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Swimmer @ Howth

Howth was cool to cold so we wore light jackets. How these people could swim in the frigid waters is beyond my ken.

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Harbor @ Howth

Scenic beach at a small harbor.

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Canary Arias

In poetry, a frog is a canary.~Robert Pack In the hidden recesses of my computer (and backed up on multiple SSD drives) there are books in progress, ten manuscripts in varying states ranging from a single-page essay seeking a destination to a 307-page collection of loosely connected stories that I would like someday to have published. I hesitate in sending it to a publishing intermediary because…

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Houses @ Howth

These are houses I would love to live in. Close to water. Very scenic. Difficult to access.

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Boats Moored @ Howth

Having been on the go for the entire trip, the last day was planned to immerse in the local culture. We took the light rail rather than an actual tour. Unfortunately, Howth was having a festival so, it seemed, half of Ireland came to celebrate. We did last long in the chaos.

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Inch Beach View From Water

Cars drove far up on the sand at Inch Beach. Signs were posted warning people to move their vehicles prior to the tide coming in. I wonder how many people forget this advice in any given year?

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Inch Beach

Inch Beach is on the Dingle Peninsula. We were told we could swim but the water was cold and our time limited. Plus none of us brought a towel or swimming costume.

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Male Ego Fragility

I wonder how it is we have come to this place in our society where art and nature are spoken in terms of what is optional, the pastime and concern of the elite? ~Terry Tempest Williams The most significant indicators early humanoids were shedding the confines of instinct and becoming self-aware are artistic in nature including the 100,000-year-old shell beads used for personal ornamentation,…

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Torc Waterfall

Not far from the horse and carriage ride where we ran out of time for lunch, we visited the Torc Waterfall. Not fantastic by waterfall standards but pleasant for the day.

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Horse & Carriage Tour

We took a horse and carriage ride through a National Park. In Ireland, this meant a pretty much tamed bit of woods used by bikers, hikers, leisurely walkers, and horse drawn carriages. It was so-so. I wouldn’t do it again.

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Holy Trinity Abbey Church - Interior

The rich red-brown wood adds warmth to offset the cold masonry work.

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Holy Trinity Abbey Church - Door

How can you not love the contrast between cold rock and the warm wood of this door decorated with iron?

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Smite the Ego

In the desert, I inhale the dust of the cosmos and try to exhale my ego. I am not the center of the universe; I am part of an expanding consciousness becoming conscious of itself in relationship to everything else. I do not fear excommunication from anything save the pink sand beneath my feet and a night sky of stars penetrating darkness.~Terry Tempest Williams Probably the single most important…

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Holy Trinity Abbey Church-Adare

So many old churches in Ireland. There wasn’t enough time to see more than a few. Unfortunately, the leaden sky did not show pretty in the pics. 😦

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Giant's Causeway - Perspective

Adding a human to the photos, in this case yours truly, it is easier to understand the diameter of the basalt columns.

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Giant's Causeway - Short Columns

These naturally occurring basalt columns look almost as if they were manmade pylons jammed deep into the earth. The black columns appear to be the ones covered at high tide.

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Peace To Everything

The three most important words we can embrace are “Reverence for Life.”~Albert Schweitzer For some time now, perhaps commensurate with my attraction to Buddhism as portrayed in the classic TV Show Kung Fu, I have been attempting to revere all life forms by killing animals and plants solely for sustenance. I am not Jain strict where I wear a mask to avoid inhaling life forms, walk with a broom…