If last weekend was a colour it was grey! It may have been various shades of grey going from light to dark, but no matter how you looked at it, it was grey.
But if you were lucky there was colour to be found.
I took this photograph of a goldfinch on a headstone in the graveyard of St. Mary’s (Church of Ireland) in Dungarvan.
It was last Saturday afternoon and I was in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford for the first time in about six or seven years.
I was glad to be back.
Having just arrived, I went for a walk around the town, reacquainting myself with streets, squares and landmarks I was familiar with when I used to visit regularly.
The weather last weekend was pretty dismal down in Waterford and Saturday was no exception. The Waterford landscape seemed to lose its colour as wave after wave of misty grey drizzle swept in off the sea. It was as if Wimbledon grounds men had used a grey cover to protect Waterford from the sun.
But the shock of black and yellow wings and the scarlet red face of the goldfinch as it landed on the headstone was wonderful to see. It stood out more than it would on a typical summer’s day. It didn’t have blue skies or summer sun to compete with.
I haven’t seen too many goldfinches. They’re common enough around Ireland but I’ve seen them rarely. It’s rarer still for me to have a camera with me when they appear. So this was a special moment. The bird landed and kindly waited just long enough for me to get my camera out of its bag, point and take the photo. Then it took off.
Seeing the goldfinch stand out so dramatically against all of the greys around it (the grey stone of the graveyard, the rain-filled grey clouds and the grey misting sea of Dungarvan Bay) made me think that no matter how bad the weather gets there will still be something exciting and colourful to do or see.
And sure enough despite the weather we had a great time in and around Dungarvan, Co. Waterford for the next couple of days.
More on that later.



