You do have Druids in Texas. I lived in Austin for 28 years, there were plenty of others like me around. I am an OBODie but there are also a lot of ADF Druids about and probably some AODAs. https://www.facebook.com/groups/621076726264217/
Haha, actually came here to say this same thing. Although I am not in TX, I am in the US, and I first came across Field Notes through a post shared in my druidic organization (also OBOD). So, the Druids know about you, Christopher. ;)
Sorry to read about your uprooted trees, especially those that have landmarked your property since the day you acquired it. Those trees become familiar friends, and their loss leaves an empty place in our daily lives that cannot be filled because we humans do not have enough years to see the next generation of cottonwoods grow to full maturity.
Please tolerate the errors in formatting and some grammatical blunders in this first edition of "Sighted." Those have been corrected in the novel's second iteration.
Thanks, Alan! Most of these are film photos as you observer, shooting Cinestill 800T and some Fuji 400 on an old Canon F1 with wide angle lens. I’m glad I decided to lug that over with me despite my proclivity for traveling light 📸
In Geoffrey Household's cult thriller Rogue Male the assassin flees his torturers to Dorset UK. He hides in a holloway, a safe pit of blackness, from which he is "reborn," Read all about holloways (old cart tracks and footpaths submerged in hedgerow vegetation), and Rogue Male in Robert Macfarlane's book Holloway.
you are doing a bit of Druid work yourself, with words assisting the old uprooted mesquite to shift its bleeding vitality to that nearby sapling . your sorrow fuels such healing response. oh hail the big old trees, a new world arises on the wooden carcass.
Thanks for the Druid link, Chris. I'm really sorry to hear about the damage to your homestead. When oak wilt swept through our East Travis Heights neighborhood years ago, some of our neighbors lost as many as five or six majestic live oaks. It changed the character of the neighborhood and felt like we'd lost members of our human family. So glad to know that the herons' home is OK. Loved your travel notes. Never been to Ireland but the hyper-vivid greenness of Scotland is still aglow in my memory our trip there years ago. Congrats to Hugo and Neha. Sounds like they are off to a good start.
What a series of charmed experiences, and what a sendoff for the happy couple! I remember your writing about the mesquite in your yard. So sorry for your loss.
Our son got married outdoors in the Rocky Mountains a couple years ago and this sounds, at the very least, every bit as beautiful and wonderful a setting and scene.
I spotted the foxglove in the first photo, and was surprised you have them (before realising where you'd taken the shot). I checked and they were brought over to your part of the world, from Europe, some time ago.
You were only a few miles from where I live in Clare, Lahinch, and I know exactly where that bluff is that you stayed in near Doolin. Good find! I’m glad you got to see the hedgerows while they were still grabbing cars, after nesting season they can be brutally chopped by farmers and the County Council. But they regenerate, obviously,)
(I was unable to find A NATURAL HISTORY OF EMPTY LOTS in local bookstores or to order but I am greatly enjoying the Kindle version).
Perhaps I'm part parakeet! I've come to really enjoy mesquite "coffee" - it has none of coffee's bitterness but hits the same "dark brown drink" spot in my brain. My favorite way to consume it is during the winter, with eggnog added. One of these days I'll branch out into mesquite "tea" just to see what the difference is.
You do have Druids in Texas. I lived in Austin for 28 years, there were plenty of others like me around. I am an OBODie but there are also a lot of ADF Druids about and probably some AODAs. https://www.facebook.com/groups/621076726264217/
Haha, actually came here to say this same thing. Although I am not in TX, I am in the US, and I first came across Field Notes through a post shared in my druidic organization (also OBOD). So, the Druids know about you, Christopher. ;)
Amazing! I am honored — thanks for reading, and for letting me know 🙏🌳💚
Okay! Will check them out 💚🌳
I sit in my armchair on the other side of the Atlantic and experience your lovely week with family in Ireland, as if I were there too. Thank you.
Thank you! 🙏
Sorry to read about your uprooted trees, especially those that have landmarked your property since the day you acquired it. Those trees become familiar friends, and their loss leaves an empty place in our daily lives that cannot be filled because we humans do not have enough years to see the next generation of cottonwoods grow to full maturity.
Thanks, Jerrold! So true. And fyi, I’m hoping to dig into your book this summer—thanks again.
Thanks, Christopher.
Please tolerate the errors in formatting and some grammatical blunders in this first edition of "Sighted." Those have been corrected in the novel's second iteration.
Hi Chris - Assuming it is film and not a filter on a digital camera, what camera and film were you using on this trip? Photos are wonderful! Thanks.
Thanks, Alan! Most of these are film photos as you observer, shooting Cinestill 800T and some Fuji 400 on an old Canon F1 with wide angle lens. I’m glad I decided to lug that over with me despite my proclivity for traveling light 📸
In Geoffrey Household's cult thriller Rogue Male the assassin flees his torturers to Dorset UK. He hides in a holloway, a safe pit of blackness, from which he is "reborn," Read all about holloways (old cart tracks and footpaths submerged in hedgerow vegetation), and Rogue Male in Robert Macfarlane's book Holloway.
Thanks!
you are doing a bit of Druid work yourself, with words assisting the old uprooted mesquite to shift its bleeding vitality to that nearby sapling . your sorrow fuels such healing response. oh hail the big old trees, a new world arises on the wooden carcass.
🙏💚🌳
Thanks for the Druid link, Chris. I'm really sorry to hear about the damage to your homestead. When oak wilt swept through our East Travis Heights neighborhood years ago, some of our neighbors lost as many as five or six majestic live oaks. It changed the character of the neighborhood and felt like we'd lost members of our human family. So glad to know that the herons' home is OK. Loved your travel notes. Never been to Ireland but the hyper-vivid greenness of Scotland is still aglow in my memory our trip there years ago. Congrats to Hugo and Neha. Sounds like they are off to a good start.
Thanks, Jesse! 🙏
What a series of charmed experiences, and what a sendoff for the happy couple! I remember your writing about the mesquite in your yard. So sorry for your loss.
Thank you 🙏
Our son got married outdoors in the Rocky Mountains a couple years ago and this sounds, at the very least, every bit as beautiful and wonderful a setting and scene.
It was really special, Derryl—thanks 🙏
I spotted the foxglove in the first photo, and was surprised you have them (before realising where you'd taken the shot). I checked and they were brought over to your part of the world, from Europe, some time ago.
Glad the herons' tree survived the hailstorm.
Fascinating about the foxglove! I’ll need to read up on that. Thank you🙏
I spent a summer in County Clare as a part of an archaeological team excavating one of those circle forts. This piece brought me back.
Wow, what an amazing experience that must have been. Such an amazing place.
You were only a few miles from where I live in Clare, Lahinch, and I know exactly where that bluff is that you stayed in near Doolin. Good find! I’m glad you got to see the hedgerows while they were still grabbing cars, after nesting season they can be brutally chopped by farmers and the County Council. But they regenerate, obviously,)
(I was unable to find A NATURAL HISTORY OF EMPTY LOTS in local bookstores or to order but I am greatly enjoying the Kindle version).
Perhaps I'm part parakeet! I've come to really enjoy mesquite "coffee" - it has none of coffee's bitterness but hits the same "dark brown drink" spot in my brain. My favorite way to consume it is during the winter, with eggnog added. One of these days I'll branch out into mesquite "tea" just to see what the difference is.