The light was beautiful this evening when I nipped round to the harbour chippy.  A  sunny September day was giving way to a misty evening, the tide was out and there wasn't a breeze - does the Beaufort scale have minus numbers for super-still weather? 

It's a feast for the senses tonight too - the air tastes and smells tangy.  Salty.  The streetlights near the path to the beach are hazy through the mist and the sound of a fog horn hangs in the air.

This is 'my' little stretch of coastline at its autumnal best. 

Tonight, with windows wide open, I will snuggle under a quilt, ever thankful for family, food, clean water, health, a roof over our head and a safe, secure place to sleep.  

I'll fall asleep surrounded by the scents and sounds and sensations of a cool, misty, night by the sea. 

Enough is all that's needed, yet I have so much more.  I'm grateful.

I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds and bowers...

How lovely is this?  I'd been looking at some poetry online - was trying to remember the author of 'gather ye rosebuds while ye may…' 

and came across another verse written by the same 17th century poet - Robert Herrick.  

It almost sums up the photos I took on the visit to a friend today - a beautiful, sunny  afternoon when Northern Ireland was looking it's best. 

(They were taken near Minnowburn and Edenderry if you know south Belfast.)

 With the exception of the birds, I was obviously in the vibe for the verse I'd find later - and since he mentions cakes, I've added two that I did for a bride last week - not often wedding cake gets a mention in poetry!!!

  

"I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds and bowers,

of April, May, of June and July flowers.

I sing of May-poles, hock-carts, wassails, wakes,

of bridegrooms, brides, and of their bridal cakes."

Lovely surprise!

I am a winner!!  No, literally!  I entered a wee competition and said why I loved the photograph below and have actually won it!  Yippee!    It's "The Cove at Dawn" and it's a small bay on the North Antrim Coast near a tiny harbour called Ballintoy - close to where I have a holiday home.

I loved the way the photographer (gilbertlennoxphotography.com) captured the stunning dawn light and the geology of the area - bassalt and chalk - and the mirror like reflection in the water as well as Sheep Island in the distance.  

Now does this not just make you want to go and see the glory of it all for yourself?!

Misty Dunluce Castle and the Dark Hedges

So, two creepy but awesome pics taken near Ulster's north coast within the last 24 hours.  First, emerging out of fairly hefty sea mist last night was Dunluce Castle.  Within minutes, it couldn't be seen at all... but I love how the windows look like eyes. 

What I can't capture is the change in how everything sounds in the heavy mist.  Sounds close in and hang in the air which adds to the creepiness. 

There was an amazing sunset tonight, but I couldn't get round the coast fast enough from Portstewart to capture the incredible pink glow on the water just below the castle.  hard to believe that on a clear day you can see right along the coast to the great stretch of sandy beach known as White Rocks and on to the seaside town of Portrush beyond.

Just before teatime, we headed out to find the stretch of road known as the Dark Hedges - beech trees planted in the 18th century to form an impressive drive up to the home of the Stuart family - Gracehill House, near Armoy.

Locals talk of a "grey lady" that's sometimes to be seen wafting up the road around dusk... but only as far as the last tree.....  frankly, I was glad to have company today.  In any light there's a slightly unsettling atmosphere on the road - but maybe I just have an overactive imagination!

The trees have been photographed by lots of tourists, used in films and tv programmes and painted by many artists. 

365:109 going, going... almost gone

Slowly it's being dismantled... and no one told me where the hamster would be re-homed.

365:107 Just fine and dandy

from a distance I thought the council had gone into random daffodil planting - up close, there are some very healthy dandylions around this week.

365:103 Postcard pretty

The view from a friend's house... I love the candy colours of the houses in Ballyholme. The tide was out far today, so no water to be seen in this shot.

365:102 Gorse or Whin?

In one county it's gorse; in another it's whin. It seems to have two smells too - in strong sunlight, it's almost like coconut; other days it's like vanilla. Today, I'm just grateful for the splash of colour it brings to the wee roads near the village where even a blast of salty sea air can't knock the blooms off.

365:079 More ahhhhs.....

Today is just one of those beautiful spring days you long for - cold, yes, but sunny and in the sheltered spots, just lovely. On the way home from a long, leisurely lunch with a friend I hadn't seen for ages, I spotted this lovely mare and foal.

A field further up the lane, a farmer was ploughing much to the delight of the terns (?);

By the drive-in at home, the dwarf daffs in the wall planter were still looking fresh despite having been out for a couple of weeks.... ... and a suprise bouquet of roses and lillies was waiting for me in the porch - from American friends who enjoyed a concert in the Belfast Waterfront Hall - Sharon Shannon and the Ulster Orchestra (St Pat's day).

Could you want a better day. (Ok, a win at Croke Park would have been nice!)

365:069 Ignore the mug... the contents are an illustration.

So, a nice story that illustrates beautifully the (mystifying) reverence held by Irish mothers for their sons. A colleague's brother had just started university and was visiting another student's flat.

"Would you like a cup of tea?" asked the host. "Lovely, yes please" was the reply.

"Milk?"

"Yes please."

"Sugar?"

"Yes thanks."

"How many?"

"I'm not sure, my mother usually puts it in."

You couldn't make it up could you. Needless to say, this story will follow him for life.

365:068 No red sails in the sunset

Groomsport harbour with the Copeland Islands in the distance - taken on the way home from work - around 6.30pm. I love this clean cold spring light. Still too Baltic to be in a boat mind you!

365:053 "Fowl" play

Well it amused me this morning - the suggestion that the winged wildlife around Lough Neagh might be literate - they all seemed to be following instructions. I guess the guys perched on the railings were getting impatient though and none of the swans seemed to know why they had to "stop"!

365:039 A day at the beach...

It's always a good time for family - today was time to catch up with another cousin. My parents are Nanny Leta and Papa for his wee toddler since my cousin's father was murdered 29 years ago in what we knew as "The Troubles".

365:007

Now that's cold. Brrrr.

365:006b

A week is sadly, a very long time in politics, but how often do we hear words like repentance, forgiveness and mercy used in public life?

365:002

The harbour at Donaghadee - lovely, relaxing end of the holiday lunch at Pier 36 with friends - chilly day, so snapped this one before getting back into friend's car (landrover....yum.)

365:001

Yikes... nearly missed the boat and not because the cove was moonlit - couldn't get the new camera software to load without jiggering the entire system. Will have to re think the download method or this 365 melarkey will last a week at most. Anyway - pretty wick pic, out an upstairs window (baltic outside) but a corker of a moon reflecting on the cove and it sort of worked for me anyway.

For the curious, Ali's to blame - again. 365 photos for 2010.... 1 a day I gather, so can't buck them all into one post! Tempting!!! Check out the links on the right for others doing the project - and they'll link you to others if you're interested.

Yee Ha!

61 years in the waiting.... but oh boy, they did it.

(Did you hear the screams and whistles and whoops from our house?)

.

Good news for Northern Ireland

Ok. Indulge me, I'm climbing on the soapbox. . .

Abortion is a hot issue on both sides of the pond, but it's getting hotter closer to home. Britain's "Pro Choice" supporters have been yakking it up that women in Northern Ireland are "second class citizens" because abortion here is illegal, except in exceptional medical circumstances, such as when the mother's health is at risk.

So they're raising their game in the hope of making abortion legal here. I doubt that they ever seriously thought they'd get through the hoops this time, and suspect they're ground stomping to lay a path for the future. The vast majority of people in NI don't want abortion on demand legalised here - but since London still has the final say so on some of our lawmaking, the "pro-choice" "anti-life-ers" figured they could over-rule what the majority think and push for the extension. How democratic. The subject never got aired because the schedules got fiddled and it'll take a while before it's raised again.

Now here's the thing. I don't feel like a second class citizen. If anything, I'm relieved that I live in a country where human life is still valued. I'm sorry, deeply sorry for all the women who find themselves with an unwanted, unplanned pregnancy. Whatever circumstances led to it, you have my sympathy if it's not where you want to be right now in your life. But you know the saying about two wrongs never making a right? Every action has a consequence and in your heart of hearts, you know that you need to do the right thing rather than the apparently easy thing. And don't be fooled, it's not the "quick fix" you want it to be.

So to the Diane Abbots and Evan Harrises of the world.... and the poor misguided souls in the "Alliance for choice" group in NI; you might just pause and reflect for a moment on the FACT that women in Northern Ireland DO have choices.....

• we can choose to educate our young women to value themselves,
• we can choose chastity outside of marriage,
• we can choose not to have unprotected sex,
• we can choose not to get out of our minds on booze or drugs so we're still capable of making wise decisions,
• we can choose to get ourselves medically seen to if we don't trust ourselves to make wise decisions,
• we can choose to remember that actions have consequences!
• we can choose to give our unwanted children to responsible adults who'll love them and care for them.

Boy do we have choices!

Northern Ireland's had enough slaughter in it's past for us to be sure we don't want it in our future. But here's the thing. The champions of "convenience" are not going to give up easily, so helmets on chums, there's a battle ahead!

Time to visit?

I feel the need today to say if you've never been to Northern Ireland before, then it's time you came to visit. This last weekend would have been a good time to come... the sun was sparkling on the waves and it smelled like spring, with a salty sea breeze. The hawthorn hedges are full of white blossom, the gorse is golden and smells of vanilla and the purple flowers (campanula?) in the stone planter beside the front door are chasing up the white walls. Just heavenly.