The Golden Way

There are some lovely walks around the Jampa Ling Tibetan Buddhist Centre in Co Cavan. One of my favourite Sacred Web songs is a Tree Chant where the names of trees from around the world are repeated. I found myself singing this as I meandered the forested trail to the lake.
My favourite trees are old deciduous trees. Beech, ash, oak… And they all grow here intermingling with wild ferns, holly, and ivy. It reminds me of Robert Graves’ work in The White Goddess.
One spring I will come to see the bluebells!

 
Wild Shamrocks!

I did not expect to find wild shamrocks in the woods at Jampa Ling, but there they were, pushing through the ivy and covering the mossy nurse logs. Shamrocks are a type of wood sorrel, belonging to the Oxalis genus.
The old beech tree guards the path to the lake.  The sign says: “this ancient tree casts a canopy so dense that no other trees can thrive under it leaving an area as you see free from undergrowth. Nature has created here for us a beautiful quiet place of reflection and contemplation.”
Not long after you reach the lake.

In the field behind the centre I discovered this massive old grandmother Oak, the Druid tree. Ah, she is beautiful. I wanted to climb into her arms and sleep.