Dawn Chorus in the Irish countryside
Hi there,
As I write, the dawn chorus is beautiful. Despite double-glazed windows, birdsong fills my office. It’s just before 6 a.m. in County Meath, in the Irish countryside.
Bird Species Detected with the Merlin App
During a 15-minute recording just now from my windowsill, the Merlin app detected the blackbird, thrush, robin, wren, blue tit, woodpigeon, raven, dunnock, buzzard, great tit, oystercatcher and goldfinch!
Walking our dog yesterday in the fields beside our home, it detected the yellowhammer, willow warbler, rook, greenfinch, chiffchaff, linnet, chaffinch, blackcap, skylark, mallard and several species already mentioned.
Since 7 April, when I downloaded the app, it has recorded 39 species of bird in our garden or nearby fields! The others detected are the jay, great northern diver, treecreeper, lesser redpoll, goldcrest, greylag goose, grey heron, collared dove, bullfinch, grey wagtail, coal tit, long-tailed tit, starling, sparrow, magpie, jackdaw and crow. Wow!
Celebrations and Surprises
Last Friday, my lovely wife took me out to dinner at Tankardstown House, near Slane, a treat to celebrate my birthday. It may have been the most expensive main course I’ve ever had (€50 ) but it was delicious! The ambiance and service were also outstanding. And I was presented with a complimentary glass of whiskey when they heard we were celebrating my birthday.
Toastmaster Successes
I was at our Toastmasters Division final last Saturday in Dublin. Our Area 16 won three of the four top prizes. Renewed congratulations to Cathy, from the Navan club, who came second in the evaluation contest, and to Tony and Barry from Castleknock who came first and second in the speech contest.
A Pergola Surprise
When I got home from the Division contest, Ruth had a lovely surprise for me. She had bought and erected a tent-like pergola for my favorite part of the garden. I’m calling it my ‘man’s shed’. Love it! We had our evening meal out there, followed by more of the chocolate biscuit birthday cake Ruth had made for me!
Projects and Life at Home
A New Shed Project
Speaking of sheds, we need a new one. Our old wooden shed had a 15-year life expectancy. We’ve had it about 23 years. We’ve ordered a new one and we’re hoping it’ll be delivered in the next five to seven weeks. I cut and cleared branches from the back and roof of the old shed and we’ve had a delivery of stones which I’ll need to lay in preparation for a concrete base for the new shed. I’ve gotta demolish the old shed first! That could be fun.
Nature Alive in the Garden
Nature is bursting out all around our garden and the trees and hedges we planted earlier this year are growing with gusto! It’s encouraging to see nature blossom and bloom, new life springing forth.
Hay Fever Challenges
One downside for me is hay fever and rhinitis. I usually have it well controlled but for the past three days or so I’ve suffered the classic symptoms: runny nose, sore eyes and throat, a dry cough and reduced breathing capacity. I find NeilMed is great for it, which clears the nasal passages. And Lemsip also helps me. And, of course, antihistamines. I feel much better today.
Media and Reflection
On Monday, I listened to ‘Trumped’ on BBC Sounds. It’s well worth a listen, concerning Trump’s golf course in Scotland. I’ve also followed with interest the hush-money court case in New York and Trump’s claim of absolute immunity before the US Supreme Court.
Reflecting on Age and Life's Meaning
I journaled last Tuesday 23 April: ‘I’m 62. Almost certainly, I’ve lived two-thirds of my life. Or all of it. This could be my “One Day”.’
By Wednesday 24th, I was asking a profound question. ‘How best to spend my remaining time on earth?’
On Thursday 25th, I journaled: ‘The irrelevance of each individual. The delusions that give us meaning. I guess religion gives a wrapped-up, oven ready meaning to life, even though it’s a Big Lie. What lies do I live by? That my life is important? That my writing matters? That my memoirs matter?
‘Maybe one of the things that stopped me writing in the past was my realization that writing doesn’t beat death. Yeah, people still read Shakespeare but he is dead and knows nothing about it.
‘Why do anything? Christopher Hitchens and Prof Dan Dennett are both, now, deceased. And new generations are indoctrinated into religion.
‘Why do people do what they do? For money? For survival? For dignity, personal meaning, for others, for principles, for equality, for values.’
Finding Personal Meaning and Purpose
This morning, I journaled: ‘What is the meaning of my life? I decide. I decide what makes my life meaningful. Our marriage gives much meaning, joy and purpose to my life. Our adult children do too. And my writing.
‘What used I to seek in life? Meaning and purpose. I thought I’d found it in religion.
‘And then I sat in a tiny room, looking at a metal box with a tiny bit of tasteless food inside it, and I listened to silence and felt nothing but emptiness and unfulfillment. I wanted a real relationship with a real person. As I outgrew the Big Lie I had once been willing to believe in, I jumped into life, my life. I began to live my one and only life.’
Audiobook Progress and Family Loss
I was pleased with my work on my audiobook this week. I journaled: ‘I’m two episodes short of having a quarter of the audiobook recorded and edited.
‘I’m 62. The age my dad died. Two years older than David [my brother] was when he took his own life. You see, life’s meaning and purpose. My brother felt he had no future.’
Final Thoughts
We make our own meaning. I accept myself, my complexity, my sexuality, my history, my desires, my creativity, my time, my spouse, our home, our fleeting time alive.
It’s later than we think!
Happy days,
Joe
You can listen to the launch of the first memoir on the Losing My Religion Podcast or watch it on YouTube.
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