Ireland, the Emerald Isle

Kathy, the photographer

I've never personally been to Ireland, but I clearly remember the first time I visited England.  I was a teen then and we lived in Arizona at the time.  What impressed me most was how GREEN everything was.  Not just the tired, dusty green of the Sonora desert, where I lived, but a vibrant, deep, sparkling emerald green.

The Ireland of these photos is exactly that: a lush and inviting and well-watered GREEN.



I love the various shades of green in these photographs (which I believe are from County Sligo).  I love the dark water which reflects the brooding sky.  It looks like it is going to rain.

It probably looks like that a lot.

I'll bet it was hard to leave this ancient, beautiful green island  It took crop failures and a famine to uproot the hardy folk who once lived here.  And isn't it interesting how the folks who came from this lovely place were woven into the fabric of early America by the hand of God?

It had to be hard for those who were left behind in this ancient land.

Living on an island, you probably get a lot of rain.  I remember rain.  We haven't had any in California for the past three years - we're in a major drought - but I vaguely remember rain.

It's wet and falls from the sky.  Right?

I think.

This morning we got some fog.  I think Mother Nature does that just to taunt us.

Looking at these photos, it isn't hard to imagine how people could believe in leprechauns, elves and other wee magical fairy folk.

The landscape just suggests it, doesn't it?

Hey, you're looking now, aren't you?

I think I see one right up beyond that bend...