm to it. I stood there with a few other winter tourists watching the community come together in a moment of solidarity and celebration of their heritage. It was not put on for the tourists, but rather was done because it has always been done. The old and the young went on from dance to dance as other circles were formed around the courtyard. When someone joined in they simply took off their coat and tossed them into the every growing pile of belongings in the middle of the circle. I felt blessed to be a witness to this act of community... and I was reminded that the people of Barcelona have a proud heritage and language... and that despite being a minority people they continue to hold on to their culture.

Random Pics... Spain...

We are headed back to Ireland... but here are a few more pics from Spain:

It's a bird....It's a plane..... no.... just a bird....

Anyone who knew me when I was younger will know that I have a pet parrot. Paco is a beautiful green quaker that came to live with us when I was in high school. I'll never forget the drive home from the pet store. Paco tried to chew his way out of the paper bag he was in... and then let out a screech so loud that I thought I killed him. It is kinda funny... I don't remember him screeching in the pet store.... but.... boy does he love to screech first thing in the morning. The word "screech" does not really convey the punishing racket that he decides to inflict from time to time. Over the years Paco has learned to say all kinds of things. He can say in a sweet voice "hello baby I love you".... He calls dad to the telephone when it rings... calls and scolds dogs that have been dead for years.... calls my name....... and then says "wallace is gone"...... barks when he hears knocking.... sings several songs.... and will dance when the mood hits him. These are but a few of Paco's many talents............... he is still doing well, and still lives with my parents (sorry mom and dad).

I had to tell you all of that to explain this:
The other day I was walking around in a little market here in Spain when I heard the strangest and yet all too familiar sound......a blood curdling screech that seemed to echo off of the stone buildings. ... I wandered around looking... and then saw a flash of green fly into a palm tree. I ran over and found a pair of quakers nesting in the tree! What a surprise to see my little parrot in the wild! Now that I have seen them once I am noticing them all over the place! It is a little thing.... but it really made my day!

More Pics from Barcelona...

In the Cathedral...

On the road again....

Can you believe it? We have to travel away for a week of meetings and training. The cool thing is that we have had to come to Barcelona, Spain. I know that probably sounds really excotic... but most of the time we don't get to see a lot of the places we travel to. Meetings are held in a hotel outside of the city, and we are busy most of the day with meetings. This time, however, we decided to take the weekend before the conference begins tomorrow. We wanted a few days to see the city and to have some retreat time from the wind and rain. To be honest with you, I think that we needed a little down time for the two of us to be away together... A chance to goof off and have a bit of adventure together...

Now that the weekend is coming to an end and the meetings are about to start I am going to post a few pictures. We are really impressed with Barcelona. It has such a young feel to it, but still holds a lot of the old charm of the old city. The streets twist and turn like a maze leading to hidden courtyards, churches, grand boulavards, and eventually the sea. The buildings reach up four to five stories to the sky - blocking out sunlight and wind. Dee and I have enjoyed working our way through the maze of old streets.... getting lost... discovering old bookshops, coin dealers, clothing stores, and markets.


This place is such a photographer's dream. I have taken SO many pictures. I'll be posting some over the next few days.

Wild Weekend

The weather forecast for Ireland this weekend is for wild wind, lashing rain, snow, and no sunshine. The wind was so bad on Thursday that I almost fell to the ground twice while trying to walk!