Goats and monkeys!

Flu hit me Monday. I almost have no memory of the first two days, just some strange dreams and random, chaotic thoughts. Thursday my head cleared up a bit so that I could think about my next blog post making notes on a piece of paper ( I was too weak to open my laptop). The misery of my condition couldn’t produce anything cheerful, and somehow I started thinking about all the innocent creatures of this world who’ve got to suffer for nothing. Goats came to mind.

My first image was taken on a bright summer morning during Waterford Hot Air Ballooning Championship . I got a few good shots at the take off in the grounds of Waterford Castle, and was on my road to Passage East where I expected to take a ferry and cross to Co Wexford. I was almost there when the events took a rather surreal turn and the scene changed to somewhat apocalyptic in a matter of seconds. The goats. They started falling out of the thick bushes, off the almost vertical cliff – all sizes, shapes, genders and breeds. The sun was blinding me, but true to myself I was pressing the shutter. Two cars in front of me navigated out of the scene when more goats jumped from above, not less than a hundred of them, and I was stuck. I missed the ferry, but took a great set of pictures.

Goat is one of the first domesticated animals. When and where he ruined his reputation, is not clear, but he is associated with the satyr Pan, notoriously mischievous god who had a long beard, goat legs and horns. Read this article, it is very informative and amusing.

Pan was so ugly that even his mother run away from him horrified and disgusted. It is where the word ‘panic’ came from. I don’t know what to say, but look at these pictures and prove to me that this goat is not a saint among his people.

Some goats have a better fate. The picture below was taken ten years ago, in Killorglin, Co Kerry. Every August people gather to celebrate Puck Fair in Killorglin, and a goat is crowned to become a king of the land for three days ( you can watch a video on this link). The earliest known reference to Puck Fair is a charter by King James I, dated 1613, granting a legal status to the existing fair. The farm hands had a clause in their contract to be free of work for those three days.

The festival is a great event, and I hope to attend it some day. If you travel Ireland around 10 – 12 August, make a note.

These skinny goats were spotted in Bunratty Castle, Co Limerick.

Co Kerry has a weakness for goats – in town of Dingle, Goat Street is an extension of the Main Street.

In the Shakespearean tragedy, Iago works Othello into such a state of jealousy, that the poor man imagines things that have never happened. He exits the scene with the exclamation ‘Goats and monkeys!’ using the name of innocent creatures to express his disgust.

Cassio shall have my place. And, sir, tonight

I do entreat that we may sup together.

You are welcome, sir, to Cyprus. Goats and monkeys!

Using Desdemona’s words, I can tell that, concerning goats, “… I have spoken for you all my best “, and now I should speak for monkeys too, which would be only fair. Look at the picture – this face speaks volumes. Don’t judge monkeys!

The Hot Air Balloon Festival ended with amazing take off from Waterford Airport, but I will remember it because of the Passage East goats.

I do hope I have been a good advocate for the creatures not favored by some. What if we change the tradition and make “Goats and monkeys” a funny exclamation, not a symbol of immorality? It is the 21st century, after all.

Happy Christmas to you all, peace, love, inspiration and joy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

A letter to Mark and Priscilla they will never read

Dear Mark and Priscilla!

Many happy wishes and congratulations on the birth of your little daughter Max! There is nothing like the birth of a new child to restore hope to the world.

I have read about your pledge. I sincerely hope that this money will make a difference, not just change hands. There are many good causes where your money can do miracles, and if you profit from your good deeds, it is absolutely fine with me. Whatever the critics say.

I understand that this is a done deal, and you have planned everything for the rest of your lifetime, but in case you change your mind, or in case some of your wealthy friends are looking for a good cause, there is one I would suggest.

The Internet is a blessing. Uses of the Internet are unlimited. Many people make a living off the internet and get wealthy, like you did.

Some people use the internet to find, abduct and sell children including babies and toddlers. There are hundreds of millions children pornography images and videos in the internet. Millions of children are used in commercial sex – they are abused and filmed for pornographic videos, trafficked into brothels. Millions of children are raped and killed. Many sex offenders had viewed pornography prior to committing sex offenses and murders. Dr. Michael Seto from International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children estimated that 3% of the male population is aroused by pedophilic stimuli.

Most of sex offenders use social networking sites to gain home or school information about their victims.

You wrote to your daughter that you felt “a great responsibility to leave the world a better place for you and all children”. You want to use that money to “advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation.” What you say is wonderful.

I know that cleaning up the bottomless Internet is almost impossible, but with the money like yours, there is a chance. Your money and new technologies can save lives, you just need the courage.

Research indicates that at least 200 million girls and 100 million boys will be sexually abused before they reach adulthood. My heart is bleeding.

I don’t see a better cause than creating a safe future for children.

PS Each of us can do something about it. Or stop doing something we should not be doing.

Stay safe!

From South to North and back – The end

This is the last blog post of the series about my Inishowen adventures (starting from October 23). I miss my favorite models, and hope to work with them some time next year.

After leaving Abbeyleix, I drove to Port Laois where I stuck for almost an hour, changed my route, and headed to Tullamore Co Offaly, the motherland of Tullamore Dew, the triple distilled Irish whiskey.There I took this picture of the Visitor Center with the neighborhood of happy consumers in background.

After that I crossed the bridge over the Grand Canal and proceeded to Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

The sun started to show up but the fog didn’t clear away. My plan was to stop at the Belvedere House and Gardens on the shores of Lough Ennell to take a break from driving and eat something.

The house was built by Robert Rochfort in the 18 century. This man had big issues with his family. He had incarcerated his wife in their previous home at Gaulstown for an alleged affair with his brother Arthur, whom he later put in debtors’ prison in Dublin. He also built the Jealous Wall after falling out with his other brother George, to block off the view of his house on the adjacent estate.

The wall is built at a distance from the Belvedere House, and it is very high to ensure that the offensive sight is blocked off.

I walked through the gardens down to the lake and back. I shared my sandwich with a friendly goat, took some photographs, and resumed my journey.

I didn’t stop in Mullingar, but took a photograph of the Cathedral of Christ The King.

I took R394 through Castlepollard because it is familiar to me and very beautiful. After the village of Finnea I entered Co Cavan. My luck was obviously pushed too far.

Driving around Cavan, I missed my turn to Cloverhill and wasted at least 30 minutes until I figured out where on earth I was. They say that the Celtic word for Cavan means both ‘hollow‘ and ‘small hill’… Do you remember hoodoos? There is another lovely word for you – drumlin, a clay hill of glacial origin. In between drumlins the valleys are poorly drained, with bogs and lakes.

(William) Percy French (1854 – 1920) once wrote:

The Garden of Eden has vanished, they say,
But I know the lie of it still.
Just turn to the left at the Bridge of Finnea,
And stop when halfway to Cootehill.

I read this poem with a map in my hands trying to figure out where was he coming from when he arrived to Finnea… I think I have to go to Cavan again to find out…

In Clones Co Monaghan I got lost again. I didn’t miss my turn or anything, I just didn’t know how to get to Omagh. Well, I knew the long way ( I used it on my way home), but there was a tiny road on the map that I wanted to explore. I ate a 99 and walked around the square. Trust the 99, it is a cure for everything. I came across the guy who stood idling in the doorway, and he explained me how to find the road. He warned me of the dangers I might encounter, wild sheep etc. I was only happy to hear that 🙂 With his directions, off I went. My luck was back – not like in this video 🙂

A narrow country road took me to Fivemiletown Co Tyrone, and then up North to Fintona.

Halfway between Fintona and Fivemiletown lies Murley Mountain.

On the summit is the Lendrums Bridge wind farm, one of the largest in Ireland, with 20 turbines. Another 8 turbines are located on Hunter’s Hill.

From Omagh I traveled through Strabane and Derry, which took me another 2-3 hours – 9 hours altogether with all the stops.

As you already know, I had a wonderful time in Inishowen. The images below were taken from my hotel window early in the morning. There is no color processing, I only made a subtle change in the Levels moving the black point slider to 4. It was exactly what I saw with my own eyes.

This image is zoomed and taken from a slightly different angle some 20 minutes later.

Isn’t it a fairy tale?

My journey back home was quiet and filled with sadness. As it became a tradition, I got lost around Clones again ( I wasn’t supposed to be there at all; I took a different road…) , but a good old 99 cheered me up, and I got directions at the petrol station. I crossed Co Cavan without incidents, my little car wriggling between the drumlins; stopped for petrol in Mountmellick at the sunset; sneaked through Durrow and Ballyragget in the dark and took a motorway from Kilkenny to Waterford “when the stars went blue”. Couldn’t fall asleep that night.

I am missing Inishowen, but it is the time to move on. Thank you again Elena Shumilova and Brendan Diver, Sean Derry, children and their parents! Thank you fellow photographers Dirk Lecluse, Katrina Parry, Suzanne O’Connell, Steve Thomas-Jones, Renata Dapšytė, Gemma Burton, Karolina Zadwórna-Turczyńska and many others. Hope we meet again soon!

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I am very honored to be nominated for the Lovely Blog award by Patrick Jones from The Linden Chronicles. Please visit his blog and read his books. I love them!

Thank you Patrick, I hope to maintain the loveliness 🙂

Now I have to reveal 7 things about myself

I have seen all Bond movies
I am a lousy swimmer
I think that spiritual and physical self-reliance is a sign of maturity
I want to learn how to swim before I die
I want to climb Kilimanjaro before I die
I adore cats
I love all other creatures

And here are the blogs I am nominating – a tiny fraction of the bloggers I like.

https://knittingwithheart.wordpress.com/

https://waldfoto.wordpress.com/

http://graffitiluxandmurals.com/

https://halfeatenmind.wordpress.com/

https://zenocrat.wordpress.com/

http://sebdani.com/

https://poetrummager.wordpress.com/

Here is the list of rules to participate:

Thank the person who nominated you and provide a link to her/his blog.
List 7 interesting facts about yourself.
Nominate up to 15 other bloggers
List the rules and display the award.

Have a great weekend!

From South to North and back – I

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First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all the thankful out there, wherever you may be! Have a wonderful and happy weekend!

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To those who haven’t read my blog before – it is the fifth post in the series about my trip to the North of Ireland to take part in Elena Shumilova Workshop.

I got this lovely map from http://www.ireland-information.com/irelandmaps.htm, and drew my route with a green marker. My plan was to use smaller roads instead of motorways so that I could stop for a photograph. Most of the route was familiar to me, but I still got lost somewhere between Counties Cavan and Monaghan, twice – on my way to and from.

I left early in the morning from Waterford, drove through Kilkenny and Durrow, and didn’t stop until I got to Abbeyleix. These photographs were taken in different years, but I think they are good enough for illustrating my journey.

These photographs are taken in Kilkenny Castle park, in early November 2010. The day was chilly and foggy, and very quiet.

The National Monument to missing people was unveiled by President Mary Mc Aleese in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle in 2002. The sculpture is designed by Ann Mulrooney. Each hand was cast from the actual hand of a family member of a missing person. There is also a stone with inscription: “This sculpture and area of reflection is dedicated to all missing persons. May all relatives and friends who visit find continuing strength and hope”.

Another old photograph – the River Nore in Kilkenny.

After leaving Kilkenny I headed to Durrow, Co Laois. I think that it will help if I give you a link to a page where you can learn how to pronounce Irish names for places: http://www.logainm.ie/ga/

For today it is Laois [leash] and Abbeyleix [abbey- lees]

I already wrote about Durrow twice. Every year they are hosting a Scarecrow Festival, and it is a huge fun event. In my Scarecrow blog Part I I reflected on the life of Scarecrow of Oz and his predecessors; in the Part II I gave an account of the festival activities and attractions. I wont’s repeat myself and hope you visit these blog posts if you haven’t read them yet. There is also a video from which you will learn a thing or two about the nature of scarecrows 🙂

Today I am sharing two picture that I took after the festival in 2014. The day was fabulous, but then we noticed the darkest cloud menacingly approaching the town. We escaped, but all the merry gathering was drenched with rain in a matter of minutes. We drove up the rolling hills until this magnificent view opened to us. I had just a minute for a couple of snaps. The skies opened and the rain poured on us all the way home.

Now back to my Grand cross-country trip.

As I said, my first stop was in Abbeyleix. Lonely Planet offers you six things to do in Abbeyleix, including a visit to the former Yvo de Vesci Carpet factory where a number of hand tufted carpets were made for Titanic’s staterooms. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to stay in Abbeyleix longer than 10 minutes, it is why I will just share with you this old picture from Cobh (former Queenstown), the final port of call for Titanic. I will write about Cobh another time.

titanic

I think you already understand why I am getting lost while travel…

So, I didn’t have time to do six things in Abbeyleix, neither was it my plan, but there is something in this little town that I love and want to share with you. I love their street lights.

It was early in the morning, and I stood in the middle of N77 without getting in trouble. The fog was thick, the colors and sounds muted, like in a dream.

I took some more photographs, one of them I used in my previous post – the iron gate and the rising sun. After saying good bye to this lovely little town I resumed my journey.

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Illustrated Blogger Interview Challenge

Aquileana from La Audacia de Aquiles nominated me for the Blogger Interview Challenge. Thank you so much for considering me!

I am following Aquileana’s blog for more than a year, and I always re-read her posts because we both share the love for Mythology, for the times when Gods mingled with people, and ” the World was younger than today”. Aquileana is doing a thorough research on her subject, and her posts are always adorned with beautiful art and poetry. I invite you all to visit La Audacia de Aquiles blog – you will want to follow 🙂

Now the interview. To make it more fun, I illustrated it with my images. These are the questions:

How did you get into blogging?

Since the time the Internet was invented, I have always dreamed of having a space where I could share my experiences, memories and, sometimes, opinions. When I visit a beautiful place or meet a beautiful person, I want to spread a word so that other people know of it.

I started with installing WordPress using WAMP so that I could play with it offline before I decided on the theme, pages, widgets and style. A whole month I explored my options and web tools, and wrote, and deleted. My first idea was to combine my advertisements and my personal thoughts. I chose the simplest, mobile friendly and lightweight theme. Finally I mastered the courage and went live, shy and uncertain. It was after St Patrick’s day, March 2014. The advertising part didn’t survive: I changed my mind about it. This post is one of the first five posts written offline. My first attempt on blogging 🙂

My blog is not a portfolio.

What advice would you give to a blogger just starting out?

Blog about anything you like, and post as often, as you wish – once a month, every hour; but do your best.

Make your blog posts accessible. Only your loving family members will be willing to struggle through the numerous links until they find your latest post ( I have done it too …). Your SEO advisers might tell you that using internal links helps with traffic, but they usually mean the ‘deep’ links, not the ‘surface’ links, if it makes sense. Also, when they speak about the internal linking, they often use a phrase ‘killer content’. Something to think about.

For all bloggers – please, make sure that clicking on your Profile Picture and Name opens your blog page, or at least your Gravatar page with a link to your blog! You are working hard – you should be heard!

Enjoy what you do. Slow down when you feel that this becomes a burden. Everybody will understand.

Be nice with your fellow bloggers, even if you had a lousy childhood. It will pay off, and make you happier in return in your real life.

What would be your dream campaign?

Inspire, not impress. I love this statement.

Do you have a plan for your blog?

I have been blogging less than two years, a toddler’s age. I will grow. My plan is still the same – to show how good is the world, and how good are people.

What do you think about rankings?

To be honest, nothing. It sounds like a part of some competition to me, and I am not competing with anyone for a very simple reason – I have neither the time nor the energy for that. I am afraid I don’t really understand what it is about. Traffic? Likes? These two not necessarily reflect the greatness of the content. I know fantastic blogs with very little followers and likes. ‘All is vanity’…

Give yourself rewards, regardless of your “ranking” 🙂

I would love to nominate the following very different bloggers – please don’t feel that you have to accept the nomination. No pressure, no obligations, just your free will 🙂

There are the rules:

* Mention the person who nominated you
* Answer the questions in full
* Don’t forget to tag up to ten other bloggers at the end

Thank you again Aquileana for the opportunity to answer questions and promote other bloggers!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!