June 20 Creative Nudge:
I'd like you to stand here on the Cliffs of Moher with me, and breathe in the salty ocean air.
Off to the right, a lone tower keeps watch over the sea. Off to the left in the distance, the undulating 700 foot high cliffs stretch out to a thin peninsula, with another stone sentinel tower visible through the humid haze.
Below to the left, gulls circle and cry out, then land in their cliffside nests on rocky shelves. If you stand in just the right spot, you can spy a colony of sea lions at the base of the cliff, and you can hear their high-pitched barking echoing up the stone walls.
Behind us along the pedestrian path, a woman with auburn hair in a wine-red dress plays the Celtic Harp. Her crisp plucking and rolling arpeggios are carried to us by the sea breeze.
Are you there with me yet?
We usually think of green when we think of Ireland, but I came away from this trip with shades of gray. The gray of the stone walls, the medieval ruins, the castle stones and the cathedral walls….and the heavy gray clouds hanging low and full of rain.
The Irish shades of gray are made all the more beautiful because they are the neutral dark backdrop for the pinkish-purple rhododendrons, the amethyst digitalis, the white Queen Anne's Lace and cream-colored sheep, and a hundred shades of green!
On a couple days of the trip, we were blessed with soft blue skies, and aquamarine seas. Along the seaside villages, boats and pubs in Firehouse Red and Cobalt Blue, competed with Sun Yellow, Periwinkle and Peacock Teal… softened with grey stones, brown thatched roofs, and earthy red bricks.
The modern Irish (Gaelic) word for Ireland is ?ire, named after the matron goddess of the island. In the days when the Celtic tribes prayed to the goddess, they doubtless celebrated the Summer Solstice – the longest day of the year – which is today. (June 20)
For those of you living in very high Northern latitudes, you may not have much nighttime at all tonight! For those of you in the Southern hemisphere (hello to all of our friends Down Under!) you are marking the Winter Solstice and the longest night of the year.
The more we travel and meet new friends around the globe, the smaller our world becomes. As I post more images from Ireland on my photo pages, I hope to share some of the magic of our experience on the Emerald Isle.
Happy Solstice – North and South – Summer and Winter. May you mark the turning of the seasons with a quilt on your lap, surrounded by those you love.
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