wisdom for aging with vibrancy, beauty, tears, and grace – click on any picture below to read the blog associated with that image.
Our time in Duluth has been filled with family and food and fun.
When we first got here, I attempted to make a labyrinth in the Park Point sand – but it is too soft to carve as we carved the labyrinths in Ireland on the beach that was cleared each night by the tide and therefore much wetter and more firm.
So last evening I began to gather driftwood. Today I gathered more and finished a driftwood labyrinth. Continue reading “driftwood labyrinth”
In the post titled “Labyrinth” we included the phrase from Patrick Kavanagh, “prayering of the earth.”
In that same post we spoke of looking forward to time over the next three weeks with children and grandchildren. That time has copiously begun, even as we (at least me [phil[) a bit mistily begin our reentry post-jet-lag into central standard time. We have grandchildren and children here for sleepovers and many more of them for meals and conversation and walks and . . . just being.
It is amazingly wonderful!
The home we rented for the next two weeks on Park Point in Duluth is perfect for this time. It is on the beach of Lake Superior. It is comfortable, funky in decor, warm, and inviting. Lauren, friend of Sage, grandson, said, “You just got here and it already feels like you have been here a long, long time.” The home is a hospitable place. It lends itself to ease in gathering family.
We are fortunate, indeed!
It’s a ways from Dublin to Paris to Minneapolis to Duluth . . . but we are here safe and sound.
Not too long after we were in Duluth, we got a text from my son son, Noah, with words sort of like this:
“You must be here ’cause there is a rainbow over Duluth.”
I ran to the top of the sand dune behind the house we have rented for our time here . . . and this is what I saw:
BEAUTIFUL!
3:00 am – Dublin time.
We are off to the airport in a few minutes for a flight via Paris where (we’ll be for only an hour) and then to Duluth, Minnesota. Should be there in about twenty hours.
We give thanks. We give thanks. We give thanks.
Such a fine day in our lives.
Remember the lower tide around noon?
Well, here is how it was around 5:45 . . . labyrinth is watered away:
Today is our last full day at Kells. Tomorrow at 8:00 we leave for Dublin with a flight the following morning at 6:20 am for Duluth, Minnesota.
Oh how we will miss Kells and the people of Ireland.
Yet, we are very excited for the privilege of being with children and grandchildren over the next three weeks.
If you read the whole post you’ll find directions from Andrew Honeyman for making a labyrinth at your church, or in your yard, on the sand of Siesta. Am wondering about the possibility of beginning an am labyrinth walk weekly on Siesta . . . hmmm.
Anyway, this is how our day began:
And this is what it was like by noon:
For the last three weeks we have been living in the home of two artists. They are American, but have the sense and traditions of Ireland. The house modeled on a traditional Irish cottage, but upgraded so that the amenities of the 21st century are here. The traditional crafts decorate the floors and walls and once used now discarded implements are artfully displayed throughout the house.
The local products include woven blankets, chair seats, iron work, baskets, rugs, paintings and wall hangings tie the present to the pastContinue reading “Textures and tones”
Many, if not most, get fascinated by doorways and doors and gates in Ireland.
Here are a few of the ones that captured us:
We went to the beach to make a labyrinth around 6:00 this evening . . . the tide was in . . .therefore, beach (the sand for our designing) was all awash underwater.
Notice how in these two pictures of the fishing pier at Kells Bay, the tide changed the level of the water about the height of 14 steps on the fishing pier.
That is a lot of ebb and flow.
If the pull does this to the ocean, is it any wonder our moods are affected too?
The tides are reminding me that what I see/experience/know now will look a bit different in a while. “Go with the flow,” has renewed meaning.
Here is some very basic info on tides that might interest you. It did me . . . from a website found by googling “tides & the moon.” If you go to the site, you can see a graphic of the pull of the moon at new moon times and full moon times as much more dramatic than when it is a quarter or three quarter moon.
Ah, I suspect the “old ones” of Kells Bay were more attuned to such things than I am.
| The word “tides” is a generic term used to define the alternating rise and fall in sea level with respect to the land, produced by the gravitational attraction of the moon and the sun. To a much smaller extent, tides also occur in large lakes, the atmosphere, and within the solid crust of the earth, acted upon by these same gravitational forces of the moon and sun.What are Lunar Tides Tides are created because the Earth and the moon are attracted to each other, just like magnets are attracted to each other. The moon tries to pull at anything on the Earth to bring it closer. But, the Earth is able to hold onto everything except the water. Since the water is always moving, the Earth cannot hold onto it, and the moon is able to pull at it. Each day, there are two high tides and two low tides. The ocean is constantly moving from high tide to low tide, and then back to high tide. There is about 12 hours and 25 minutes between the two high tides. |
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Tides are the periodic rise and falling of large bodies of water. Winds and currents move the surface water causing waves. The gravitational attraction of the moon causes the oceans to bulge out in the direction of the moon. Another bulge occurs on the opposite side, since the Earth is also being pulled toward the moon (and away from the water on the far side). Ocean levels fluctuate daily as the sun, moon and earth interact. As the moon travels around the earth and as they, together, travel around the sun, the combined gravitational forces cause the world’s oceans to rise and fall. Since the earth is rotating while this is happening, two tides occur each day. |
| What are the different types of Tides When the sun and moon are aligned, there are exceptionally strong gravitational forces, causing very high and very low tides which are called spring tides, though they have nothing to do with the season. When the sun and moon are not aligned, the gravitational forces cancel each other out, and the tides are not as dramatically high and low. These are called neap tides. |
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| Spring Tides When the moon is full or new, the gravitational pull of the moon and sun are combined. At these times, the high tides are very high and the low tides are very low. This is known as a spring high tide. Spring tides are especially strong tides (they do not have anything to do with the season Spring). They occur when the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon are in a line. The gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun both contribute to the tides. Spring tides occur during the full moon and the new moon.Neap Tides During the moon’s quarter phases the sun and moon work at right angles, causing the bulges to cancel each other. The result is a smaller difference between high and low tides and is known as a neap tide. Neap tides are especially weak tides. They occur when the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun are perpendicular to one another (with respect to the Earth). Neap tides occur during quarter moons. |
Often it is Phil’s words you read here.
We both agree to the post . . .
but he often writes.
Today it is me . . . Patricia.
Yesterday we went to Blarney near Cork.
We had hoped, well actually Phil had hoped, we could go to Skellig Michael, about 12k (40 minute trip) out in the North Atlantic from Portmagee, but the boat captain said it was “too ruff,” so we went to Blarney, County Cork, instead.
I am glad!
I really wanted to come to Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney stone.
My mom and dad (Eileen & Tom) had been a couple times or more and kissed the stone for all of us (my 4 siblings and me).
My sons, Sean and Peter, have been here and kssed the stone.
My sister, Mary, was here in June and she kissed it. She said she would not leave with out kissing the stone.
I’m really glad I got to be there yesterday and I got to kiss this stone that has some lore for my family. But beyond all the commercialism surrounding the Legends, it is rather epic event for some. I was struck with the climb to the top of the castle, (up narrow and rigorous circular stone steps.) Then to kiss the stone, one must hang upside-down over an opening looking down about 90 ft.
The kiss, however, is not casually achieved. To touch the stone with one’s lips, the participant must ascend to the castle’s peak, then lean over backwards on the parapet’s edge. This is traditionally achieved with the help of an assistant. (Wikipedia source). One woman there was from Europe. To kiss the stone was on her bucket-list. She really wanted to do it. But when she started to lie down, the fear of it overcame her. She couldn’t do it.
wells-of-wellness 