Stuff of Myth…

I went for a walk in the woods one day… and was seduced by a faerie. Or was it three? I don’t know… their magic dust bewitched me…

A fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)

To Catch a Thief Catching a Moment?

Yesterday, I showed you Sunday evening’s sunset view of the Papal Cross in Phoenix Park. There we were sitting, minding our own business… admiring the the sunset. My good lady had parked the car in the exact spot for a reason. Her dear self could snap away without getting out of the car. Then… one of the cyclists who’d parked to our left for a number of minutes, promptly decided to move to a better vantage point. Fortunately, she moved herself just as I was about to protest… but, not before I had a shot of the good lady getting a shot of the one obstructing our view getting a shot!

The Afterglow

On Sunday evening we took a drive through Dublin’s Phoenix Park. The weather hadn’t been too kind for most of the day but the sunset promised to be pleasant so we thought we’d position ourselves near the Papal Cross and wait a while to see if Ma Nature would bless us with one of her specials. We weren’t disappointing in the least!

Continue the Quest!

I have a feeling I’ll continue questing a little longer this week. I mean… as I mentioned the other day… my dreams fuel my quests. Or, was that my quests fuel my dreams? Both! Today’s photo really fits. It always amazes me where one can find truth. This bit of encouragement I snapped on the walk along the North Bull Island sea wall. Yes, I agree… scribbling on walls is not really the thing to do but it gave me the idea for today’s post… so, this once, I’ll forgive the perpetrator!

No mater what your long-term quests are… just put your mind to completing this week’s steps along the path toward your quest… and the rest should fall into place!! Have fun… enjoy your Monday!

FIERCE!

1. having or displaying a violent or ferocious aggressiveness.

“fierce fighting continued throughout the day”

Synonyms:

ferocious, savage, vicious; wild, feral, untamed, undomesticated; aggressive, bloodthirsty, dangerous; cruel, brutal, murderous; menacing, threatening, terrible, grim
“a fierce black mastiff”

aggressive, cut-throat, competitive; keen, intense, strong, relentless
“they are facing fierce competition from American firms”

fierce: adverb

IRISH informal

very; extremely.

“he was fierce proud”

Now there you have it! You want fierce… you can have fierce! If I was still living on the wide open African plains about every one of the adjectives would’ve come into play… often. Imagine a stroll through one of the national parks. Imagine just being out in the midday summer sun. However, I no longer have to fear the fierceness of Africa. Here in Ireland the word takes on a totally different meaning. Well, most of the time…

Storms are still fierce… that they are! Lashing waves and driving rain… winds ripping the wild horses right off the top of the waves… fierce wild, I’ll have you know! So… that get’s me to the next meaning of the word. Here, in Ireland it can mean a number of things but basically it boils down to one strong affirmative synonym for VERY!

If I’m very happy… then I’m fierce happy… if I still have a long way to go then it’s fierce far! If I’m very thirsty… I’m fierce thirsty. When I’m angry… I’m not merely totally angry… I’m fierce MIFFED!  OK, you get my drift… well, at this stage, I should think so!

However, the core concept of the word usually has an elevated meaning… describing a lady’s beauty… so, as you’ve guessed… walking down a Dublin street you may hear snippets like this…

…she’s fierce stylish, no… she’s fierce hot… fierce ugly… fierce sexy… fierce glamorous… fierce whatever!!

OK… I’ll go before you think I’m getting fierce bold with all of this carry-on!

Quest!

Life is a quest! Yes… if you don’t treat it like a quest you’d become bored and give up! Yes… I’m always on a quest. If I’m not I may as well give up! There are new species of butterflies to be captured (on camera) and recorded. There are social ills to address. If you know me just even a little you will know I hate socialism and all that goes with it! Including unions and the devilry they get paid to be up to!

Mostly though, I’m on a quest for the better! Parenting, husbanding… grand fathering… these are all quests! If you don’t make it a quest it will be a boring activity… and by now you know what you get when it gets boring… you may just as well give up! Photography is a quest! Night photography is a quest that I feel I’ll most likely be on for the rest of my life! I dream of capturing great thunderstorms at sea… in the night! I dream of capturing the Milky Way under a black Kalahari sky!

I dream…

My quests fuel my dreams… my dreams fuel my quests!!

Thanks Cheri, you’ve just given me fuel for a new quest!

Fickle Friday Fact

I’m still miffed. Yes… you may say I seemed to have jinxed myself. Could it be that by putting the Twitter link on the blog that I’ve scared away most of my regular visitors? Seems only the real diehards are still managing to tolerate my humour. Mind you… I’m reminded of a post I did last week about the very reason for keeping on… if you’re not smiling then it’s time for me to go!

Let’s stay in the museum a little longer. One of the large-scale works by the Irish wood turner, Emmet Kane. I really enjoyed the light play on the wall. The pearlescent blue changes mood and tone as one walks about the piece. Visual interplay with the mind…

Oh well… ’tis Friday again – may you have a great one… remember, don’t do what I wouldn’t!

Thundering Thursday!

Yes… thundering Thursday! I’ve long been looking for an excuse to use the title and now I may just have one! Or two…

You see… it seems yesterday’s post bombed! Yes… splattered all over the sidewalk… splosh! That left me in a bit of a mood… you could say the clouds gathered above my head… and opened! So… now I have a feeling of damp… and a scold on my face… something similar to the fellow I’m featuring today. He greeted us politely when we entered the military exhibit at the museum. Charming… about how I feel on Thundering Thursday!

PS – Ol’ timer… 1584 and counting!

PPS – Ireland must have been a warm place back then… warm and green. Imagine walking about barefoot!

PPPS – Or, could he be holding up someone to get a few pounds for a new outfit?

The Happy Snapper’s Point and Shoot!

Imaging going off to the museum, just like we did yesterday… for a stroll around and to take a few snaps with your point and shoot. We found ourselves fascinated by the many things on show. Most of all, the evolving change in behaviour and cultural attitude was plain to see. There is a whole section dedicated to the Irish soldier in the last few hundred years. I commented that it seems you would find an Irishman in almost any campaign or army, anywhere on earth, on any side of the fight!

I will do a bit more on that in a later post but for now… how about I show you the handy little point and shoot the folk in the early 20th century has at their disposal when going to the museum for a bit of a look-see

I’m now a-Twittering!

Yes… I have finally succumbed to the Twitter thing! Those who know me know I don’t get many of the social media platforms. I don’t get Facebook… I have an account but it drives me to distraction. I have a Flickr account… as you can see in the right widget bar. I have a Tumblr feed so all my OMBH posts go there too. I don’t get these platforms. To me… they’re just an annoying waste of time… well, most of the time.

The Twitter account, by the way… Senior Son opened for me in March 2013! Yes, more than 3.5 years ago. At that time there was a very specific reason. I was in the process of planning a charity walk so I wanted the option of placing live updates. Thanks to statins, the ol’ legs packed in so the walk never happened.

OK… now I have the thing activated again. Why, I don’t really know but this weekend I was messing around with a few ideas and a song popped into my head… the Rolling Stones, Mother’s Little Helper. That got me thinking… I wonder if they’ve ever done Pappa’s lil helper?? I searched high and low for an e-mail address but in the end I tweeted the question on their feed. Now I wonder… will I ever know the answer?

OK, ok… you can now follow my every move… on Twitter. Later in the month I may suggest another reason for activating the dormant account but for now… let’s just say it’s an experiment in real-time communication… real-time banging the drums!

PS – If you’re wondering about the photo… so am I! I passed it by and it said… you want real-time.. place me! So I obliged…

PPS – If you’re wondering… I so don’t get Twitter that I’m prone to call it twatter… so, maybe now I’ve taken to twattering!!! Take that as you may…

Happy Monday – Third Time Lucky

I don’t know if you noticed the little slip I made while compiling yesterday’s gallery? I did and was about to rectify it when I thought…

“You know what? Let’s just leave it and see if the good folk out there spot the error of my ways…”

Yesterday, at some point, the thought dawned that I could turn the error to my benefit… by concocting a post to capitalise on the mistake. I mean… if a photo get’s into a gallery two days in a row you may forgive me for thinking it just may deserve a third time lucky post of its own. So… this must indeed be the most publicised bumblebee in history. Well, at least for this blog.

Happy Monday… may your week be filled with joy and happiness!

PS – if you’re wondering when the photo first made it onto the blog… it seems it may have been 09 Dec 2015. Seems winter was getting to me at that stage… as it most often does!

Seasonal – Splendour!

Yesterday I used all four the seasonal tags… just for the fun. So, when Ailsa’s travel challenge arrived I was well on the way to having a plan for today’s post… and guess what? You’re getting another gallery… but, this time the photos will only include one of the four tags or maybe a direct derivative. I mean… I’m sure you’ll allow me to use snow instead of winter? Won’t you?

Taking a Break!

This week, WordPress is taking a break from the regular photo challenge. I thought I should follow suit, until I remembered that I’m supposed to have my own challenge going… a daily post from now until I stop doing daily posts. Who knows when that will be?

When this self challenge began it was supposed to keep me occupied for a year. Then, on the morning I’d completed year one I proudly announced to my good lady that the challenge was over. No, she said… how could you let down the folk who have been kind enough to spend their time visiting and supporting your blog?

So… here’s my reason for keeping going. If I manage to help just one person smile every day I have achieved the goal. Some days it may only be me… yes, when I whinge and rant it helps get the pressure off just a little… resulting in one corner of the mouth lifting ever so slightly.

OK… here’s the deal. A hearty THANK YOU for all your support. I really do hope you find that smile when you visit. If you don’t find it then please let me know so that I can halt proceedings! So… what’s today photo? How about a gallery of some of the photos I’ve used for other weekly photo challenges? OK… I got a tad carried away…

OK… just in case you’re wondering… this is my 2022nd consecutive post… that equates to about 5.5 years. A good few smiles, I believe! Thanks again!!

Friday Fact? The Liffey Flows Downhill!

Yes… I kid you not. Most of the time the river flows downhill, especially where these photos were taken. If you look closely you’ll see the water tumbling over the weir. If I’m not mistaken, this is the last weir on the river so, below here the river can potentially flow uphill, during storm spring tides! I reckon that’s why the weir was placed at this exact location.

And off they go… after re-floating the boat. Yes, they are going upstream and have just completed the portage of the weir. All a whole lot of fun in the name of entertainment and sport. Well, maybe if you’re young and haven’t quite worked out that there are better things to do in life… like becoming a Francophile and eating the great cheeses to be found in your own backyard. This is just what Osyth did for a living. Passion and oh well, more passion! Mind you… I’m still wondering if she’ll share her story about the connection with boats?

Guess what? It’s Friday again… may you have a great one and an even better weekend!

PS – Please still keep checking your spam boxes… yes, those virtual trash cans that you possess… I think WP are still chucking some of my bits in there… just for the fun!

Tangential Thursday – TV Smashing!

So gratifying to read of a writer who kept at it and turned into a bestselling author!

My first (unpublished) novel is much the same… historical adventure… more that 125K words… shelved because no one wants to look! Anyway… I have sufficient ideas for sequels/ part two/ three…

Now… I’m not going to ask for any tips or advice… merely for the short story site where Andrew placed that first story. You see, I write them too and have a few to contribute, wherever I can! I also want to live on a boat… along the European canal system! Imagine all those tales!!

Thanks for a great post!!

LinkedIn has a way of leading to strange thought-provokers. The above is a comment I posted on a fellow blogger’s site. A blogger who I would never have discovered if it weren’t for a post on LI by a contact who I don’t know how we found each other in the first place. So… it must be that Lady Serendipity wants to throw me a bone, again! Thanks Debra for sending me off on this tangent… and for getting me in the mood for smashing a few TV’s!

No… I’ve not thrown my TV into the Liffey… that will be pollution. I took this photo a few months ago… just as proof that litter seems to be quite acceptable here in the first world!

A quick update: Please continue checking your spam folders… WP may throw this post in there as well as I’ve included three links… frustrating!

Both Debra and Andrew have made contact… very positive stuff!!