This was fun! The reason for its was to test the machine and to play with taking pictures of bubbles! The Parish Picnic is coming up in early June and this provides a fun background to the celebrations.
Being a Day Off I took the opportunity to experiment with a photo editing programme to create the collage. There may be more of those in the days to come... it would be good for a series of poses or the development of a rose bud.....
And the roses are beginning to show some colour. One of my favourites has half a dozen big buds already and I'm looking forward to it opening up. The name has slipped my memory at the moment but will look for it by the time the flower is open...
Anyhow. Having played with the bubbles for a while Eliot and I headed off just a few miles to the beach and woods at Crawfordsburn.
Now that the good weather is here lots of people were enjoying barbecues and picnics. Eliot seemed to be the only dog on a lead, though to be fair to most of the others, they were well behaved and obedient. I'm not at all sure that Eliot would have behaved so nicely if he'd had the freedom to roam with so many distractions!
The extending lead gave him a chance to splash about a bit and enjoy the water.
Then we took a while simply to enjoy being on the beach... not that Eliot was keen to sit for too long! This picture makes it look deserted though there were three different little girls all making sandcastles under the vigilant gaze of adults who looked like their grandparents.
Eliot really wanted to be let off but I know what he'd have done to the sandcastles!
Most of our day was spent in the forest area... fewer people and lots of smells to be sniffed out. The aroma of the wild roses that lined the banks of this little stream was powerful.
The flower heads were huge and the reproduction here has lost some of the purple-ish tinge that the flowers have. I could have stayed there for long enough but Eliot was keen to move on.
We found a little "garden" of sorts... I need to find out a bit about it. All round are mileposts with things like "300 million years", "400 million years".... There's a wonderful bed of wild flowers and while Eliot sniffed around at the end of his lead I enjoyed the stillness, the textures and the wonderful wild smells.
Nearby there's a dramatic big carving by Ivan McNally (ivanart.co.uk). Crawfordsburn is a lovely place and even when busy there are many parts where you can find space.
As for the evening... a Morse, a Taggart and a CSI.... murder mystery all the way!! Rested and refreshed with a still slightly damp and sandy dog I'm ready for tomorrow with the "Dance for Africa" in the evening.
The hall is decorated... Gary and Patricia have spent a lot of time preparing it... huge (and I mean HUGE) Kenyan flag, bunting, wee tables... fantastic. If the forecast is right and the evening is fine then folk can spill out into the cloisters and onto the grass.... Drinks, nibbles and tray bakes are ready... now all we need are the people!!! 8.30 pm for a 9.00 pm start. It will finish at 11.00 pm so the evening won't be a long one - we have consideration for our neighbours and, although we've alerted them to the potential "noise", we don't want to outrun the goodwill! If you're in the area... do call in... suggested minimum donation (which may be Gift Aided) is £10. Where else in Belfast would you find such good value on a Friday night? So "Dance for Africa" to the music of the Stramones tomorrow night!!
The hall is decorated... Gary and Patricia have spent a lot of time preparing it... huge (and I mean HUGE) Kenyan flag, bunting, wee tables... fantastic. If the forecast is right and the evening is fine then folk can spill out into the cloisters and onto the grass.... Drinks, nibbles and tray bakes are ready... now all we need are the people!!! 8.30 pm for a 9.00 pm start. It will finish at 11.00 pm so the evening won't be a long one - we have consideration for our neighbours and, although we've alerted them to the potential "noise", we don't want to outrun the goodwill! If you're in the area... do call in... suggested minimum donation (which may be Gift Aided) is £10. Where else in Belfast would you find such good value on a Friday night? So "Dance for Africa" to the music of the Stramones tomorrow night!!
You shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace,
and the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you.
There'll be shouts of joy and the trees of the field shall clap, shall clap their hands,
and the trees of the field shall clap their hands,
and the trees of the field shall clap their hands,
and the trees of the field shall clap their hands,
and you'll go out with joy.
Church Hymnal number 377
by Stuart Dauermann and Steffi Geiser Rubin
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