"Everything that is Picturesque"

Quick! We have but a second,

fill round the cup, while you may;

For Time, the churl, hath beckoned,

And we must away-away.

--Thomas Moore

There is a close relationship between the Celtic knot and nature, each reminding us of the timeless dimensions of our spirit. And so, it seems, that life--with its various strands--extends beyond the blog, into infinity.

The title for this post comes from Jane Tomalin's award-winning biography of Samuel Pepys, The Unequalled Self, about the man who kept a daily diary way back in the 1660's so that he could experience life three times: as it happened; when he wrote about it; and while he read what he had written.

A role model for all True Bloggers.

According to Tomalin, Pepys sought to write about "everything that is picturesque." Ireland, along with my experience therein, embodies this quality.

Thanks, dear and faithful readers, for following these strands interwoven within and throughout my journey in pictures.

Rambling Rose

July/August 2008

Wabi Sabi

From the Buddhist tradition, the term wabi sabi reflects Japanese aesthetic values as it "nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect."

This collection of images, ideas, and reflections seeks to express imperfectly some of the magic that I experienced in a faraway land.

(Quotation above from Richard Powell, Buddhist scholar).

Gravitational Pull of the Actual

A bit of wildness in our own backyard.

Home again.

" . . . you can be surprised by your own place."

--Rosita Boland, "A Secret Map of Ireland"

In his essay, "The Redress of Poetry," Seamus Heaney reminds us that the counter-reality of poetry can only be fully imagined within "the gravitational pull of the actual."

And so reality and actuality beckon: with the full recollection of the counter-reality suggested by the name of the town of Newbliss, near Annamakherrig, where I once spent lovely summer days and nights.

"Summer afternoon--Summer afternoon . . . the two most beautiful words in the English language."

--Henry James

"Poetry is not a luxury."

--Audre Lord

Leave Taking

I left the woods for as good a reason as I went there. Perhaps it seemed to me that I had several more lives to live, and could not spare more time for that.

--Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Reflections upon Emergent Occasions

One of John Donne's most important and haunting prose works, Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, was composed in less than a month during an illness. Donne divided his book into twenty-three sections, each consisting of a meditation, an expostulation, and a prayer.

My meditations and reflections are not in any way as profound as John Donne's,

but I did gain pleasure from the discipline of making regular, almost daily, reflections on what was happening in my life for a short period of time during an unusual circumstance--in a land that was both new and old for me.

The term "emergence" as it is used today refers to how objects and patterns arise from simple interactions in ways that are surprising. Every day in Ireland--as well as in my preparations and my subsequent reflections--was full of the quality of "surprisingness." These entries and images are one way to record and remember these epiphanies.

Something the Same

My friend and colleague Madison Dotson opened her photography exhibition this evening. In her work, she documents the everyday lives of the people of North Georgia, where she grew up, and in Hawaii, where she recently visited. As Katherine Mitchell, artist extraordinaire, commented tonight, "everything looks so familiar" in Madison's work.

I have learned many things from Madison, including this idea of documentation of the familiar, of everyday reality. In fact, Madison is my blog mentor. (Check out her amazing blog at http://www.curio-abyss.com/). She gave me the idea, and she taught me the basics before my trip to Ireland. Some of her work is pictured here, along with photographs of Madison alone--and enjoying an artistic lunch moment with Anna Leo, great and good friend and dedicated blog reader. My wholehearted blog thanks to Madison and Anna.

Partial Eclipse

As we learn from James Joyce, life is full of little and big epiphanies. On my last day at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annamakherrig there was a partial eclipse. I tried to capture the moon covering a portion of the sun through the reflections in the nearby lake. All of life, if we are to consider Plato as well as Joyce, is a reflection of reality.

For two weeks, with an eclectic assortment of artists, writers, thinkers and creative spirits, I had the opportunity to reflect on numerous epiphanies. What follows are some of the images of this experience, including a morning spent with Seamus Heaney and a week of travel with my husband in recognition of our 32nd anniversary.

This experience was both an epiphany and a partial eclipse--with just enough Irish music, beer, and poetry to remind me that life is lived in the layers as well as in the moments of transcendence.

From Berlin to Belfast

By way of a Black Taxi Tour in Belfast, we saw the images created by both Catholics and Protestants to depict their struggles, their dreams, their stories.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to spend a week in Berlin.

There I saw the art work and grafitti that now covering lengthy portions of the Berlin wall.

In both Berlin and Belfast, I observed the human drive for meaning, place, and justice find expression through public imagery.

The Literary Life

Here you see me sharing a private moment with W.B. Yeats during our road trip to Sligo, the place that inspired much of his haunting poetry.

In addition, I had the opportunity to meet with Seamus Heaney (see below), to visit to the house of Nora Barnacle, wife and muse of James Joyce, in Galway, to participate in a literary pub crawl in Dublin, and to follow the Bronte pathway alongside the homeland of Patrick Bronte, father of those brilliant Bronte girls. Across Ireland, I explored the scenery that has inspired poets, novelists, singers, and artists of all descriptions.

Ron's Irish Vacation

After being upgraded to Business Elite, on our way home, and in Belfast at the famous and historical Crown Saloon:

Visiting the Guinness Storehouse, checking the weather, viewing the scenic sights, finding the nearest pub, snapping pictures . . .

Riding "the Wheel" in Belfast, enjoying the gracious hospitality of the "Irish Cousins". . . relishing Irish music (click on the title to this post to hear "Finnegan's Wake," one of Ron's favorite Irish songs)--


Well . . . someone had to change the tire on the car, after going around and around (and around) all of those roundabouts numerous times.

Surely it was worth it, just to spend some time with me!