Posts tagged with Animals
2 September 2009 - Mother Cat
This is Mother Cat. Matriarch of the local cats. Her litter of kittens are growing up and make a daily appearance in our garden. They’re all a little wild though. The kitten’s dad, Patches, was the polar opposite. He was friendly to us humans and loved to be rubbed and scratched behind the ear. He adored my wife, and even put up with Adam chasing him around!
Unfortunately he disappeared a few weeks ago, on the very day my wife bought antibiotics for a bad cut on his leg. A few days later a neighbour reported seeing his remains on the back road. A car must have hit him.
I think the cats noticed his disappearance. Or it could just be us projecting our human thoughts and feelings on a sad situation. The kitten in the background of this photo is the spitting image of Patches. He’s also the most friendly, even coming up to me and eating from my hand on occasion. What d’you think? Is he the tiny kitten I photographed last May? His colouring looks very similar!
Anyway, they’re well cared for. The mother cat has come up to our back door and meowed to be fed, only to call her offspring when food has been put out. It’s great to see it!
21 August 2009 - The Fields of Slea Head
The green fields on Slea Head in County Kerry are home to many sheep and photographers who shoot this place to death. The photographers, not the sheep. With cameras.
While I was taking this photo another photographer walked down the slope just out of shot to shoot the beach at Cuminole!
Winners of the free hotel rooms tomorrow. There were only 5 entrants. Can’t believe it’s so hard to give away something free! I wonder if the hotel will actually make any bookings out of this?
9 August 2008 - The rolling hills of the Irish countryside
People come from far and wide to see the beautiful Irish countryside and it’s no wonder. There’s such a wide range of different scenery that you could spend many a day discovering new beauty spots.
This was shot near Dunmanway in West Cork. If you look very carefully you can see the wind power generators on the horizon but what attracted me to the scene was the gently rolling hills and changing light. Really beautiful part of the country.
2 May 2008 - Hungry Cat
A hungry, scrawny cat came up to us while walking around Schull in Co. Cork last weekend. The poor thing was crying for food and affection. This was the first time Adam saw a real cat and he was delighted but we had to leave the poor thing to fend for itself.
I discovered that the Irish name of the town called Schull is “Scoil Mhuire”, a much nicer name IMO. In English that would be “Mary’s School”, or more likely, “St. Mary’s School”. West Cork is so beautiful but the basterdisation of Irish names is shocking. I even saw a sign for a town called “Snámh” which had been translated as “Snave”. “Snámh” is the verb, “to swim” in English. Perhaps the town was created by an English landlord and named “Snave” first and then named “Snámh” by the Irish?
PS. Congrats to fellow Mallow Camera Club member, David Lavery, who left his comfortable 9-5 day job to become a wedding photographer in Mallow, Co. Cork a year ago today! Not many would take the jump, so I hope he’ll get that blog rolling and write about his experiences. I know I’d like to hear about them!
28 April 2008 - No moo room
Cows gather in the shed against the howling wind and cold at Allihies. No room for any more though!
7 February 2008 - Lonesome Donkey
A donkey, alone in his field. There’s a horse in the background but he’s being fed. The donkey doesn’t get anything. Poor thing.
Spotted on the road around Slea Head at the end of the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry.
That’s the last of the donkey pictures. For now.
5 February 2008 - Donkey eyes staring at me
The donkey knows everything. He stands in his field every day contemplating life.
This is the same donkey I posted before in Baile na nGall, Co. Kerry. We passed that way last September and I didn’t see him so if you see a wandering donkey, tell him I said hi!
13 January 2008 - The Blarney Cat
Next time you’re in Blarney sit down on the benches next to Super Valu. Wait a few minutes and this cat will probably appear, especially in warm weather! 
My Shih Tzu Oscar just after he picked up the ball I threw for him!
Most dogs have a strong fetch instinct but Oscar’s was hidden away until we discovered it earlier this year. Now he loves the phrase "where’s the ball Oscar?"
Shih Tzu dogs love to play ball! We only found this out after a dog trainer came to the house and “ruffled his fur” a bit and in the process Oscar became a lot more relaxed.
Now he adores playing ball and even one mention of, “where’s the ball?” and his tail wags and he looks up expectantly for the ball!
This was a bit of an experiment. I’m not so sure how this will look on the web, but full screen the textures of the grass and his fur contrast nicely – rough, hard, and sharp versus soft and cloudy. Not your usual pet photo but why be boring and ordinary eh?