December Favourites

 I think 2025 was a long hard year for many - so I hope 2026 brings at least some good things.

My header photo is our neighbour's lobster claw shrub which overhangs our side gate and sheds copiously into our back yard, but which is very pretty at certain times of year. The photo was on a very frosty day last January - and it looks as if we have plenty of cold weather on the way in the next couple of weeks. 

I don't actually have many December card favourites - one Christmas card, one Paul Klee-inspired card and a thank you card which will go to my sister-in-law who always hosts a family get-together a day or two after Christmas. I think this was a hard one for her, because their brother who died in September was the next in age to her, and in recent years he had always been with them on Christmas Day.

November Favourites

 Very few - even if I were to include Christmas cards and I can't say any of the few I've made this last month are favourites! On the plus side, my aunt's house sale finally, at long last, went through mid month so that is one less thing on my plate. One outstanding utility bill to pay and that's it. Phew...Apart from the stress leading up to that, I was sick for a week - nothing serious, just a bad cough and cold but that also sapped any energy. I did, after asking her how she felt her immunity was, visit my sister Saturday week ago. It was a complicated set-up - C was dropping me to a train station in Tipperary, picking up a friend and visiting mutual friends near Limerick, and then dropping his train friend home and picking me up from my sister's, so if I'd had to cancel he'd have had a lot of driving on his own, or else he would have had to disappoint several other people. My sister is still fine, and I was glad she was happy to have me, as one of our activities was visiting the exhibition and Christmas Print Fair of the Cork Printmakers. It was in their studio building over three floors, and there was a great variety of types of printmaking to be seen. 

Also very few photos from last December - I've settled for a close crop of one of my morning cycles into work through the park. 

October Favourites

 There are a few more of these, as work got a bit quieter. I hope to finally see the end of dealing with my aunt's affairs next week, and that will be a great relief. 

The not very good photo of the seagulls was one of several really nice utility boxes I saw today on my way to the solicitor, but the only one I stopped to take a photo of, as I didn't have my camera with me. 

The blog header was a beach in Cork that I visited with my sister two years ago, there was a major shortage of photos from November 2024. 

September Favourites

 Again, not many. Mostly accounted for by the fact that we were away the first two weeks in September; then we came back to a family funeral, a house guest for a week and 3 full work weeks for me. So in fact I only remembered that I hadn't made a blog post when I started thinking about a new utility box cover art I had seen yesterday. It's near the mainline train station, and has replaced the one with two Bernese Mountain Dogs. 

Two cards...

My header is some fallen acer leaves taken in the Shackleton Gardens last October - possibly the first time we visited. 

August Favourites

 ...slim pickings. AShackleton Gardens nd one was technically July, but I didn't share it here because I wanted it to be a surprise when I mailed it. 

 

I'll add a few photos from a rare evening walk in the park - a lovely sunny evening which we felt was too good not to take advantage of.

When we started, the area to the right of the gate we go in was all raked grass, and by the time we returned to the car they had almost finished baling it. 

I also persuaded C onto his bicycle for a quick trip to the Shackleton Gardens one Sunday when we were unexpectedly free. I'll add a link for anyone with the time and inclination to look at the photos - there are 72, so it's not for the faint-hearted: Shackleton Gardens Shackleton Gardens 

September 24 included our trip to Donegal, so no shortage of photos to choose from for a blog header, 

July Favourites

 Very thin on the ground - the cat/bee is only added on C's account.

We had a heatwave which probably didn't help creativity, along with the fact that we have still not yet finalised the sale of my aunt's cottage. And I've been covering extra days in work with other people on vacation - that time of year. 

I did visit my sister a couple of weeks back - right in the middle of the heatwave. She looked at the forecast and did a switch from her original plans, so on Saturday afternoon we went to Doneraile Park and the ruins of Ballybeg Priory.  The park was a good place for such a hot day, plenty of shade from the trees. But unfortunately not so great for photography with high contrast.  C and I used to see the signs for Doneraile every time we visited my parents, but never made time to visit so it was nice to finally get to see it. 

The full album of photos is here, I've just added a few. The dovecote in the priory was amazing - it has something like 352 little slots inside where the birds could nest. As it tapers to a narrow exit at the top, it's almost like a camera shutter. The monks would have kept the birds primarily as a source of fertiliser. 

On the Sunday morning we just walked to the Lough, which I think I have mentioned before. It's such a surprising little lake right in the middle of a residential area. a great amenity. We saw at least two coot families with very vocal youngsters - learning to dive but still very dependent on their parents. There were also a couple of radio-controlled boats, although we were unable to spot whoever was controlling them. 

My blog header is a photo from the Phoenix Park last August. Since they already harvested the hay back in May, I am rather expecting them to get a second cut this year. 

June Favourites

 It must have been a more productive month as I have several cards I was really pleased with, but I can't say it felt like it, and it's pretty obvious I never had time for editing and sharing any other photos. 

It would also appear that July is a time I take very few photos. I looked for July 24 and found about 5 - one of which actually turned out to be my sister's. I looked back to 2023 and it was pretty slim pickings too. The photo I ended up using is from last July in the Phoenix Park. With the early hot spell we had this year, they were at the hay cutting and baling stage six weeks ago already this year. I imagine they might even get in a second harvest. 

The most fun one to make was the one with the sort of mesh - it was for a mixed media challenge, and we were to create some sort of netting. The linked tutorial was paper stitched with a grid using the sewing machine, than thoroughly wetted until you could poke holes through it. Definitely something I'll try again. 

The one with the rolled felt roses used a bird sticker from Lorraine, which was perfect for filling in a bit of empty space on the card.