I’m Very Sad Today But It Doesn’t Matter

May 3, 2013 Mike Howe 4 Comments

I don’t know about you but sometimes I get incredibly sad, and today is one of those days. I know why, I could go into it and explain it, but I don’t need to for my sake, and anyway you would be bored reading about it. No honestly you would, it’s really not very interesting.

In recent years, however, one of the great and surprising benefits of being sad (or happy, or morbid, or awestruck), and for which I am truly grateful (although I’m not sure to whom), is that I have developed an ability to write music about how I feel, which has lead to all of the other interesting things that sometimes happen in my life.

So in recognition of how I feel today, and probably will tomorrow, but probably won’t a day or two after that, here is a song I wrote whilst feeling very sad indeed. I hope you like it (in a recognising the emotion sort of way and not in a making you sad sort of way, I wouldn’t want to do that to you) 🙂

By the way, does anybody know whether or not I should be allowing pingbacks and trackbacks on this post? I have absolutely no idea what they are. Thanks and enjoy the sad music 🙂

Time For a Paddle

May 2, 2013 Mike Howe 2 Comments

The weather on the Pembrokeshire coast has suddenly turned beautifully sunny and warm. The sea is sparkling and flat as a pancake, so for the first time since last September we got the kayaks out and went for a little paddle.

Kayaking gives you such a different perspective on the landscape and seascape around you. This sea cave cannot be seen from the surrounding cliffs, and as well as being very beautiful, it is also a special place for another reason which I will elaborate on later.

And with 186 miles of coastline to choose from, all we need is a half decent summer for the first time in years and we’ll be out there exploring once again, I’ll even get the fishing lines out.

The Coastal Flowers Are Out…..

Image April 30, 2013 Mike Howe 2 Comments

The Coastal Flowers Are Out and More On the Way.....

The coastal flowers are out, we got sea campion, we got oxeye daisy, we got thrift (or more poetically, sea pinks), it’s all go….

Photo: Mike Alexander

The Old Wooden House

April 28, 2013 Mike Howe 4 Comments

I once had the great pleasure of wandering around an old wooden church in the state of Mississippi and was able to really feel and smell its history. It was quite a humbling experience in many ways, and it certainly penetrated deep inside me, so that many years later, when I had developed the ability, I wrote a piece of music about it and included it on my fourth album Heading West.

I was particularly gratified that the esteemed music reviewer Kathy Parsons wrote of the track…..“Old Wooden House suggests a time-worn structure that has seen better days and holds generations of precious memories of days gone by.” I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Here’s a little video that I put together featuring the beautiful photographs of Walker Evans and Bernard M Baruch, which I felt illustrated the kind of building that it is/was, I hope you like it.

Waterfalls Through the Seasons

April 25, 2013 Mike Howe 11 Comments

I mentioned in my post “The Old Road to Nowhere” earlier this month that I would be doing more conservation management planning work at a magnificent place in North Wales this week, and so I have. It’s a place called Dolmelynllyn (I can’t even begin to explain here how you should pronounce that, you need to hear it) and I wanted to share with you one of the best features of the estate – the magnificent Rhaeadr Ddu waterfalls (The Black Falls), and once again I am very lucky to have Mike Alexanders photographs for the purpose (the 2 Mikes work closely on a lot of these projects!).

The impressive falls have a drop of around 60 feet and take their name from the slab of black rock over which the water cascades. They are surrounded by our version of a rain forest, the Atlantic Oakwoods.

The relatively warm, wet microclimate has provided perfect conditions for some of the rarest ferns, mosses and lichens in the whole of the UK, making this an internationally important site for nature conservation. The woods are also fabulous habitat for the relatively rare lesser horseshoe and brown long-eared bats.

The seasons bring changes to the waterfalls, from gentle, deeply relaxing summer flows to raging torrents in the heavy rains of autumn, to the occasional deep freeze of winter….

If you keep climbing up the winding path alongside the falls, and make your way up through the woodland, you eventually come up on top where you are rewarded with a wonderful view of the whole estate.

I hope that the work we are doing here will ensure that it remains intact and beautiful for thousands of people to enjoy into the future, and for the special wildlife to continue to thrive.

A Love Song….

April 23, 2013 Mike Howe 4 Comments

This is a simple song about those times in your life when it feels like someone who is very dear to you is always close, inside you almost, no matter where you are…..

The Trip to Skomer Island That Never Was

April 21, 2013 Mike Howe 13 Comments

Last week I was supposed to be visiting Skomer Island for the day with a number of colleagues and friends to discuss management issues. Skomer (Welsh: Ynys Sgomer) is an island off the coast of Pembrokeshire in southwestern Wales and you get to it by boat at the end of the road that passes our house.

It is well known for its wildlife: a third of the world population of Manx Shearwaters nest on the island, and the Atlantic Puffin colony is the largest in southern Britain. These birds spend the autumn and winter months at sea in the South Atlantic and return to Skomer each year to breed in dis-used rabbit burrows (rabbits were introduced to the island as a food source in the 14th century). There are numerous archaeological remains on the island, from stone circles, standing stones and prehistoric houses.

Puffins on Skomer Island, Pembrokeshire Photo: Mike Alexander

Unfortunately on the day of departure we were being battered by storm force south-westerly winds, and as a result the boat, the “Dale Princess”, was unable to make the crossing safely, so we couldn’t go.

Fortunately my friend Mike Alexander, who gives me all these wonderful photographs to show to you, was the warden on the island from 1976 to 1986, and so he has given me more photos of Skomer to share. I think you’ll agree it is a pretty lovely looking place. I’ll wait for better weather and sea conditions and get over there later in the year.

I Am Really Tired, But Don’t Tell Anyone, It’s a Secret

April 20, 2013 Mike Howe 7 Comments

Because of a fixture pile up due to the extremely wet winter we’ve just had I’m about to play my seventh competitive football match in just under 3 weeks, and at the ripe old age of 46 my legs and back are telling me enough is enough. The trouble is, I’m worried that if I admit it to anyone connected with the football club it could convince them that my time is finally up, which of course is ridiculous because nobody can play that many games in such a short space of time and remain fresh as a daisy. But because I am so much older than everyone else still on the team (next oldest 32), I’m sure you’ll understand when I admit to feeling a little insecure.

So I must go and play (and of course I still love it, which is why I endure the pain) and try not to collapse in a heap in the middle of the pitch (I have to play centre midfield, which as everyone knows who follows the game, is the most physically demanding position in the team because you have to cover the whole length of the pitch for the whole of the game…..I’m exhausted just writing about it :))

If I survive with my dignity intact I’ll only have 2 more games to go before the end of another long season. Then I’ll be able to lie down.

The Music of a Landscape Part III – Badlands

April 17, 2013 Mike Howe 10 Comments

Sadly I only visited the badlands of North Dakota very briefly many years ago. Even more sadly my camera wasn’t working at the time so I wasn’t able to record the hauntingly beautiful landscape, so I did the next best thing and wrote some music about it instead…..

Of course the music of any landscape is completely abstract, so for every person that can identify with it, there will be many more who cannot – we all have different senses and points of reference, which is a very good thing.

This music is also dedicated to Yellow Bird, Kent, Grover and Dan, “The Wolf at Twilight”

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The Old Road to Nowhere

April 15, 2013 Mike Howe 14 Comments

High up on the slopes of the Rhinogau (Rin-og-i), an isolated, rugged range of mountains forming much of the Harlech Dome in North Wales, lies a 19th century gold mining complex. All that remains of the hard toil of the men and women of the time are some deep,cavernous mine shafts which drip with the rain from the mountains, a few ruined buildings and the old track that was used to transport the rock for processing.

Since all the industry left the hillside, nature has quietly taken over again, so that now the only sound you hear up there is the sighing of the wind and the throaty call of the raven in his craggy domain. The noise and disruption of the past is long gone, along with all the stories of the people who worked this land in order to provide a living for their families.

The land is now cared for by the National Trust, and I have had the privilege to write the plan for its future conservation. There’s plenty more to see at this place, and I’ll update you as I go. I’ll be back there next week.

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