The December 20th Fog - 2019 . . .

December 20th, 2019, saw the village enveloped in one of the worse fogs for years . . .

but at Clonagam, there was warm, brilliant sunshine all day,

with day-long fog over the Clódagh Valley.

Maureen P. heading home from shopping.

At the bridge, not much sign of life, except those two birds looking on!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         The Clódagh river, on left, and canal to
the
Cottonmill.

Foggy area in the Clódagh valley.

Stone Circlefrom the distant past,
or what?

Looking north towards Sliabh na mBan.

End of series.
A single left-click on any image will show an enlarged copy!

la Poer Tower

A memorial to Marcus Beresford (1771-1783), died in a riding accident;                                            erected in 1785 by his father, George de la Poer Beresford (1735-1800).                                                                                                       

Beannachtaí na Nollag 2019

BORED TRAVEL warning . . .

FALLEN LEAVES

                                                                                                                                                           There may be few leaves left on trees just now,

but you might get great images right at your feet!

Here can be see a Sycamore leaf lying on Acer leaves.

Both trees from the same family!
Sycamore = Seiceamar =  Acer pseudoplatanus.
The small Acer leaves above may be - Acer Palmatum

The Guilcagh Field 2015

TODAY'S NON-STOP RAIN!

If you think today's rain is bad,

spare a thought for the clever architect 

who decided to build St. Patrick's Church on a hillside!!!

'THE LADY'

Having another look at 'Her Ladyship'!

Winter Colours!

WINTER COLOURS
Yes, Winter colours, taken on Clonagam Road on November 4th.

Fallen leaves everywhere, slightly prematurely,
caused by some recent very windy periods and heavy rain,
now clogging roadside streams, etc.
resulting in much of the autumn foliage having disappeared early.

This scene apast Tower Hill cottages
was much more colourful seven to ten days earlier.

However,by changing position
and using landscape mode,
it was still possible to  capture
a little of the colour
normally experienced at this time.

At ground level, colourful foliage was still to be seen

in plenty because of the shelter. 

While ferns are usually at their best
at this time,
most are now a dull brown;
but in this more open area,
they still looked great despite
the reduction from dark  green,

For better images, move in closer . . . 

                                                                                                                                                                                                   . . . and isolate small clusters of leaves,
using a wide aperture on your camera, if such facility is available,
If you can use a portrait setting, this will also show an unsharp background.
(Aperture here was f5.6, as I did not have a wider option). 

Finally, the farther your subject is from the background,
and the darker and 'less busy' the background is,
the more prominent will be the important part of your image.

"Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,"

"O wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being,
Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead
are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing; "

Yellow, and black, and pale and hectic red,
Pestilence-stricken multitudes;"

With acknowledgements to Percy Bysshe Shelley, 1792-1822

Oidhche Shamhna - Halloween 2019

.. . and one of the murkiest nights of the year, so  far!

Anything could happen,
and remember . . . 
even the devil was once an angel!

The Portlaw Knotweed Problem!

Two images from the Clonagam Road taken on Sept 26th last:

Above:  Roadside Knotweed looking very healthy . . .

. . . and some of it with beautiful autumn colours;

but the good news is that much of it has wilted considerably since, obviously due to spraying!

SCAMS GALORE!

also ones titled

"System Warning - Your PC is infected",
"AIB - Claim your Bonus", 

"Virus Alert" and "Caution".

and the very latest purporting to be from SuperValu, the opening text of which reads:

Like every Tuesday we randomly give 10 users fantastic prizes. The prize of today is: Samsung Galaxy S10+! Only 10 lucky users who live in Ireland will be the winners!

This survey is carried out in order to improve the service to our users.

You only have 1 Minute and 00 Seconds, to participate.

Hurry up! There is a limited number of prizes!

......................................

Another today, October 15th from:

https://techembark.club/ie/

saying:

Congratulations!!

Today October 15, 2019 you have been randomly selected to participate in this survey. It will only take you a minute and you will have the chance to receive a prize: a Samsung Galaxy S10+. etc., etc.

.......................................................................................................................................................

Coffee Morning 2019

Coffee Morning, an annual national event,

at the SVP Centre,

showing the two organisers and some of the contributors.

Rocketts' Castle, Hotel & Estate

A wonderful afternoon was held yesterday, Saturday, September 14th,

at local Rocketts' Castle, Hotel and Estate,

when a specially invited number of people were present to experience

the delightful Hotel, its new Tea Rooms and its beautiful surroundings,

on an equally beautiful day.

The historic house, recently converted to a hotel,

aroused the most interest, especially among many photographers present,

including Carrick Camera Club members.

The Tea Room large extension,

viewed from the serving area.

The proprietor of Rocketts' Castle Hotel and estate, Mr. Thomas Driver, 

and staff, outside the Tea Room.

Local equine business-man, Jimmy Keane, in conversation with Frances Shanahan, former Radio Éireann reporter. 

Lucy Danagher and her mother Ann Power (née Maher), at the Tea Rooms,

descendants of the Medlycott family, earlier inhabitants of Rocketts' Castle estate.

See four Medlycott memorials on walls of Clonegam Church, on a post on this site titled:

Clonagam Church Interior part 2.
One left click on each image will show an enlarged version.
Search Box under header for this site.

The ancient castle
seen here from under one of the many
fine parkland trees.

                                                                                                                                                               The Fishing Lodge,

situated between the house and the River Suir.

Big attraction of the day

was a display by S.A.R.D.A.,

Search and Rescue Dogs Association,

from Wales and England.

It was a pleasure to converse there with

the team from Denbigh, North Wales,

a place I have visited in the past!

A videographer was recording

all the goings-on,

as were quite a few

photography enthusiasts.  

                                    Present too were members of the Irish Coast Guard.

The events included some show-jumping,

but I failed to record everything!

                                                                                                                                                        Another of the fine, mature parkland trees.

The ancient castle . . . . from A.D. 1212 approx!

Frontal view of the house.

Looking ceiling-wise 

in the Tea Room.

                                 

Mr.  Driver, once again, who made a point of introducing himself 

and conversing with most of those attending, seen here with staff members

in the well-equipped Tea Room.

Thanks to Miss Shirley Power,
from whom I received the invitation
to attend!
Much appreciated by members of Carrick Camera Club and myself.

                                                                                                                                                               You can read all about the estate's 'colourful' history at:

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/new-to-market/russian-oligarch-s-waterford-bolthole-and-polo-ground-for-6m-1.3210275

which is dated September 7th 2017.