Description
A beautiful collection of 5 greeting cards printed from original watercolour paintings by Laois based artist Anne van Dorpe.
Abbeyleix Bog, in County Laois, Ireland, transforms beautifully through the seasons.
In the Spring we see sphagnum mosses and heather start growing, birds like cuckoos return and can be heard calling from the trees fringing the bog. Frogs and newts become active the warmer days and buzzards circle and cry from the heavens, and the bog turns greener as life returns after its winter sleep.
Summer sees wildflowers like bog asphodel and orchids bloom along the paths, heather blossoms blanket the dries hummocks, and insects like dragonflies and butterflies abound flitting amongst flowersand trees. Birds feed their young, and mammals like hares and deer are active in the mornings and evenings.
In Autumn we can see heather, ferns and mosses show vivid colors, the flowering plants from the summer have now thrown forth multitudes of seeds and berries providing food for birds. The bog is becoming quiet, gettiong ready for its winter sleep.
Through Winter the bog becomes tranquil. The drains and pools have filled with water, the plants and most of the animals and birds have gone to sleep. On cold mornings frost-covered plants crunch underfoot, frost almost seeming to grow from the ground itself. The few birds that are still around, like the robin, flit from branch to branch searching for a tasty morsel, and deer tracks can be seen in the peaty soil where they havecrossed looking for likely spots to graze.
