-
two nobles
There are a lot of Holly trees my local woods. Not that you’d notice during the summer, when the other trees flounce about in their finery. Lately, I’ve noticed Holly’s re-emergence as one of the dominant personalities of the woodlands as we spin further into autumn. The above photograph is of a Holly tree growing under an Oak which I took yesterday. In Irish lore there were four classifications of trees, the highest being Airig Fedo, or Nobles of the Wood. There were seven trees in that caste, including Oak and Holly. As I considered the mythology of trees, as well as this image of the two nobles standing beside…
-
capturing the spirit
The weather in the West of Ireland could best be described as mercurial today. As I type the wind whips the trees in my back garden and stampedes piebald clouds. A sudden, violent deluge of rain has just ended. Looking out a window at the front of my house I see sunlight streaming through an aquamarine scrap of sky. It’s a day of squalls and sun linked by rainbows. Earlier, I found one of those favourable, magical periods in between the cloudbursts to walk my dog in the woods. As usual I was taking photographs. As much as I love woodlands they are one of the most difficult landscapes to…
-
beautiful fungus
Today I noticed a small track in the woods I’d never seen before. There are a number of old earthen paths criss-crossing the heavily wooded sections which connect to the main trail I tramp along most days. Many of them are little more than a memory of a passageway through the trees, and often fade away or end abruptly. Over the years I’ve explored most of these tracks in an attempt to give my dog – and myself – a bit of novelty. So I was surprised at this revelation because I should have spotted it ages ago. Still, it was fun following it, ducking under branches and weaving between the…
-
frog hide
Today, I noticed this chap leaping through the undergrowth in the woods. He was shy, and I was towering above pointing my mobile phone at him, so it’s not a bad snap considering the circumstances, and the greyish light. It’s the equinox today – an unusually late one – and it’s also a full moon. Perhaps the craziness that is supposed to afflict people at this time of the month will be offset by the day being in balance. Or, you know, it might just be another bead on the year’s necklace. It was chilly this morning, a real harbinger of the deepening of autumn. Yesterday evening the daylight departed…
-
Autumn
I spotted this fine fellow on my way into the woods to walk my dog this morning. It’s a good example of Coprinus comatus, also known as the shaggy ink cap or the lawyer’s wig, among others. I usually refer to it as the shaggy ink cap (or, as I misspoke this morning upon my return – the shaggy inkwell). This mushroom erupted and flourished in the mere 48 hours since my last visit to this location, or else I was singularly unobservant during my previous trip. Change can occur in a day or two, if you notice. It was the first thing I spotted on this occasion, and I…
-
Soho Ghost finalist
I can now mention that my photograph, entitled “Soho Ghost”, is a top ten finalist in the Cities of Night contest, being run by ChiZine Publications. The contest was created to celebrate the release of Philip Nutman’s short story collection Cities of Night, and the brief was to supply a subtle, creepy, evocative photo of a city at night. Since May 6 CZP began announcing the finalists, one per day, and my photo “Soho Ghost” went up last night. The overall winner will be announced on May 15, Cities of Night‘s official launch date. The winner receives: A free, signed, limited edition hardcover copy of Cities of Night Twenty-five postcards…
-
Horror wants women to scream, but not talk
This weekend the British Fantasy Society (BFS) is hosting its annual convention, Fantasy Con. Last night while on Facebook I noticed a news item, which constitutes an electronic “flyer”, about the convention. I immediately noticed the cover of a new book the BFS is launching at the convention: a collection of interviews with writers (the first in a trilogy) in which they discuss their genre. It’s called In Conversation: A Writer’s Perspective. Volume One: Horror. It’s edited by James Cooper, and is composed of 16 interviews with horror authors Ramsey Campbell, Tom Piccirilli, Greg F. Gifune, Conrad Williams, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary McMahon, Brian Keene, Stephen Gallagher, Jeffrey Thomas, Peter…
-
words on foot
I’ve been reading Nietzsche today. As thinkers go he’s clear and reasoned. In fact, he’s a little too perceptive for those who like their self-delusions, so sometimes his surgical excision of unpleasant human motivations can make for glum reading. He’s a bit of a grump at times too, especially when it comes to young people. In Human, All too Human he has an entire section called “From the Soul of Artists and Authors”, which had me laughing, nodding, and sometimes grimacing. He has high standards: Speak not of gifts, or innate talents! One can name all kinds of great men who were not very gifted. But they acquired greatness, became…
-
"walk on air against your better judgement"
Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet, author and playwright Seamus Heaney has been awarded the £40,000 David Cohen Prize for Literature. Every two years the David Cohen Prize is bestowed upon a writer, novelist, short-story writer, poet, essayist or dramatist in recognition of an entire body of work, written in the English language. Previous winners include Derek Mahon, Harold Pinter, Doris Lessing, and V.S. Naipaul. By strange coincidence I happened to read Heaney’s new poem called “In the Attic” a couple of days ago. It was published in The New Yorker last month. Because Heaney has enjoyed a long and successful career as a poet, and many of us studied him in…
-
weird thoughts
I am a fan of weird – the word, and what it suggests. Its meaning is rooted in the Old English wyrd, which is associated with fate (it translates as Urðr in old Norse, which is the prophesying Norn of Norse mythology). If you look back further you see that the base *wer- means “to turn, bend”. Nowadays, weird is associated with something that seems odd, strange, bizarre, or uncanny (another fine crop of words). Its link with modern speculative fiction was cemented with the publication of the short story magazine Weird Tales in 1923. Today, it’s in vogue again with the arrival of what is termed new weird fiction.…
