Art on The Bog

Following on from the previous blog about turf it seemed right to show one of the uses of bogland after commercial exploitation has finally ceased. The Lough Boora Parklands of 5,437 acres, being a particularly good example of providing a public amenity for all age groups at different levels of interest; consisting of Finnamore Lakes with it's fishing & birdlife, a sculpture park, a mesolithic site and Farmland.

On the day that we visited the weather was just right, for Boora is a vast area and ideally it needs to be nether to hot or cold. We chose to walk although bicycles are for hire, some of the bikes are equipped with small buggies for children to sit in. I was hoping that they would have one I might fit into but no such luck !

The lakes are plentiful and the distant hills are

the Slieve Blooms of our home

Boys of all ages like to play trains given the chance..

The transport of the bogs was a narrow gauge railway with small diesel engines that

pulled trucks loaded with turf. Above is the remains of that trackway and if you enlarge the picture you will see the trucks, that remain here as silent sentinels.

As we walked my eye caught on a strange building, that in the distance appeared to be a stack of grey logs. It was only as we got closer that a triangular shaped, strange roofless structure appeared in front of me, my curiosity was heightened as to what exactly it was and so the camera came out to make a capture.

A place to dwell within and view land, sky or both.

A notice board close to this practical piece of art invited the reader to sit within and experience a different energy. The walls are made of blocks of bog oak trees cut to shape. The wood preserved in peat that had been retrieved from the bog. Can be as much as three and a half thousand of years old. The happy person seen inside is relatively young.

I appreciated these words & felt the desire to share them with you.

Just a few of the sculptures.

The water in this drain seemed to be devoid of fishy creatures, for none of the usual signs were at all apparent, as per rings on the surface of the water. I was all but convinced, until a large Heron or perhaps it was a Crane flew over our heads to landed on the bank and then we knew that this fisher bird only visits for food.

A uniquely thatched hide.

A viewing place from which to view the birdlife of the lakes, without causing any fright to flight for them. The hide is made of wood, open viewing slits and a reed thatched roof. Access to the hut is via a bridge on stilts that sits above the marsh grass.

Inside: the conical point of the roof had been used by swallows, for a heap of their guano could be seen on the floor directly beneath the nests.

We will return again to The Lough Boora Parklands and visit the mesolithic site and perhaps to see many more of the sculptures that we missed. We shall however use bicycles next time and save the poor old feet.