Like my previous post, this is one of trees providing shelter for animals but trees of course don't just provide shelter on cold and stormy days, as seen here on hot summer days too.

It was a hot day in Kilkenny, one of those fine June days when Ireland is awash with colour and the smell of warmth as temperatures hit the high 20s Celsius.

Stopping by the ruins of an old church we spotted the unfolding scene of horses chasing cows away from the shade of this tree.

Like a scene from a Western film we watched the riderless horses, with their sheeny-sweaty musculature, rounding up the relaxing cattle and herding them off into the large field before returning to the shady coolness under the protective canopy.

I have written about almost-treeless landscapes in Ireland before, usually upland areas such as here in the Wicklow Mountains.

And here, two old sycamore trees stand together alone above the boggy terrain, in bad weather providing shelter for sheep as seen in this image.

Sycamore Acer pseudoplatanus is not native to Ireland, thought to have been introduced from Europe before the 17th century being first recorded in Derry in 1610, it has now become widely naturalised and is one of Ireland's most common trees.

Sycamore is a strong and sturdy tree, able to withstand all that the Irish weather can deliver.

This lone and windswept tree prepares for another tough year of growing, its short stature and horizontal growth shows the direction of prevailing winds.

Clearly this side of the small lake makes for difficult growing conditions, the far side being more sheltered and with deeper soils supports a small natural woodland of upright trees.

Trees provide a focal point for photography whether that be standalone trees on ridges or hills, deciduous woodlands or planted neatly in urban parks.

National Tree Week 2021 is here and I am posting some of my favourite tree images from over the years. Check back again tomorrow to see more.

For all you dendrophiles, Sunday 21st of March 2021 sees the start of National Tree Week here in Ireland.

So here is an image of one of the most iconic of Ireland's native trees. the ash.

Ash is the most common tree found in Irish hedgerows, it grows tall to around 40 metres and its bark becomes fissured with age. It has a pale wood that is most famously used to make hurleys (sticks) for the Irish game of hurling. If you have good quality wooden handled gardening equipment, the handles might also be made from ash timber.

Ash trees can live for up to 400 years but in recent times with the arrival of an asian fungal infection, the trees have been suffering from a disease called ash dieback.

Lesser Celandine Ficaria verna is a bright, colourful spring flower in the Irish countryside that often carpets woodlands, riverbanks and lower hedgerows between March and May; with its heart-shaped leaves and bright glossy yellow petals it is amongst the first flashes of colour after the long dark months of the Irish winter.

One of the Irish countryside's stars of spring, Lesser Celandine is famous for its sun-worshipping flowers that open in sunshine but rapidly close when in shade.

There is a Flower, the Lesser Celandine,

That shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain;

And, the first moment that the sun may shine,

Bright as the sun himself, 'tis out again!

 

William Wordsworth, THE SMALL CELANDINE from Poems Volume II 1815

The Irish honeybee Apis mellifera mellifera is Ireland's only native honeybee, it's a bee with a dark abdomen and is also known as the European dark bee.

Seen here in late February, just before the end of winter meteorologically-speaking or at the start of Irish spring, this honeybee has been extraordinarily busy collecting nectar and pollen on a bright afternoon just before stormy weather hits.

This week saw an amazing amount of precipitation, particularly over the southwest of Ireland, Munster, where Cork and Clonmel saw extensive flooding. This part of Ireland has already seen above average rainfall for February and recent days have only added to the totals.

Ireland is a green country, except when it snows and even in winter (February in the image above) that green still shows in the fields and woodlands of the Irish countryside.

Here, in a fine little woodland of beech, ash and oak a cascading stream flows over rocks as the low rays of the winter sun brightens riparian scene of mosses, ferns and fallen leaves.

Photography in Ireland isn't just a summer interest, the country has many beautiful scenes to capture throughout the year.

We have had a lot of snow so far this year but not all winter days in the Irish mountains are white with deep drifts, here in the Wicklow Mountains deer stop on the frosty-white uplands.

A brief moment of calm before they bound and leap across the terrain deeply cut from centuries of peat or turf cutting.

Herds of deer do roam throughout Ireland, particularly in the mountains such as Wicklow where there is an extensive upland with little human habitation and agriculture.

It's still winter for now, just for a day as according to Irish tradition the 1st of February sees the start of spring on Saint Brigid's Day.

Ireland has had some snow, as in the image above, this winter but not as much as Britain. This is usual, Ireland typically receives less extreme weather than Britain where there has been much more snow in recent weeks.

From a journey in the mountains, snowy paths and pine trees covered in a light dusting on a calm day close to sunset.

Winter is of course a fine time to photograph in Ireland.

Panoramic Ireland's award-winning Dublin Photo Tours are still, for the moment, unavailable for booking but will be back sometime this year when the easing of Coronavirus restrictions allows.

At the moment restrictions are not planned to be eased until March 5th 2021 but this may change and easing of restrictions will most definitely will not be quick and full for some time.

For the moment, instead of a private photography workshop in Dublin, why not take a private photography online workshop to discuss and improve your image-making skills and post-processing techniques.

When you go to any of the usual booking sections of the site such as for Dublin, Antrim Coast and Dingle you will see the dates blanked out until 5th of March 2021. For the online tutorial any date and any time of day is available, if you would prefer to ask some questions beforehand please send me an email or contact me on the form at the Contact page.