SEPTEMBER REFLECTIONS

THE RIVER DEE, LLANGOLLEN, WALES

LAKEMOUNT GARDENS, IRELAND

I fell in love with Lakemount Gardens at first sight, but it was this spot, overgrown, mysterious, that made me feel like I stepped into Emile Zola's Paradou.

I stood there spellbound, absorbing every detail, taking pictures. But there was so much more to see. The pond, the moss-covered paths leading from one spectacular spot to another, some secluded and intimate, others fabulously immense.

Mid-August offered lilies and phloxes, hydrangeas and fuchsias, berries and grasses.

A gardener, I appreciated the flowerless displays, where foliage and sun rays created beautifully textured landscapes. 

My favorite site? The pond with its elegant silver-and-purple arum lilies rising above the real blossoms.

SNOWY APRIL NIGHT

SOLITUDE

ICE

MY CATALYST FOR CREATIVITY

Writing in a dark, quiet room, that's not for me. I need open spaces. I brainstorm my scenes while hiking. I didn't bring a book to read on my last trip, just a notebook to write. The plot took a few unexpected turns under the foreign skies.