Growing your own

Last weekend I finally made it to the garden centre; and the small garden is now the better for lettuce, new thyme and chives (so I can "rest" the established herb beds) and a new herb pot with rosemary, sage, parsley. We also put down tomato and strawberry plants. I've grown tomatos every year for a long time, except for last year so it's great to have some again. Organically home-grown tomatos are incredible; they are 90% tomato and only a littly watery centre, and they make the most wonderful sauces.

Greens

Oh the weather outside is frightful...

I've waited years for a snow day....

and it happens on my day off!

More Swans on the Canal

From urban pictures

From urban pictures

The Moon at Morn

No not sunrise but the incredible moon that hung over Dublin this morning at 8am! The pictures hardly do it justice, as we left home it was a large creamy yellow disc, unnaturally clear and hanging low on the horizon as the sun rose. it was a beautiful sight!

Cascade

This is how I feel today..

I opened the front door and instead of a rosy Autumnal dawn it was freezing cold, wet and windy; I literally wanted to turn tail and hide under the covers. I feel grey. And cold.

Snail's Pace

Autumn Leaves

A friend who lives on a rock in the north sea was bemoaning the lack of trees (nothing can grow higher than a hedgerow because of the wind) and asked for photos to remind him of the colours and look of Autumn...this is one I took on the spur of the moment yesterday morning, a pile of leaf litter outside my parents' house. I was pleased that I manage to frame the central leaf, and that it wasn't just a pile of dirty leaves!

The Last Rose Blooms

The last rose blooms
in rare weather; it takes
rain and sunshine,
good times deferred
bad days and first frost
and luck; good soil,
good stock.

The fading glory appeals
to older eyes; wiser tastes
applaud and accept
its rich fragility,
the final beauty adorning
our autumn days
with grace.

It weathered spring storms
and summer torrents
the sun's relentless beating
and the shade
until it put forth one perfect
bloom; a memory of days
now past

Other plants wither, decay
give in early to the cold
lose heart at the first blasts
of autumn winds -
Some draw on roots that run
deep into good earth -
and bloom.


Geraldine Moorkens Byrne

Last of the Summer Flowers

Crow

Something I see everyday; the crow stained glass ornament that hangs in our front window. I love crows; and friends tend to give me crow related items. This was bought on a trip to a labyrinth/maze where one can walk a spiral and meditate. The new agery left me cold - I prefer the authentic in ruins to the pretty but prefabricated. However my then flatemate bought me this so it wasn't a wasted trip :)
plus I did realize that when I am filthy rich and have a huge estate (don't laugh, it's only a matter of time before those numbers come up!) I can build my own maze. Mine will have bear pits and mantraps, and maybe some crocodiles.

Autumn Colours

In between

Just as night fell, as day ended, as cloud covered sun.....in between time. Liminal moments come from many directions.

Urban Living

More from the series I took in Grand Canal Square; swans and sunrise :)

Reflection

Swans and Chimney Stacks

Only in Dublin
would two swans
crossing the docks
greet you in March

Light reflecting
refracting the image
of urban life
and city living

hazy sun and
smokey stacks
a tall ship mast
and two wild swans

Welcome to my city
cosmopolitan
21st century
metropolis

Welcome to my city
Viking terrority
mystical land
mysterious port.

Geraldine Moorkens Byrne

Inside the White Pagoda

I love the lace effect and the freshly renovated white against a blue sky. remember blue skies? that's what used to appear in summer or so I believe, it's been so long....Anyway another bright shot in the hope of creating some sympathetic magic and affecting the weather for the weekend :)

Inside the KIln

Inside the Kiln
temperatures reach
degrees that would
scorch us.
Some materials harden
take form beyond
nature's intent.
Others crumble, break
tear apart, melt;
ressumed into fire.
Consumed by this
I ask , would you
willingly make the attempt?

©GMB 2008

Making the Mundane Magical...

I love this shot because something utterly mundane, my back garden, looks mysterious and romantic in this light. Taken just before the rain came pelting down - in one of the rare moments of relative dryness this summer :)