summer stroll

Tags

Ardgillan Castle, flowers, Ireland, photography, photos, summer, summer meadow, walk

My mother came for a visit and since we are having such glorious weather I took her for a walk around the grounds of Ardgillan Castle.

Ardgillan Castle – wild flower meadow

wild flower meadow

still green

poppies

faded

where sea and sky meet

out of season

photo walk

Tags

Hamburg, photography, photos, walk

Today last week, I was in full ‘Mary Poppins” mode looking after my brothers little ones. While the three-year-old was in Kindergarten the nine-month-old was not wanting to sleep, so I bundled her up into her cosy onesie and went on a walk around the block.

My brother lives in a lovely little village just on the outskirts of Hamburg so I brought my camera along to take a few photos. Here is what I saw:

a birdhouse around the corner … prettier than some homes

glasshouses

window up high

chimney

the promise of spring

resting

more pipes

a forgotten barn

roof

discarded in water

glasshouse

nearly home

rained in

Tags

Dublin, Howth, Ireland, miscellaneous, nature, photography, quote, random, sunset, walk, william faulkner

I should really know better than to plan, but since I have my friend’s car (yes the one I broke  two weeks ago) I wanted to drive out into the countryside and spend the day frolicking and taking photos.

Sadly the weather has decided that rain is the flavour of the day, so I am stuck indoors listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops playing drums on my window panes. But then maybe it’s a good thing that I get to stay home today, after all I’ve had a busy week and a bit of ‘staying-in-time”. Time to sit back, relax, watch a movie and just be.

But since I did go out for an evening stroll yesterday I think I will just share the photos in the fading daylight I took of Howth, my favorite place in Dublin, possibly the world. So while I put on the kettle I leave you with my photos and this beautiful quote by the great Pulitzer prize and Noble prize winner William Faulkner:

The scattered tea goes with the leaves and every day sunset dies

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fish and chips

Tags

Dublin, dublin bay, friends, Howth, miscellaneous, nature, outdoors, photography, photos, random, safe havens, special places, thoughts, walk

I took my visiting friend out to Howth last night and was thrilled that she enjoyed it so much. For me Howth, its cliff-walk and the little harbour, is one of the nicest places in Dublin to go.

Howth is only about half an hour out from the city center, really easy to get to and when the sun is shining you just have to stay longer than you planned. It dates back to when those big burly Norsemen used it as a harbour as since it is situated on a  peninsular it was easy to defend and maintain. After the vikings moved on Howth use to be a tiny fishing village but beauty and calm have turned it into a picturesque town.

We first when up to the look-out point overlooking the lighthouse and the whole of Dublin Bay. We wandered down a little to see the lighthouse and let the wind make our hair dance and walked for a bit. Due to my unpractical shoes and the tugging wind we quite quickly decided to go back and get so food.

As we sat in the car and drove down to the harbour I couldn’t help but think about how important it is to have special places to go to that never fail to make you happy. Places where you can maybe sit and think, go for walks, be surrounded by nature and sometimes even people. But these special places are filled with happy memories and good times so they make you feel save, happy and give you space to breath.

For me Howth is very high up on the list, but I have a few like St Anne’s Park that I wrote about in May, I love the beach, any beach really and there is the Gresham Hotel in Dublin that is my go to place on a rainy afternoon and I want to treat myself to some reading and people watching. These places are more than just a pretty sight,  a lovely walk or comfy squashy sofas they all have something about them that speaks to something inside of me. And even if these safe havens are open to all and no secret when I share them with someone I always hope they see more than just a beautiful view.

So as we sat on the pier, munching on fish and chips and watched the sun slowly sink down towards the sea a few big seagulls started to eye us up hoping for some left overs. But as we licked our greasy fingers clean and wiped them in our jeans the gulls had to admit defeat and we took a last little stroll around the harbour enjoying the fresh wind and salty air. And as the wind blew away the cobwebs in my mind and even the hay-fever from my eyes I was happy.

just a boat