Spring – Page 10 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Newgrange V

Newgrange construction involved meticulous planning, stone architecture, artistry, and astronomical understanding.

October 13, 2023October 21, 2023 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

The initial task for the builders of Newgrange involved recording the annual alignment of the rising sun over several years, which was likely achieved using timber posts as markers. Subsequently, the dimensions of the passage and chamber were determined, and the groundwork was prepared by digging sockets for the structural stones. This excavation process was carried out using antler picks and shovels crafted from cattle shoulder blades.

After the structural stones were carefully positioned and levered into their sockets, lintel stones for the passage could be lifted into place. The corbelled roofs of the cross-shaped tombs were built with great skill and finally capped by one slab. Sturdy timber scaffolding and bracing must have been used. As the stones were set in place, carvers and artists decorated the stones.

The whole process must have been overseen by social or religious leaders; the building of the tombs shows great skill in working and building with stone and knowledge of architecture, megalithic art and astronomy.

Click Me for the first post of this series.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Newgrange IV

How we sheltered at the time of Newgrange construction

October 12, 2023October 11, 2023 MichaelStephenWills

The Brú na Bóinne Visitor Center includes this tableau of the shelter of the ancient farmers who constructed Newgrange: the monument is in the background.

Notice the wicker fence in tableau foreground.

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Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Newgrange III

October 11, 2023October 16, 2023 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

How the builders of Brú na Bóinne clothed themselves

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Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Newgrange II

Early Irish farmers introduced crops and domesticated animals, aided by milder climate.

October 10, 2023October 16, 2023 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

The people who built the passage tombs at Brú na Bóinne and elsewhere in Ireland were farmers, a way of life which by this time had become well established in Ireland. All the mainstays of early farming life — cereals such as wheat and barley, and domesticated animals such as cattle, pigs, sheep and goats — were introduced to Ireland by early farmers. T

he climate was warmer and drier than it is today which meant that the growing season was longer and winter was shorter and milder. The main crops grown appear to have been emmer wheat and naked barley. Flint knives and blades were used for cutting meat. Simple wooden ploughs with stone tips were probably used.

The cattle were Bos taurus longifrans, large animals with forward facing horns which were kept primarily for farm work and meat. Cattle may also have been important in a ceremonial sense; cattle bones were sometimes placed in a very deliberate way in the ground. Sheep were probably like Soay sheep today, without a woolly fleece and probably used mainly for their meat. Dog and pig bones have also been found.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Newgrange I

For my 365th consecutive post: approaching an ancient passage tomb older than the Egyptian pyramids.

October 9, 2023October 16, 2023 MichaelStephenWills10 Comments

Thirty minutes headed up the M1 from Dublin Airport Pam and I arrived at Brú na Bóinne Visitor Center, gateway to Newgrange. Archaeologists classified Newgrange as a passage tomb, however Newgrange is now recognized to be much more than a passage tomb. Ancient Temple is a more fitting classification, a place of astrological, spiritual, religious and ceremonial importance, much as present day cathedrals are places of prestige and worship where dignitaries may be laid to rest.

Walking on the south bank of River Boyne we first glimpsed Newgrange on the hill above.

Bounded on the south by a bend in the River Boyne, the prehistoric site of Brú na Bóinne is dominated by the three great burial mounds of Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth. Surrounded by about forty satellite passage graves, they constitute a funerary landscape recognized as having great ritual significance, subsequently attracting later monuments of the Iron Age, early Christian and medieval periods.

Newgrange was built by Stone Age farmers, the mound is 85m (279ft) in diameter and 13m (43ft) high, an area of about 1 acre. Newgrange was constructed about 5,200 years ago (3,200 B.C.) which makes it older than Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza.

A overlook in Brú na Bóinne Visitor Center provides a view of River Boyne from the south bank. Here we are looking west.

Queen Ann’s Lace on the south bank of River Boyne

Oh my gosh!! A wattle fence, an ancient technique.

Wattle is made by weaving flexible branches around upright stakes to form a woven lattice. The wattle may be made into an individual panel, commonly called a hurdle, or it may be formed into a continuous fence. Wattles also form the basic structure for wattle and daub wall construction, where wattling is daubed with a plaster-like substance to make a weather-resistant wall.

Copyright 2023 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

Treman Early Autumn Walk XIV

The post discusses the Hepatica acutiloba plant, highlighting its characteristics, growth, historical medicinal use, and its natural habitat in central eastern North America. It also includes an observation made in Robert H. Treman Park.

October 6, 2023October 4, 2023 MichaelStephenWills2 Comments

These characteristic leaves are Hepatica plants growing on the sun dappled southern rim of Robert H. Treman Park captured on a bright late September morning.

“Hepatica acutiloba, the sharp-lobed hepatica, is a herbaceous flowering plant in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. It is sometimes considered part of the genus Anemone, as Anemone acutiloba, A. hepatica, or A. nobilis. Also generally known as Liverleaf and Liverwort.”

“The word hepatica derives from the Greek ἡπατικός hēpatikós, from ἧπαρ hêpar ‘liver’, because its three-lobed leaf was thought to resemble the human liver.”

“Each clump-forming plant grows 5 to 19 cm (2.0 to 7.5 in) tall, flowering in the early to mid spring. The flowers are greenish-white, white, purple or pinkish in color, with a rounded shape. After flowering the fruits are produced in small, rounded columned heads, on pedicels 1 to 4 mm long. When the fruits, called achenes, are ripe they are ovoid in shape, 3.5–4.7 mm long and 1.3–1.9 mm wide, slightly winged and tend to lack a beak.”

Hepatica Flowers in early spring on the Rim Trail

“Hepatica acutiloba is native to central eastern North America where it can be found growing in deciduous open woods, most often in calcareous soils. Butterflies, moths, bees, flies and beetles are known pollinators. The leaves are basal, leathery, and usually three-lobed, remaining over winter.”

“Hepatica was once used as a medicinal herb. Owing to the doctrine of signatures, the plant was once thought to be an effective treatment for liver disorders. Although poisonous in large doses, the leaves and flowers may be used as an astringent, as a demulcent for slow-healing injuries, and as a diuretic.”

Ferns and Mosses growing beneath Red Pines

View of the lower falls and swimming hole from the Rim Trail

Click Me another post featuring Hepatica flowers

References

–text in italics and quotes is from Wikipedia, “Hepatica” and “Hepatica acutiloba.”

–“The Botanical Garden Vol II Perennials and Annuals,” Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix, Firefly Books, 2002.

Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Still Blooming

Though it is sometimes referred to as a night-blooming cereus, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe Cereeae

September 22, 2023September 18, 2023 MichaelStephenWills1 Comment

It was a quiet day, upping shutter speed via an increased ISO and both exposures are equally sharp.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 L IS USM lens at f / 45, 1/5 second exposure at 300 mm focal length, ISO 400

These were captured with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV dslr on a Manfrotto tripod.

“The flowers are nocturnal. They grow on flattened stems and are up to 30 cm (12 in) long and 17 cm (7 in) wide, and very fragrant. The principal odor components in the aroma are benzyl salicylate and methyl linoleate.[5] Pericarpels are nude, slightly angled, and green. Bracteoles are short and narrow up through ca. 10 millimetres (0.39 in) long. Receptacles are up through 20 cm long, 1 cm thick, brownish, and arching. The outer tepals are linear, acute, 8–10 cm long, and reddish through amber. The inner tepals are whitish, oblanceolate or oblong, acuminate, up through 8–10 cm long and 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) wide. The stamens are greenish white or white, slender and weak. The styles are greenish white, pale yellow, or white, 4 mm thick, as long as inner tepals, and with many lobes.”

“The fruits are oblong, up through 12 x 8 cm, purplish red, and angled.”

“It is known to have medicinal properties in many Asian cultures, including India, Vietnam, and Malaysia. The plant is widely used in traditional medicine to treat respiratory ailments, bleeding conditions, and is also believed to have the property of reducing pain and inflammation.”

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 L IS USM lens at f / 45, 1/20 second exposure at 300 mm focal length, ISO 1600

Click me for another “Cereus” Post.

Night bloomer

Though it is sometimes referred to as a night-blooming cereus, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe Cereeae

September 20, 2023September 18, 2023 MichaelStephenWills5 Comments

This set compares a deep focus exposure to a shallow focus with bokeh.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 L IS USM lens at f / 36 (the deepest focus), 1/5 second exposure at 108 mm focal length, ISO 400

These were captured with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV dslr on a Manfrotto tripod.

“Epiphyllum oxypetalum is an easily cultivated, fast growing Epiphyllum. Epiphyllum from Greek epi- “upon” + phullon “leaf.” Oxypetalum = with acute petals. It flowers in late spring through late summer; large specimens can produce several crops of flowers in one season. This is a widely cultivated Epiphyllum species.”

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 L IS USM lens at f / 4.5, 1/250 second exposure at 108 mm focal length, ISO 400

Click me for another “Cereus” Post.

Cereus not

Though it is sometimes referred to as a night-blooming cereus, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe Cereeae

September 18, 2023September 16, 2023 MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

“Epiphyllum oxypetalum, the Dutchman’s pipe cactus, princess of the night or queen of the night, is a species of cactus. It blooms nocturnally, and its flowers wilt before dawn. Though it is sometimes referred to as a night-blooming cereus, it is not closely related to any of the species in the tribe Cereeae, such as Selenicereus, that are more commonly known as night-blooming cereus. All Cereus species bloom at night and are terrestrial plants; Epiphyllum species are usually epiphytic.”

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV with the EF 50 mm f/1.2L USM lens at f / 16, 1/13 second exposure, ISO 400

These were captured with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV dslr on a Manfrotto tripod.

“Epiphyllum (“upon the leaf” in Greek) is a genus of epiphytic plants in the cactus family (Cactaceae), native to Central America and South America. Common names for these species include climbing cacti, orchid cacti and leaf cacti.”