March in Photos

I have been really bad at blogging this past while - too many distractions I think - with the constant news and rumours and maybes and uncertainties it's hard to focus on anything.

So it's with delight I started hunting for photos for this month's scavenger hunt - a photo inspired by a word - organised by Kate at I Live, I Love, I Craft, I am Me  I love checking in on everyone else's photos and having a wee photo trip around the world.

Flat

The weather has been beautiful over the past week or so, albeit still very cold, and after an appointment I went for a stroll along the sea front in Newcastle - Co. Down.   This is my favourite place for an afternoon out - lovely coffee shops, nice boutiques, great public art and sculptures and the endless expanse of the Irish Sea which was very FLAT calm.  

Wheel

It took a while to find something for this -  I spotted an abandoned tyre on the beach in Newcastle - not very picture squeue but ... and then I thought of the bodhran (pronounced bow ron), the Irish drum that Tom plays.   Originally made from an old metal sieve which was covered with a goat skin, now the circle is wood, but the skin is still goat.

and this wee lad joined in for some of the songs at the session we ran on St Patrick's Day

Swing

I've shown this photo before here on the blog but it fascinated me and I went out most days to check on progress while we were in Denmark.    The swing of the man and woman to indicate whichever way the wind was blowing was like watching the birds ... and they'd work harder swinging the axe and saw the stronger the wind blew.

Ragged

This mountain is part of a pair - the Cock and Hen - I think this one's the Cock because of the comb on his head .... I loved the ragged tops of the mountains and the way the walls pull everything into a sense of order

Pot

Some crocuses in one of my pots a while back ... I've been collecting these ceramic mushrooms which make a lovely tinkling noise in the rain and wind.

My own choice

Back to Denmark for this one .... while we had an amazing run of concerts, a very special event will be my main memory of this trip .... In one of my earlier photos of the horses, the young woman leading the horses was looking a bit padded shall we say ... well she gave birth two days later and we got to meet the first grandchild of the house in its first hours in the world.   Wow!   She is so beautiful.   As any of you who read my blog regularly know, we don't have children, and I've never felt any loss or overwhelming desire and of course it's too late to do anything about that now... But seeing this little bundle sparked something in me which I hadn't experienced before.  I wish her so much luck and love and hope that this world will be kind to her - she certainly has a wonderful family around her.

Well that's it from me for this month - hopefully I'll be a bit more organised and regular with my posts in the coming months, but at least this monthly check in gives me a chance to say hello.

Head over to Kate's blog to check out some of the other photo entries and perhaps you fancy joining in yourself.