We've spent the half term holidays back in the green
heart of Ulster where I grew up, and they were a bit of a treat. The sun shone,
the hawthorn bloomed, the beech trees burst out the fresh green of
their new foliage and, beneath perfect blue skies, it felt like warm,
glorious summer. When the sun shines over here in God’s Own Country, there’s
nowhere else quite like it on earth.
We’ve gone for long walks around our
favourite lakes. South Tyrone and neighbouring Monaghan are full of charming
little lakes, fed with run-off from the surrounding hills. We’ve added a new
one to the collection this trip. A cousin of my father’s suggested we try Emy
Lough, just outside of Emyvale in County Monaghan. And it didn’t disappoint.
It was a hot day, the day we went, and the trout were
jumping, casting rings of ripples through the shallows. Anglers were waist-deep
in the water, throwing their rods back and forth to cast flies to tempt them. Try as I might, however, I couldn’t manage to catch any of those jumping
fish with my camera. Although Emi did catch this little chap wandering along
the path all on his lonesome. The WonderDog was very keen to play with him, but
we sent him on his way safely through the long grass by the lakeshore, and out
of reach of the inquisitive snouts of the local pooches.
As we walked around we came to a spot where
the water was perfectly calm and still, and it seemed as though the fluffy
white clouds had fallen out of the sky and into the lake. We all paused to gasp at how surreal it looked.
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| Lough Emy, County Monaghan |
We found some perfect dog daisies, and Emi
posed with Grandma for a silly photo or two, both of them wearing daisies
behind their ears. He pulled a few funny faces and larked around with his
daisy, and a little part of me was thankful that he could still be persuaded to wear a flower and humour me with a silly photo. My little man
is growing up, but I hope he’ll always be playful at heart.
On other days we walked around other lakes
and fed ducks. Grandma is especially proud of these ducks and brings some
birdseed with her every time she comes to give them a treat. The result of all
this loving attention on her part is a honking guard of honour as soon as she
steps out of her car. It’s totally epic (as Emi would say). Just watch where
you tread ...
Feeding the ducks quickly became one of
those small commonplace delights that Emi has come to love when he visits his
grandparents. It’s always impressed me how all
children instinctively love animals. It seems to me that they come into this world hard-wired to respect nature, and they only get messed up when we set them a bad
example.
A weather system coming in from the North
Sea left the Eastern side of the UK with quite a lot of bad weather, but over
here in the West we were sheltered by the rest of the country and enjoyed long balmy
days. The sun sets later here than it does back in London, making summer
evenings go on forever – in a good way!
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| White Lough, County Tyrone |
Some afternoons we took deck chairs out
onto the lawn and sat knitting whilst Emi and the WonderDog raced around
watching the farmers who were all crazy busy cutting silage in the good weather.
Emi loves to hitch a ride on those great big tractors that everyone seems to
drive these days.
The garden was glorious. My mum’s lilac,
rhododendron and azalea bushes were all in bloom. Between them there was a
riot of colour. Great fat bumblebees buzzed happily from flower to flower. And
the air was sweet with the scent of lilac and a honeysuckle azalea. It really
was the perfect place to sit and enjoy the moment.
My father took Emi for long walks through
the beech forest. The fresh green of the young leaves was a striking contrast
from how they’d looked when we passed that way in the heady days of autumn.
For some reason there were loads of beetles
beetling around, which delighted Emi. I’m not so mad about them, but even I
have to admit that this guy looks like a serious player.
We found wild violets growing along the
sides of the path, where the light filtered down through the branches above.
I was delighted to find some miniature
anemones growing on a mossy bank. They really were the most delicate little
pixie flowers. The normal, larger anemones have all been and gone with their
flowers, but these little chaps were still holding their bloom.
Grandpa took a special delight in the banks
of wild strawberries, which were sporting masses of pure white flowers. He
happily anticipated the crop that was to come. Last year he was disappointed
when they didn’t do so well, but he’s got high hopes for later in the summer. It’s
a funny business: some years are better than others.
The bluebells had largely gone, but there
were still banks of perfect blue speedwell.
A frog had laid her eggs in a deep puddle
by the side of the forest track. It’s one of those puddles that would go over your wellingtons if you tried to walk through it, so I’m hopeful that it’s
not going to dry out before these chaps are able to hop away safely.
Emi was enthralled and wanted to adopt a few to take home, but we all said no! Better leave them where they were in the hope that they'd grow up and live in the perfect conditions of the forest floor.
We marvelled at the complex geometry of the
dandelion clocks. In days of old Emi would simply have been content to blow
away the seed and tell the time, but these days he understands clocks and he’s
got more complicated thoughts. He wondered whether they were the inspiration
for the biospheres down in Cornwall at the Eden Project. I don’t know the
answer to that one, but it would be lovely if they were.
He looked from the bright yellow dandelions
to the fluffy dandelion clocks and then to the stalks that were left when the
seed had all blown away. We talked about the circle of life, how everything and
everyone has their day, and how everything that we see before us will one day
pass. In any other setting the conversation would have seemed a tad maudlin,
but there, in the open with the fresh breeze of the forest and the renewed
green of the leaf canopy, it felt like a normal conversation that did
nothing more than state the obvious reality that surrounded us.
One day on our travels we came upon a bank
of turf that was being cut. Emi’s seen turf being cut before, and he’s savoured
the lovely aroma of an open turf fire on a cold winter’s evening, but it’s
still special when you come upon a scene like this.
On so many occasions we startled rabbits.
The WonderDog was keen to give chase, but we kept him on his lead. The baby bunnies are just too cute at this time of year.
All things told we didn’t do anything very
glitzy. We didn’t put on any fine clothes or spend a mountain of money on any
sophisticated entertainment. It was a simple time, enjoying the special rhythms
of the season, connecting with nature and cherishing the special bonds of
family. In a single word, it was perfect.
All the best for now,
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