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Popular posts from this blog

Adventure in the ancient St. John's Wood

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This is a forest I have been eager to visit for a long time. It is known as being here on the banks of Lough Ree in Co. Roscommon for over 7000 years, making it one of the most ancient post ice-age forests in Ireland. I was hoping to get a peek at some Irish Pines, a scarce tree, and some Elms that had not been affected by the Dutch Elm disease that spread through the 70s and 80s. Unfortunately, I saw neither but what we did find was fascinating. So lets go walking  ... As with many of these Sunday walks, this year, it had been a misty drizzling morning but the afternoon broke into warm summery sunshine. There was a breeze and this kept potential midges away. Sadly, only 5 of us together on this walk and only two of us residents of Co. Roscommon, others being from counties Sligo and Leitrim. Indeed I received the usual run of messages about weather concerns and did not think we were doing the walk today. As usual we did the walk and love it :-) I was expecting a network of
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Old Head - Where Forest Meets Sea

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I have postponed coming to Old Head, Co. Mayo, as a Bards In The Woods destination for a couple of years. With an outstanding warm and sunny weather forecast for September I decided this was the place to go at last. Only one person shared this with me. Pity really, as I discovered this is a special place. However, despite outstanding weather forecast and sunny blue sky when I left Carrowcrory, once past Westport I did drive into mist and haze. The photos may cause here to look duller than it was. It was actually warm, dry and pleasant. I did visit again a couple of days later, tide was almost fully out, and this is what it was like. Even the lifeboat was grounded Tide was still out enough, while we were there, to walk around this little peninsula head which had an interesting tree growing from it Then over more beach. You can see the path into the woods beyond the lifebuoy post Here is this headland when the tide is out ... This is a '
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Shinrin Yoku, Forest Bathing, in Ireland.

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A Walk In The Woods, followed by a Picnic, I find is the most fun way to spend a Saturday or Sunday, or both. Add to that, several research reports published since 1980 have revealed health benefits beyond what anyone would expect. Reports after reports reveal testimonials speaking about reduced blood pressure, reduced heart rate, reduced stress, reduced anxiety, reduced depression, reduced anger, and blessed clarity that releases emotional confusion ... all from being in the woods awhile Writers express joy of inspiration after writer's block. Inventors become excited by visioning solutions to problems they have been working with. People with very serious ailments have reported hallelujah relief and reductions of symptoms. Even myself, a stroke victim with severe paralysis discovered that after repeated time in the forests all of my physical and mental functions returned. The Japanese have set up a weekend walking in the woods tradition as Shinrin Yoku, the Korea
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