I never imagined that THIS would be on the way to Cushendall. I never thought I would descend into the basement to draw the scene there! The result was, however, that, after doing this drawing, I was more aware than ever of the “things” in my house, and that they, in a sense, have something to say to me.
The ring of four birches and one spruce is in our neighbor’s yard. We have a large picture window, and this ring of trees forms our view to the north. There is a reason I wanted to include this photo. Several years ago a couple lived in the downstairs unit with their young child; the woman was from Ireland. She told me that she never went into that ring and that she kept her child out of it at all costs. I thought that was interesting and a bit quaint when she told me. However, after reading over half of Eddie Lenihan’s book about the Good People, there is no way I would go inside of it. Maybe it’s innocuous ground, but maybe not.
[Edit Apr. 9, 2011: The following is a traditional Irish tune composed by Vincent Broderick called Around the Fairy Fort, played on the flute by Ben Saylor.]
[audio:http://www.pammcdowellsaylor.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Around-the-Fairy-Fort.mp3|titles=Around the Fairy Fort]
