So Green

Ireland. It’s really green.

Hard to believe it was ten years ago when I took these photographs. Revisiting them now.

I had the opportunity to move to Ireland for work, and was visiting looking for a place to rent.  Afterwards a work colleague treated me to a lovely hike around this glacial valley near Glendalough, in County Wicklow. It’s a relatively short drive from Dublin.

Of course I was struck by the beauty of this fabulous treasure, but also by how GREEN it was.  Not just in the park itself, but virtually everywhere I went around the country.

I got very used to these varying shades of green in the five years I lived in Ireland. Even in the winter it was greener than anything I’ve seen here in my native Texas.

This last photo (below) was taken towards the end of our hike. It was taken through the trees at the edge of the lake that you see in the first picture in this post.

No photoshop here. It was the reflection off the water that caught my eye.  I wanted to spend more time working with this photo opportunity, but I remember the gnats were horrible. I literally could not stop stop fending them off. They seemed to come out of nowhere, but I was informed by my hiking colleague that this area of the park was well known for the critters. As a result I only managed to get two shots, and this was one of them.  The next day or so my arms and legs looked like they had been shot up by BB gun and I was itching all over.

The gnat situation appeared to be highly localized to just the area of trees next to the lake. So if you like to hike, are visiting Dublin, have a day to kill, and the weather is not frightful, I recommend a hike in this magnificent area.

Learn more at http://www.wicklowmountainsnationalpark.ie/