Place

The Promenade, Tramore

There’s something about early mornings down the Prom here in Tramore that is magical.

It’s the time of day that the place belongs to the seagulls and people are the intruders.

I find myself standing very still just watching them and not wanting to disturb them as they wake up to each new day.

I could never imagine my Prom without seagulls. They are just as much a part of it as the waves, the horizon and the ebb and flow of the tide. Every day is different but the seagulls are constant and comforting.

Snowdrops

One of the highlights of my year is the arrival of the first snowdrops in my garden and today was the day.

Tramore was shrouded in muggy fog but deep down under the unpruned hydrangea by the front gate, I caught sight of the gleaming white of snowdrops. This moment symbolises so much to me: light after dark; hope after doubt; courage after falterings; reunion after separation; joy after teardrops …..

Hope

Even if the hopes you started out with are dashed,  hope has to be maintained.  (Seamus Heaney)                        

 

The Dread Storm is Passed …

… and nature is beaming in the January light.

Lipsticked Camellia

May all your storms be short-lived.

The Comfort of Nature and Poetry

After yesterday’s post, I felt the need to connect with nature in all her beauty.

I took to the woods with Stan:

Contemplative Stan

From there for a deep cleanse in the sea as the sun was setting.

Soothing Garrarus Beach

And home to hot juiced apples with cinnamon and, of course, poetry:

Happiness

A state you must dare not enter

with hopes of staying,

quicksand in the marshes, and all

 

the roads leading to a castle

that doesn’t exist.

But there it is, as promised,

 

with its perfect bridge above

the crocodiles,

and its doors forever open.

 

(Stephen Dunn: from Staying Alive, edited by Neil Astley, Bloodaxe Books).