'It's A Beautiful Day' Wednesday, 20.01.10

Flagmount reflected in the water of Lough Graney, County Clare. No longer covered in snow and ice. What a difference. Do click on any of the photos to see the details.

I could have sung 'It's a Beautiful Day' (Queen) or 'Oh What a Beautiful Morning' (Oklahoma),
such was the joy I felt when I awoke to a beautiful blue sky and the sun shining on the garden. Jim and I were heading off to Limerick and beyond today to pick up a settee we bought on e-bay. We couldn't take Buster so we took him for a good walk first thing to the woods and Lough Graney. On my last visit, the photos I took were rather like this:

But today, it was another world, another planet even! Everything was green and lush, the moss has started to grow and Lough Graney was, at times, as still as a mill pond. Jim took his camera today, so I had nothing to do with the following photos.

We could see from our land that the reflections would be astonishing and we were not disappointed.


This shot was taken from the lane walking down to the wood and the view was on our right. I like the way Jim has included the fence posts in the foreground leading your eyes to the view.

Although the sun was shining, it was still quite low in the sky and made the following shot:


As Jim had the camera, there are one or two photos of me, for a change:


The inside of the wood looked beautiful, with dappled sun on the trees and the wood's floor.


I love those long shadows and if you click on the photo, you can see wonderful patches of colour on the ground.

Jim asked me 'Do I have to take the bull rushes shot?' and of course I said 'yes'. If you have seen any of my lake photos, you'll know I always have to photograph the bull rushes!


And here they are. Only one of them has a 'head' on it now. I can't wait for the new crop to start growing. Maybe there'll be more than 3 this year.

Here the sun is reflected in the water.


Buster's always ready for a drink when he reaches the lake side.

Just round the corner and we reach the rocks. The reflections were outstanding and I had to pose for Jim! But first, a quick 'joiner' of Flagmount:


I must learn how to get rid of those lines. One day...

Jim took so many of me on the rocks, I stuck them all together!!

If you wonder what I was doing, I was practising my diving technique, as taught to me at Mary Datchelor Girls' School, London many years ago. What a lot of Gina and Busters!

Jim and I felt quite exhilarated while we were walking and Buster seemed full of bounce too. It's amazing how different you feel with warm sun shining down and no bitter wind or frost to freeze your toes.

As we took a last look over to the mountains in the distance, there seemed to be multiple reflections. It was into the sun, but I think the following photo worked rather well:


Look at those little puffy clouds above the hills.

When we arrived home, we settled Buster with a large bone and a bucket of water (he prefers a bucket to his bowl) and away we went to the wilds of Newcastle West.

It was quite a long drive but we arrived in plenty of time and even managed to find the 'peach coloured house through a peach coloured gate'. None of the smaller villages have any name signs, so it's all a bit hit and miss when trying to locate somewhere. The settee is lovely, a rich brick red terracotta colour and it will match our sunroom beautifully. It was, however, rather large! We had come armed with rope and managed to secure the settee mostly inside the Doblo, with just a bit hanging out of the back. Luckily it was still sunny. The delightful lady selling the settee had taken all the cushions off and washed them for us. We paid a ridiculously cheap price for it as it was. Wasn't that kind of her?

We were going to call and do some shopping but with the back doors roped together, decided it wasn't a good plan and headed home, with a brief stop at MacDonalds, as we hadn't eaten yet. It was dark by the time we left and, with the back doors open, a bit cold in the car!

Oh, I forgot to mention that there is a large 'Dunnes' Apartment store next to MacD's, so we went in there to buy a paper. Well, they had a sale on. I came out with some new trainers and a new coat plus a lovely double duvet cover and pillow cases! Then we went home!

All together a most successful and satisfying day. The settee is already in situ and looks super.

Off to the UK

I am off on Friday to the Derbyshire end of the UK to visit my daughter K and her family. It's far too long since I last saw them all so I was determined to go in January. I am really looking forward to seeing them all. I have no doubt I will eat far too much and be spoilt rotten. Here's hoping! Please don't let it snow.

Sorry this is a bit long. Happy Thursday everyone. Woo Hoo. That's just a joyful shout.