an other garden no.39: gardens around the quadrangle, university of ireland, galway

an other garden no.38: moorhens and their downy young, goal river

an other garden no.37: a garden in bloom, private residence

an other garden no.36: salmon weir, river corrib

an other garden no.26/part two: follow up, nesting swan, goal river

Stories and Histories

Previously I photographed this swan couples nest and seven eggs and I recently went back to check up on them and found that sadly, four weeks after the cygnets hatched, only one remains. Like other species that give birth to several young together, they are vulnerable to many predators. In this area new born cygnets are most likely lost to crows, herons, magpies or pike. The other worrying thing I noticed is that only one member of the swan couple was anywhere to be seen which could explain the loss of so many of their young. Swans mate for life, raising their young together, normally one parent will always be on guard. They also often travel in line with one parent at the back, the other in front, thus the absence of one of the partners suggests they met an untimely death, perhaps in an attempt to protect their young.

an other garden no.15/part two: barna woods, part two

Stories and Histories

I was in Barna Woods today and I realised one collection of pictures devoted to them was just not enough. I have been trying to determine what it is that makes this Woodland so beautiful and I think it is partly that it is filled with mature trees (mostly beech actually) and also the absence of ground cover threw much of the woods, contrasts really strikingly with the canopy. It is often difficult to capture visually the experience of beautiful woodland, I think because the affect is as a result of a combination of sensory factors; from the collection of earthy smells and the very still, cool, quality of the air to the constantly flickering light appearing and disappearing behind the canopy, momentarily sharp and warm and blinding, that and something more primitive, some ancestral sense of security from being within these protective arms.

Today I climbed one of these tree's, the first I have climbed in years I think and I happily discovered that years of yoga have transformed me into the kind of tree climber I always aspired to be; limber and agile with feet that curl easily around branches.

an other garden no.35: the pink house, private residence, renmore

Stories and Histories

Number fifty nine was built in the 1950's by an architect and its current inhabitants have lived there since the 1960's. Shortly after I first moved to Galway I lived on this street and fell in love with the pink house. The whole street in fact is still one of my favourite streets in the city as most of the houses on it were built individually and date from various decades in the past century. On one street you can see examples of architecture popular to different periods of time in our more recent history( it also has lots of mature trees and quirky porches that are always lit at night). I realised a few years ago that the element I most look for in an architectural style when it comes to domestic dwelling is the suggestion that a witch would not seem out of place there( of course in this case she would be of the more benevolent type but no less mysterious for it). I like a building to inspire conspiracy theories and hint at long buried family secrets. I like a building to capture my imagination.