hope lives

could be ireland on Flickr.

yes, that is a hint of mountains in the background. take a moment. you’ll see it.

liquid leaves on Flickr.

connemara, shrouded *photo taken by beth mercer

i wrote a story set in these hills years before i ever saw them for myself. and since the day i drove through it was overcast and misty - i feel like i haven’t yet truly seen them… next time.

[this was taken in 2005. in 2009, i did return and spend time in connemara. a lovely, mysterious place.]

sligo sheep
*photo taken by beth mercer

killarney stairs *photo taken by beth mercer

i have always loved path and stair pictures - that perfect depiction of the unknown’s allure. i remember turning from the waterfall to hike back up to the parking lot and seeing this as the path. of course. even a necessity can be magical in ireland.

blue net *photo taken by beth mercer

donegal, ireland. with my friend, marilyn.
saw this fishing gear laid out on the docks.
this fabulously blue netting, sprawling in heaps.
a dream.

slane hill *photo taken by beth mercer

oral tradition says that st. patrick lit a paschal fire on this hill top in 433 in defiance of the high king laoire who forbid any other fires while a festival fire was burning on the hill of tara, which is about 16 km away. logaire was so impressed by patrick’s devotion that, despite his defiance (or perhaps because of it), he let him continue his missionary work in Ireland. [wikipedia]

tiny and bursting

i had no desire to take pictures today, until i passed this little one.
i actually laughed aloud with joy.

tiny tree seemed to be thrusting blooms out on tiny arms,
soaking in the sun and singing.

i told myself, it was enough to just see.
in the end, i turned around and went back.

i think she was glad i did.

a little heart

an autumn valentine

i heart redbuds

day thirty |  otis the elevator & all the friends (some even meeting for the first time) who squeezed in to help make a move possible. + my garage which is big enough to hold things that need to be stored for safekeeping. + the trunk release inside my unlocked car that kept me from having to pay a locksmith (& the person smart enough to remind me of its existence!). whew. what a day. what a month.

#thanksq30 #30daysofthankscomplete

day twenty-nine |  a friend who stops by mid-workday to bring you a pumpkin soy latte and make you laugh, even when she’s in the midst of her own tough day. reminds me of what cslewis writes towards the end of mere christianity about the ‘new men’—

“already the new men are dotted here and there all over the earth…every now and then one meets them. their very voices and faces are different from ours: stronger, quieter, happier, more radiant. they begin where most of us leave off…they do not draw attention to themselves. you tend to think you are being kind to them when they are really being kind to you. they love you more than other men do, but they need you less…they will usually seem to have a lot of time: you will wonder where it comes from.”

#thanksq29 #pshappybirthdaycslewis!