Conemara on our doorstep

I must say that we are pretty lucky to live in a country like Ireland. It never gets too hot to bring drought, 30 degrees Celsius would be the absolute max. It doesn't get too cold, with - 7 degrees Celsius being about as cold as it gets. We don't have poisonous spiders, snakes, crocodiles or any of that kind of jazz to worry about. We don't het earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis. We get the odd flood which is about as bad as we get it really.

So living in Ireland makes me quite lucky I guess, and better still I live in the West where I am from originally and I am surrounded by rugged beauty in the landscape. Conemara and all that it offers is right on my doorstep and we spend a lot of time walking and working there.

Indeed we went for a lovely walk a few days ago with some family and here are some of the scenes from that walk. As you know the photos are never as good, but they'll give you an idea.

The sun peeking over the mountain

What a day for a walk. Early January and blue skies and a gorgeous sunset, with my wife, my three sons and some of my sisters, brother and their families with us. Life doesn't get much better. It truly is the simple things in life which are the most rewarding and important. Do try to remember to stop to smell the roses, rub a dog, smile at a stranger.

The lone Hawthorn

I never tire of looking at Hawthorn bushes, especially when they are sparse and wind swept like this one. I tried for a nice juxtaposition between the hawthorn and the cloud and it came out quite nicely if I may say so myself.

The beauty of the lake

The lake is gorgeous from this vista, especially while the sun casts it's bright sun-filled bounty over it with great generosity.

The Twelve Pins

Well you can't see all twelve of them here, but they are just out of sight and define the landscape of Conemara.

Ewe Two

Do you see what I did there? Sorry worst pun of 2023 so far, I couldn't help myself and there's plenty more where that came from!

More Walks

I definitely want to get into more walking this year and our boys are all four and over now, so it is much easier for them all to join us on the walks or hikes.

I reckon they would really enjoy climbing hills and mountains, as we've done it a few times out on the farm in Conemara and they've loved it, though it's more a summertime activity really, especially with young kids. The weather can be a bit unpredictable especially around the Winter season.

Favourite Photo

This one is my favourite photo from the last day. I was hanging back a little to capture some photographs from the lofty vantage point and I spotted the kids, wife and sisters below and thought it could make a nice back drop with the lake. I'm really happy with jow it turned out and as usual, I've not edited the photo in any way, it's the original.

Another shot I like

I'm also happy with how this one came out, with the barron bog lands in the foreground and the magnificent mountain of the twelve pins in the background.

Nephew and his Dad

This is another one which I thought came out quite well, just a Dad and his son taking in the fresh air od Conemara.

These photos are all my own taken in my Samsung smartphone

Thanks as always for stopping by everyone.

Peace Out