Cultures – Page 70 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Climb to Torcorr Townland I

Rising from Cushendun Village

March 21, 2020March 8, 2020 MichaelStephenWills13 Comments

Torr Road passes nine townlands between Cushendun and Torcorr Townlands, each with a namestone holding the Irish and Anglicized name. Here are a few interesting names.

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“Ballindam” is derived from the Irish “Baile an tdam”, the Anglicization is the sounding out of Irish. Baile is “town” and “an tdam” is on the dam.

Headed uphill, the next is “Ballycleagh”. Bally is the English pronunciation of Baile. I found “cleagh” on Google translate under “Scots Irish” for “Well.” So, this is the town of the well.

Here is a sheep lookout at the aptly named, Alt gabhair townland, Irish for “Goat Section.” Otherwise known as Altagore.

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Nook of the Ferns

Ancient Gaelic Names

March 20, 2020March 8, 2020 MichaelStephenWills4 Comments

Take a look at the view of Coolranny Townland on approach from Torcorr on Torr Road and see the source of this townland name that, from the Irish Language, means a recess, or “nook”, of ferns, or “bracken.” This, in the “Glens” section of County Antrim, is not a deep glen, as such, is rather a wrinkle between town headlands.

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The words carved on this namestone are from ancient Irish language with “Cuil” (a recess) and “Raithni” (possessive case of the noun for bracken, a type of fern). In other words, recess of ferns. The anglicized name, “Coolranny,” is the untranslated sound of the Gaelic place name.

The road to Coolranny starts at the foot of Glendun, Cushendun village. Here is the view over Cushendun and its sheltered harbor as Torr road climbs in a series of switchbacks to Torcorr townland.

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Found along Torr Road in Coolranny townland.

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Farmhouse ruin, Slievenaglogh Townland I

Slievenaglog Slideshow

A May Morning, Early

February 28, 2020December 24, 2019 MichaelStephenWills14 Comments

Every photograph from my recent posting were accepted by Getty IStock. Click this link to visit the photographs on IStock.

Here is a slideshow of my Slievenaglog photography. To visit from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Slievenaglogh View, northeast — Ballycoly Farmlands from Slievenaglogh

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Curious Horses

A photographer and his audience

February 27, 2020September 25, 2022 MichaelStephenWills11 Comments

One May early morning two white horses come down from a sloping pasture on Slievenaglogh to view an interloper taking photographs. Slievenaglogh Townland, County Louth, Ireland.

Slievenaglogh Townland, County Louth, Ireland.

This I used the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens. It is two shots, the first in horizontal, the second in vertical mode.

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

50 vs 24 mm focal length

A Cooley Peninsula Valley on a May Morning

February 26, 2020December 13, 2019 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

On the northeast slope of Slievenaglogh peak (Irish: Sliabh na gCloch) on the road from Mullaghattin Townland to Riverstown. This day I swapped lenses and took in the same general direction for each. This is the first and last of a series using the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens and I pulled in the shots from the Canon 24mm f1.4 L II USM lens, published in previous posts.

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Here we look northeast from the Slievenaglogh Townland over the valley between Slievenaglogh and Slieve Foy peaks. Slieve Foy is the far ridge lost in clouds.

This is the first and last of a series using the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens.

Slievenaglogh View, north northeast. 50mm

The view includes Little River, Castletown River, Ballycoly and Glenmore Townlands. Adjacent is a sheep pasture with a farm ruin behind the yellow flowered gorse (Whin bush, scientific name Ulex).

Slievenaglogh View with road, east — Slievenaglogh View, east, 50mm

Early morning, late May 2014.

Here is a slideshow of the 50mm and 24mm images of this post.

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Frame

green pastures framed by Whin Bush and Hawthorn windbreak

February 25, 2020December 12, 2019 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

The road runs high on the shoulder of Slievenaglog peak, the 200 mm lens peers into the next townland over, Ballycoly (or Ballygoley), the valley floor broad, pastured.

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This is the seventh and last of a series using the Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L USM lens.

Here is a recap of recent posts with the 200 and 24 mm lens. Can you tell the difference?

Abandoned Hay Wagon — Slievenaglogh View, north northeast

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Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Abandoned II

So much depended on this wagon

February 24, 2020February 14, 2020 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

Quickly moving sheep pass the hay wagon on May morning, early. A great start to this week.

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This mountainside pasture is grazed by a flock of sheep alongside a long unused farm wagon. Slievenaglogh Townland, Cooley Peninsula, County Louth, Ireland.

This is the fifth of a series using the Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L USM lens.

Here is a recap of recent posts with the 200 and 24 mm lens. Can you tell the difference?

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Balwen? Shetland?

Or neither?

February 21, 2020December 12, 2019 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

This breed may be a Balwen Welsh Mountain sheep, as it fits the description. When the ewe caught sight of me, she hightailed it for cover, the lambs followed.

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The Balwen is bred for meat and that is the rule in this area, the lambs are sold.

The description is of a black color with a white blaze on the face, four white “socks” and white on the tail. This individual is missing a white tale, so might be a Shetland and even more so as the others of the herd are white (Shetlands are a variety of colors), Shetland is common and the other rare.

These are on the hillside of Slievenaglogh Townland, County Louth, Ireland.

This is the fourth of a series using the Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L USM lens.

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Drying Butterfly…..

….on a Sonic Drive-In Order Station.

February 9, 2020February 4, 2020 MichaelStephenWills6 Comments

On Tuesday, December 17, 2019 a caterpillar dropped from vegetation to crawl across the parking lot of Sonic Drive-In, 2140 N Courtenay Pkwy, Merritt Island, FL 32953, crawl up an order station, affix its tail to the kelly green semi-gloss enamel, to form a chrysalis.

The afternoon of New Years Eve, 14 days later, we spied the Retro theme of this fast food business, finding it appealing, stopped for a hi-fat lunch of hamburgers, onion rings (“highly recommended, very delicious”) and (ha, ha) diet sodas, choosing this same order station where the emerged Brush-foot butterfly, of the family Nymphalidae, clung, drying in anticipation of flight.

Captured here with the Apple IPhone 8. I cannot identify the exact butterfly species this is. Source: wikipedia article on Nymphalidae.

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Creeping up on 800 Readers….

….or 800 creeping up on me.

February 8, 2020February 4, 2020 MichaelStephenWills30 Comments

797 is the count of subscribers to this blog, an interesting number. The individual numerals sum to a prime number, 23. The first and last can be swapped to yield the same number. I appreciate each and every “1” added together, you readers. Thank You.

Here is a selection of images from post posts.