Michelle Boyle
Virginia , Ireland
Michelle Boyle’s work explores people and place from everyday life expressed in her distinctive spontaneous and fluid way. ‘
MessageI am extremely blessed have this magnificent lough situated very close to where I live in Co Sligo The lough is about 8 kilometers long and 2 kilometres wide, sharing it’s abundance into the river Bonet, which flows into the eastern end of the lake and the River Garavogue which drains the lake to the west near Sligo Town.
The lake is surrounded by several woodlands, including Slish Wood, Dooney Rock, and Hazelwood. The spectacular wooded hills of Slieve Killerry and Slieve Daeane dominate the south shore.
As an additional point of interest and beauty, the lough contains as many as 20 small islands, including the Lake Isle of Innisfree, made famous by poet William Butler Yeats.
The lake shore is abundant in a variety of plant species, including gifting us with an annual carpet of blue bells, yellow lady's mantle ivy broomrape, black bryony, wintergreen and at the right time of the year, if you are lucky, you can find bird's-nest orchids growing near the water’s edge.
This lough offers a safe and natural habitat to a vast array of animal and birds, including swans, wild geese, kingfishers, terns, ducks, otters and in addition, facilitates an early run of spring salmon. While out kayaking I have also spotted several mink residing on a few of the islands.
I often retreat to the water’s edge to replenish my mind and aching heart as I meditate to the sound the slapping ripples on the shore as it crashes through the reeds and washes the stones, imagining this gentle momentum burnishing smooth, all the sharp and painful edges telling me time will heal.
Laura Bell