SWALLOWS

A few days ago I discovered these baby swallows in the shed. This is the second brood but I was expecting to see them in the same nest nest as the first lot, but I was very surprised when I saw that they had moved house.

This morning, 29th of August they left the nest. After a lot of excitement, flying around all day, they settled on the gutter in view of my living room window while their parents fed them for some time, and it was very entertaining indeed! My photos were taken through a rather dirty double glazed window – not the most ideal optical equipment, but I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity!

Due to the new editor on wordpress I have been unable to space out the photos, so I apologise that they are too close together. I am in fact most disgruntled with it, as I detest the new block editor, it’s too time consuming, and have attempted to use the old editor. However, it’s not so simple and I have been unable to use the editing techniques that I usually use. This is supposed to be the old one, but it isn’t! I’m very tempted to terminate my relationship with WordPress.

LEFT OF MOUNT BRANDON

On this walk we took a path to the left of Mount Brandon, a different side of the mountain from that my previous post. We had intended to go up Brandon but due to low cloud and skeins of foggy patches coming from the sea we thought it safer to not go to the top of the mountain.  I was secretly glad of this, to be honest, because I didn’t feel fit enough for the more challenging walk we might have taken.

 

 

The landmarks remained the same for much of the walk, but the clouds changed all the time.

 

 

 

This is how Brandon appeared as clouds rolled by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My guess at this story is that the farmer left this old vehicle here to use as storage for his fencing materials, and it was first vandalised by human eejits, and later attacked by multiple storms.

These two photos were taken in the same minute, and look how quickly the picture can change in this kind of weather.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We accidentally deviated from our path and arrived at this cliff edge, and sat for our picnic on the grassy slopes below, where I picked up a few sheep ticks – again!  There is Lyme disease here, but one can stay at home and be safe, or go out and take chances.  At least you can’t pass Lyme disease on to anyone else, unlike Covid-19.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, back down on low ground, and even on the correct route, just signposted with no obvious path.

A lovely walk with great views, and the foggy clouds even added to the beauty of the scenes. I hope you enjoyed the images.

Thanks for viewing my post. Please click on this tag for different views of Mount Brandon, photos and paintings on my website:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/tag/mount+brandon

BRANDON POINT

A lovely walk on the far side of the Connor Pass from Dingle, to Brandon Point on the edge of Mount Brandon, and up the hill from the car park. Beautiful views, well worth the journey, although negotiating the tourists on the pass is somewhat precarious in August.  Parts of this road are very narrow and winding, with overhanging rocks, and a steep drop on one side.

With the Connor Pass well behind, this is Cloghane Estuary

 

 

 

View from the car park at Brandon Point.

 

 

 

 

 

…and walking up the hill, looking at the views.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of 83 wartime (WW2) lookout posts around the coast of Ireland.

 

 

 

 

Jasmine and friends, a lovely bunch of people relaxing at the top of the hill beside the cairn.  You can sometimes meet the nicest people at the top of mountains!

 

Brandon Beach

 

On the journey back to the pass.

 

Home safe and sound after this enjoyable little bit of a hill walk. So nice to see the scenery at the other side of Brandon Mountain.

Next I have some photos to show of yet another side of Mount Brandon.  Here is a preview:

Thank you for your visit to my post, I hope you will join me again for my next post, coming soon.

Dingle Peninsula photos on my website:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c25–photos-of-dingle-peninsula

WILD GARDEN

Some more photos of the flowers and grasses in my wild garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for visiting my post. Please check out my wildflower category on my webiste:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c802-irish-wildflowers-photos

 

 

DAISIES AND BEES

Here is another set of photos of daisies and various bees and other insects. I’m finding daisies so photogenic I really enjoy photographing them.

 

These are also known as oxeye daisies, dog daisies and margaritas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I like to capture them against the blue walls of my house with the light shining through the blossoms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you enjoyed these images as much as I enjoyed capturing them. Thanks for visiting my post.

Enquiries about my photos can be made via my website

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c802-irish-wildflowers-photos

 

JUST DAISIES

Just daisies and a few visiting insects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for visiting my post. Please check out my Irish wildflower category on my website:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c802-irish-wildflowers-photos

 

 

 

ATLANTIC SUMMER

Photos on a walk from Clogher Beach to Cuas na nEighe (Cuas na Nae), on the wild Atlantic coast of the Dingle Peninsula, on the Souh West of Ireland. The sea pinks were just slightly past their best, after some stormy winds, but still looking pretty marvellous.

The Tiaracht is the triangular Island on the horizon above – one of the Blasket Islands group.

Above and below is Inis Tuaisceart, (AKA The Sleeping Giant) another of the Blasket Islands group.

Rough though it looks, the water was relatively calm for this area, on this day.

My walking companions hadn’t seen this spot before, they were enthralled!

I hope you have enjoyed my photos. Keep safe!

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c25–photos-of-dingle-peninsula

JUST CATTLE

I often take photos of cattle and other animals as I pass them in the fields.   Recently I met up with this herd of young ones all waiting at the gate of their field by the sea at Ventry Beach, as if they were expecting to go somewhere.

 

 

Cattle are often very curious and jostle and push to get a close look at the one-eyed (telescopic-eyed, zoom lensed)  stranger in front of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks so much for viewing my post.  I hope you all stay safe.

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c101-animals–birds-and-other-nature-photos

 

 

 

MORE WILD THINGS

Over the past week I have accumulated a number of more photos  of wild flowers and insects in the garden and beyond.  I am going a little further afield now and have some images of some coastal wildflowers as well as those in and around my garden.

Above are wild violas, very small flowers which are very common on the roadsides. Below are several photos of thrift, or sea pinks. They grow on cliffs overlooking the sea, and close by. The individual flowers are very tiny, but they grow in clusters and can be quite stunning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Below are white thrift, not so common as the pink variety. Don’t know the name of the above flower.

 

 

 

 

Escallonia above, not a wild flower but I love the bee – he’s so fluffy he’s almost cuddly!

 

I recently read on another person’s blog that dragon flies are scarce at this time of the year. Not sure where he lives but my garden is teeming with them, which I’m very happy about because they eat loads of midges and mosquitoes – yes we do have mosquitoes here, although some people think we don’t. I certainly know when I’ve been bitten by one!  Thankfully no malaria here.

 

 

 

 

I’m really not sure what flower this is. It’s very small and reminds me of an antirrhinum.

 

A hedge of primroses.

 

Common dandelions.

 

 

 

Above and below, herb robert.

 

Below, scarlet pimpernel, which looks rather orange when you see it on the ground. It’s a really tiny flower but the colour just sings out.

 

 

This fellow above looked like some kind of shield bug. He was hanging about on my window and I took this shot with my phone from the inside.  On reviewing the image later I was better able to see it.  He was not much more than 10mm long.

Irish wildflower photos available on my website:

https://www.helene-brennan.com/c802-irish-wildflowers-photos

I can receive enquiries through my website.

More soon. Thanks for visiting today, please come back. KEEP SAFE!

WILD THINGS

I heard recently of a number of Covid-19 cases in this area, within a couple of kilometers of my home. Mostly they are kept hush, hush, until it eventually leaks out. It really is uncomfortably close.  An employee of the shop that delivers my groceries was infected.  That’s very close!  Best not to dwell on it, but it’s a fact to be aware of.

I’m still continuing with exploring around the garden for subjects to photograph, in the absence of opportunities to go out and about on the beaches and cliffs etc., due to the Covid-19 restrictions.  These wild yellow rapeseed flowers are so attractive to bees that I happily encourage it in the garden. Currently there are apparently several varieties of bees around it.

 

 

 

 

The bee in the picture below looks different from the usual bee visitors.

I just love these fellows with their fancy hats below, ribwort plantain, they are called. They commonly grow wild all over the country, as far as I know. I would be delighted if someone could tell me their name.  As kids, we used to play a game with these, each child holding one by the stalk and trying to bash hell out of the head of the other’s to knock the head off.  At the time it never occurred to me that they were so pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

This poor butterfly appears to have had a lucky escape from some pair of claws or jaws, I think.

Above are wild bluebells by the roadside outside my home.

I don’t have a clue what type of insect is on the apple blossom above and below, it’s possibly some type of bee mimicking fly.

 

Buttercup with insect above. Below is some skinny type of fly, like a gnat, on a red currant bush.

 

Wild primroses above.

Wild daisies colonising the rockery, choking out a delicate campanula. I’ve left it for now, being such a pretty flower.

Captured through the double glazed window. Not an ideal method for wildlife photography, but good to record the images of the birds on the patio feeder.

 

 

 

 

Below is another recording of garden birdsong.  The picture brightens when you click it. The purpose of the video is to play the sounds of birdsong in the garden. You can see the Atlantic Ocean in the distance, yet with a northerly wind the sound of the incoming waves, normally nice to hear, makes a louder hiss than desirable on these recordings. I’m surprised at just how sensitive the camera recorder is.

And just to end this post I would just like to mention that I saw my first swallow of the year today! It’a great to see them return.

STAY SAFE!