Of mosses, cows, and komorebi
I started the day taking out my watercolour palette and painting the Plitvice lakes, adding turquoise, green, blue… It’s a calming feeling, getting up early and seeing the sun start to shine through the huge front window. A small breeze would be blowing the white curtains. And I paint.
A bit later, I joined Aimee, house hunting in Portlaoise - found a perfect place in front of the future work place.
We took a short break at Costa’s (tomato and cheese toastie and a refreshing glas of ice blended green tea, lime and mint). Simply amazing methinks. Outside, the sky was playing with us. Sun, a bit of rain, a bit of wind, clouds... typical spring/summer.
Using maps.me, we navigated to Clonaslee, searching for Brittas Forest, to do a bit of hiking. The car park was a tiny space near the entrance. Soon, we were walking under pine, oak, birch and sycamore trees. Throughout the whole walk, we were accompanied by thrush, wrens and a cacophony of other birds which I could not identify. I did keep my eyes peeled out for the old fox/badger… No such luck.
The river was a small, bubbly thing. Every now and then, the sun glinted off the water. I love the komorebi effect on the forest ground so much :) We encountered a herd of milking cows in the middle of the forest, and they kept staring at us the whole time. Curious at seeing two strangers gingerly walking around bits of muddy spots, while trying to avoid the wet noses of said cows. Yes, one kept sniffing at Aimee :D After a couple of pictures with the cows, the herd finally became uninterested in us, and walked up the small slope and disappeared into the trees and meadow nearby.
The other highlight of the walk was seeing all the beautiful moss-covered tree trunks, fallen logs and stones. The moss felt soft, springy, and a bit damp from the light rain earlier. They were also surrounded by blue bells and dandelions, swaying gently in the breeze.
A couple of butterflies flitted among the rays of sun, and if you imagine enough, and squinted your eyes just so, you can almost perceive them as wee beings dancing an intricate dance. I can spend a long time there, just watching nature play out in front of me. Hearing the birds chirp and chatter, the rustle of the leaves, the trickle of water and feeling the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the wind against my face.
We walked uphill and the sky changed again. Large, dark clouds opened up and pelted hail for a few minutes, before the rain and sun took their turns again. Looking down, I could see the forest, small and comel.
I spotted a tiny figure in between the stone walls and it turned out to be a tiny doctor figurine, left by an adventurous kid, maybe.
Walked around the lake and watched ducks for a while.
After three hours of walking and climbing, getting the camera in and out of my bag (because of the rain), we approached a clearing, where other humans can be seen. Yes, we finally reached the end of our short expedition.
Hunger brought us to the one and only cafe in the village. We were interrupted now and then by a curious gentleman, asking where we’re from, whether we’re attached or not, how Dublin’s like... The thing that made me want to snort with laughter was “Are you girls farmers?” I guess not many people venture out here. And we look like farmers, maybe :D
Indeed, an eventful day. Oh, we stopped by Kildare Village and I bought a Goodbye Eire gift for me - a crossbody bag for my art stuff.
theartofmadeline
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