Fenor Bog boardwalk

Fenor bog

This is my last post from abroad 🙂 I am going back home soon, so I am spending every minute with my family and apologize for delayed replies to your wonderful comments. Thank you so much for bearing with me.

Fenor bog lays right behind the church in Fenor village, Co Waterford, overlooked by Ballyscanlon Hill. They say that 225 species of plants, birds, insects and animals have been recorded there. 500m long boardwalk allows visitors to enjoy serenity and beauty of this unique piece of natural heritage.

When I go to Fenor, I circle the bog at least five times, full of expectations for some unusual bird or reptile seeings, but nothing ever happens. I guess the best time is a very late afternoon, just before the sunset. Last time I saw a lizard who showed itself for a split second and then disappeared under the boardwalk. Still, something to remember.

What does this sign mean, I don’t know. I have been looking up Druid signs, but couldn’t find anything similar. Looks like an eye to me, which makes sense: enter the site, look around, don’t miss the marvels and secrets of Nature.

Fenor bog

Little Robin is looking for something to eat. These birds  don’t mind being photographed. In the bog, I have also seen wrens, blackbirds, field sparrows, chaffinches, starlings, and some birds I couldn’t identify.

robin

A pink touch of Ragged Robin.

flower

Red Campion, a close relative of Ragged Robin.

flower

Cuckooflower is sacred to the Fairies.

fenor bog

  Menyanthes, or Bogbean, is one of the prettiest wildflowers.

menyanthes

Marsh Cinquefoil’s red petals are not petals at all. They are sepals. The petals are dark and tiny. A cloud of tiny bumblebees are working the flowers. I change my settings to manual and patiently wait for the opportunities.

bumblebee

Sorry for posting three similar pictures – I like them all, and cannot decide which one I should post :). Bumblebees look so cute with the pollen baskets on their knees.

bumblebee

bumblebee

I make a full circle and start walking the bog again.

Fenor bog

This time I am lucky with Damselflies. I don’t recall ever seeing this one, with a red belly. It is a Large Red Damselfly.

dragonflie

Banded Demoiselle, male. Males and females differ in color and look like different species to those who don’t know.

dragonfly

Speckled Wood butterfly. Their caterpillars are bright green.

butterfly

This flower confused me. It is some kind of Blackberry, and it is supposed to have five petals. How is it that it has eight?

Blackberry

At noon, the church bells start ringing. It seems that the bells are recorded and played over loudspeakers. After I finish my walk, I go to visit the former Sacred tree which is now transformed into The Angel of Fenor  by a local artist John Hayes. The monument is towering in the church graveyard, attracting tourists.

2016- 432

I like this detail of the monument – the hands and the bird.

Fenor

You can look up a controversial priest Fr. Michael Kennedy who used to minister in the Dunhill/Fenor parish, and had taken an administrative leave from his post in 2006 after the allegations of misconduct ( I don’t know where he is now, but they say he was a well-liked man).  He is a third cousin of JFK, and retains close connections with the Kennedy clan. So, my next post is about JFK.

Thank you for visiting Fenor with me.

inese_mj_photographyHave a wonderful weekend!

157 comments

  2. So interesting, as always, Inese. I especially like that carved old tree. About the lozenge symbol, here’s something:
    
    The lozenge motif dates as far back as the Neolithic and Paleolithic period in Eastern Europe and represents a sown field and female fertility.[2] The ancient lozenge pattern often shows up in Diamond vault architecture, in traditional dress patterns of Slavic peoples, and in traditional Ukrainian embroidery. The lozenge pattern also appears extensively in Celtic art, art from the Ottoman Empire, and ancient Phrygian art.[3]
    The lozenge symbolism is one of the main female symbols in Berber carpets.[4] Common Berber jewelry from the Aurès Mountains or Kabylie in Algeria also uses this pattern as a female fertility sign.

    1. Thank you so much, Cynthia! Now I know that it is a fertility symbol. I was digging through the Google Images and couldn’t find anything similar, because this lozenge is not closed, and it has ripples. I use lozenge motifs when I knit woolen socks – it is what my grandmother taught me 🙂

  7. So lovely wildflowers you introduced in this post. I love them all. The depth of field in the picture wood butterfly is so well controlled. It is a fantastic shot.

    I like the idea of carving the old trees like that than completely remove it off.

    A very nice post!

    1. Thank you so much! That old tree was to be removed, but now it has a new life 🙂
      I love to visit the boardwalk. The part of it where the photograph with the robin was taken, has a turn that makes great blurry background for lifestyle pictures. Otherwise, it is a cool place to walk and meditate.

    1. Thank you so much for the nomination! It is so sweet of you. I know that doing the rewards takes a lot of time, so I really appreciate the honor. Later this year I am going to put up a post dedicated solely to the nominations. Thank you again! xxxx

  12. Lovely photos, Inese. The symbol is called a lozenge. You can see similar ones carved in stone at Neolithic sites like Newgrange. They are usually associated with fertility. (Agricultural and otherwise. At least that’s what we’re told. 🙂 ) Safe journey home.

    1. Thank you so much for this comment! I did google diamond, rhombus, lozenge, everything that came in mind, but no such image showed up. So it is a fertility symbol. Wonderful!

  13. Thanks for taking us on this fascinating walk, Inese. Lovely botanical photos. I enjoyed the Angel of Fenor too. It reminds me of Native American work, so it’s a nice segue that your next post be about JFK (well… he was American, at least). Mega hugs my friend.

    1. Thank you so much, Teagan! You know I am not too much in politics, but your elections concern me as any other person, especially because my family lives in the US. Kennedy ancestral home is just 40 minutes drive from where I live, so I though I might write a post.
      Yes, I thought about the Native Americans when I took the pictures. Who knows, may be the artist was inspired by their artworks. Thank you again, and many hugs!!!

    1. Thank you so much! I love to go there in the afternoon when the sun is coloring everything yellow. The oldest of the pictures were probably taken in 2005 with my old Fuji. No other camera produces such beautiful colors.
      The carvings gave the old tree a new life. The work took a good couple of months.

    1. Thank you so much! Our wildlife is scarce, so I am happy for every small creature 🙂 There are four species of deer in Ireland, but no moose. I would love to see one 🙂

        1. I have been to Idaho, and have seen a moose there 🙂 I forgot the name of the mountains, somewhere in the Southern Idaho I guess, Snake river an all.

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