December 10, 2005
Natural incense
You don't see much wild meadow anymore. The demands of silage production - two cuts per year - have reduced much of Ireland's grassland to unrelenting green carpet. When I lived in suburbia, I was even reduced to buying packets of wildflower seeds in a futile effort to recreate the colour and scent of wild meadow. But there are still places where you can wander through a variety of grasses and flowers that has remained unchanged for centuries.
I wandered among the small fields and paddocks of Inish Mor in mid July. It's not just the means of production that preserves an old tradition - I watched one farmer use a fork to rake hay into reeks - but the fields too. The variety of grasses and flowers is visually pleasing but better still is the scent. The air all over the island was drenched with the fragrance of clover in particular - it is the most natural of incence, and for me, the natural scent of the countryside.
The pictures are of a pair of Stonechats (Saxicola rubetra). They have a distinctive call - a sort of metallic chik chik sound. Unlike humanity, it is the male of the species that is the good looking one - the female has to make do with brown drab.
galway, ireland, irishblogs,monasette
Posted by Monasette at December 10, 2005 10:00 PM
I wrote a few minutes ago and a thing popped up to say an error had occurred. So I hope I'm not repeating myself. This is not about anything in particular except to say that I look at a lot of blogs and photoblogs and think yours easily the most interesting. Your writing is as engaging as your photography. Your love of the land shines through it all. And although your scholarship is lightly worn, it's clear that a lot of research goes into what you write. The links you give us are invariably interesting. I could wish that all the beautiful places in the world had loving advocates like you. So this is really just a thank you -- and a strongly felt hope that you will keep on keeping on.
Posted by: Michael at December 15, 2005 11:20 PM