Seasons and horses

This post was written in May 2015, but something new came up, and the post was left in draft until I found it this week, and rewrote it, and added some new pictures to fit the season. The opening photograph was taken in Kilmokea Country Manor House, the best place for event photography around here.

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The real horses belong to Kildalton Agricultural college. The college offers 18 courses, including Farm Management, Horsemanship, and my favorite Plant Identification & Use. I took the pictures in spring – the time of rejuvenation of life.

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This Wisteria grows in beautiful College park.

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I am not sure if the rapeseed field is a college property, but it lays right across the road.

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Short Irish summer is not worth to mention 🙂

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You wouldn’t notice a difference between July and October anyway 🙂

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This horse is posing in front of a cottage in Connemara in the end of October.

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These two snack on hay in the paddock at the foot of Slievenamon mountain in December.

The last leaves are still hanging on.

Sometimes an occasional sun beam breaks through the fog…

… but  ‘Winter turns all the Summer’s love to grey… Winter takes what the Summer had to say’…

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Seasons come and go.

I took pictures of a semi-wild horse in winter. These are less fortunate – hairy horses with narrow eyes live outdoors most of the year.

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This post is supposed to be about horses, as the title says, but you know how it is with the internet – many titles are misleading, and many contents cannot be trusted.

The truth is that there are other farm animals grazing on the mountain slopes. Like cows. Some of them spend nights under the roof in a warm shed, but some stay outdoors for almost a year. The ‘wild’ cows grow a coat to stay warm.

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These cows live at the foot of the Comeragh mountains in Clonmel, and walk up and down the steep slope every day.

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There are also sheep in the mountains, white dots. They look so very lonely in this picture, taken in the middle of February.

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I used to hike for hours, but I have never seen different kinds of animals fight with each other. I mean, I have never seen a horse kick a sheep, or a cow attack a deer, or a sheep give chase to a rabbit. If it is not food, they let it be.

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I wish all of us were wise enough to control our tendencies towards hate and aggression; towards being irritable, demanding and petulant. I wish we didn’t waste our time on being a smaller individual than we have the potential to be.

I also wish that all political leaders demonstrate the best in  judgment as they govern their countries, and never encourage their people to raise a hand against another human being, regardless of their race, political views, or anything else.

www.inesemjphotography.comHave a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend! xx

114 comments

  3. Beautiful post, Inese. I love the magical sunbeams through the fog, the round wooly sheep and the horses, of course. I too hope we will live up to our aspirations and wish for wisdom from our leaders. A lovely gift for the new year.

    1. I remember you wrote about Connemoira. There was also the ship in the epilogue of The Winos. Some time this winter I will post pictures from Connemara. I have been there twice.

  7. And a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend to you, Inese! This is a very lovely post & I echo your hopes and sentiment. 😀

    1. Hope for the best, Resa. We are so absorbed in politics that we forget about ourselves. We should focus on ourselves, our life and our close ones. xx

  8. Ms inese, your photographs as always are exceptional … I have a great fondness for the horses and go at least once a month to feed small red apples to my favorites here in Kentucky. Oh, the grandeur of Ireland takes my breath away … Thank you so much for sharing. Your travel logs are works of art.
    g

  9. I liked so much of this it is hard to know where to begin, Inese.
    The ending full of deep thoughts made me appreciate your writing skills. Thank you for reminding us that animals rarely turn on each other unless needing meat to eat. Especially vegetarian animals, like chickens or ducks, rarely fight (occasionally they may in a competition between males for a female’s attention.)
    The sun beams on fog was an ethereal, lovely scene! ❤
    The rust or sienna brown pony took my heart away! Blessings and hugs sent to you. xo

  12. Those are lovely pictures of horses. The young ones are cute. Interesting remark about you have not seen different kind of animals fighting others for not food related reason.. I sure wish the same. Based on what are going on these days, it seems it is a far reaching wish.. Please have a great weekend!

  14. As ever you are a mine of information far more interesting and uplifting than the news bulletins I feel compelled to read each day. They should give you air time; or perhaps a column in a newspaper as the resident ‘good news’ gal!

  15. Such a beautiful post, Inese. The photos gave me such a sense of peace. I especially loved the sunbeams breaking through the fog, and the bright-eyed inquisitive seeming horse looking over the fence. Have a wonder-filled weekend. Mega hugs

  16. ‘I wish we didn’t waste our time on being a smaller individual than we have the potential to be.’ What marvellous words. You know I just love taking a walk with you Inese. I look at the first picture and I am there and I have all the time in the world to savour your beautiful posts xxxxxxx

  17. Lovely photos and an interesting post. BTW, expecting the politicians to be other than what they are, is like asking the Leopard to change its spots – impossible and unnatural! Their judgment is never the best and also they do not govern but ruin their countries because of their tendency to put self before anything and everything. After all is said and done, all politicians of the world are totally corrupt and incorrigible! 😦

    1. Still Mike, it is better to have a poor government than an anarchy. And if you wish to talk about real trouble, think Russia and North Korea. I mean it.

      1. You’re right; nowadays there are no poor governments, only poor voters, the sheeple, as such scenarios lasted during and before the industrial revolution. All sane and rogue states are ruled by the same kind of corrupt politicians who make merry at the cost of the voters, gullible or not. Not a single welfare state exists on earth today, majority of them are all sham states and a negligible few do good on a limited scale. But, you are a good example of optimism which keeps the hope alive, of a better tomorrow – way to go! 🙂

        1. Mike, long ago I noticed that if I was discouraged and upset by something, and let that feeling settle comfortable in my head, bad things started happening one after another, as if they attracted each other. Like a snow ball rolling down the hill. So, I have learned to stop that chain of bad happenings by simply changing my thoughts and going positive instead of depressive. Hateful thought are especially dangerous. They are like a rock tied to your body that drowns you in misery. If a bigger group of people are hateful, destruction spreads like a wild fire. Some of my ancestors survived Soviet Revolution to tell the story. Hate is contagious like Spanish Influenza. I am telling you all of this so that you know I am not a delusional peacemaker. I know very well what I am saying. Optimism creates our future, literally.
          You too have a happy weekend! 🙂

          1. You said it, and nothing speaks for itself like one’s own life experiences whether good or bad. However, the bad ones linger on long after the events, and that’s the kind of long-term effect that evil exerts on the victims. But, positive vibes do get rid of depressive thoughts, clear the mind and pave the way for a happier existence. Thank you – Happy blogging! 🙂

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