Céad mÃle fáilte, a hundred thousand welcomes to H A G! I’m Ali Isaac, and this email comes to you from the intersection of female senescence and Irish landscape, both mythical and natural. My book, Imperfect Bodies, will be published by Héloïse Press in the spring of 2026.
Good morning! It is now the 7th day of the 25th year of the 21st century… how futuristic and science-fictioney does that sound?
I don’t do New Year Resolutions, or reflections on the previous year, or round-ups of all my successes/ failures/ books I’ve read etc etc etc… You were with me for much of it as it happened, you don’t need your noses rubbing in it again. But I do want to say thank you for keeping me company; your presence, your invaluable comments are what has kept me going here on H A G. And I may not be looking back, but I am definitely looking ahead to all that this year may bring, and hoping you will join me for this next turn around the sun.
My first venture into my local landscape this year was a bright and frosty one. New Year’s Day was cold here in the Irish heartlands. I set out, not looking for anything other than some fresh air to fill my lungs, and a stretch for my muscles. Of course, the land had other ideas, and so what follows is a short photo-essay of what’s bringing me hope this year.
I had no sooner left the house when I noticed the cow parsley rampaging through the verges. It’s not blooming yet, of course, but it looks like its going to be abundant this year. The foliage looks very like wild carrot, but wild carrot doesn’t grow naturally in my local area. We do get a lot of cow parsley every year, though. I love its soft, fluttery, lacy leaves, and its creamy-white froth of flowers in the spring.
I have to say, I was somewhat alarmed to catch sight of my next wild neighbour: a single beautiful bright meadow buttercup… surely it’s way too early? She normally doesn’t visit till spring, generally April onwards, yet there she was, defiant and determined. Alarmed, but I was also awed by her tenacity.
I also spotted some Creeping Buttercup, but this was not yet in flower. Its leaves are very different to the Meadow Buttercup, not quite as long and spiky in shape.
A little further on, I discovered my first dandy, certainly a sight for sore eyes! If you’ve been with me a while, you will know how much I love this gorgeous unnassuming little wild plant. This one was looking a little raggedy and worse for wear, like many of us after welcoming in the New Year the night before! Although I knew that the dandelion in Ireland is associated with Brigid because she begins to appear so close to the Goddess’s feast-day, I did not realise that she has a special name because of it: Bearnán BrÃde, which means ‘the indented one of Brigid’. 1
You can read my love-letter to the dandelion here:
March | "Love is like the Lion's Tooth"
The quote in the title comes from one of Yeats’s poems, Crazy Jane Grown Old Looks at the Dancers, in which the observer watches a young couple dance together with great passion, and an element of violence. The refrain, repeated at the end of each stanza, implies there is danger in love. Or, I suspect, where we find danger, we will also find love.
I then spotted the rosette type leaves of the Foxglove, Lus Mór in Irish, ‘the great herb’. I can’t wait for these beautiful bad boys to bloom!
I also saw a stubborn little Common Daisy, called in Irish, NoinÃn. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the daisy at the time, and have since realised that, despite photographing and celebrating so many of my local wildflower neighbours, I have somehow manged to toally ignore this humble little beauty.
Finally, I bring your attention to another humble little plant already growing in proffusion: Cleavers, in Irish called Garbhlus. When I went into the forest last year with Willow and Wild, the foraging group made a lovely refreshing drink from cleavers that is meant to be very cleansing. It’s also said to be good eaten for weight loss. 2 I like it because it makes a healthy coffee substitute which is said to be better than dandelion root, and which I am keen to try this year… I’ll keep you posted on that!
So, as you can see, the future is looking very green and exciting… also yellow, white, all shades of pink, with splashes of lilac, purple and blue!
The emergence of these wild plants offers us so much hope for the future, but sadly, in the climate- and landowner-ravaged times we live in, its simply no longer enough to just admire them from afar. We need to invite them into our spaces, prioritise them, and co-habit with them. If we do, they reward us with such nourishing and healing gifts, and allow our native animals and insects to flourish. (I love the way the words ‘nourish’ and ‘flourish’ work together!)
This year, I will be delving further into this topic, providing deep-dives into each plant, its myths and folklore, its nutritional, healing, and other uses, and showing you how I have brought them into my garden, and how I am using them.
But for now, here is some of nature’s winter art. This is a picture of a frozen puddle, the water transformed into ice, its movement transfixed in mid flow. There is art everywhere in the landscape if we open our eyes and look for it… and it’s free!
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Niall Mac Coitir. Ireland’s Wild Plants - Myths, Legends and Folklore, The Collins Press, 2016, p. 199. OMG - how I love this book!
Ibid, p. 198.
Lovely! From a climate standpoint, it’s alarming to see these flowers blooming so early, but you’re right, spotting these little pops of colour brings a little burst of joy! I spotted an Ox-eye daisy...which doesn’t normally rear its head until May!
I loved the frozen puddle, Ali. It looks like it should be hung on a wall like a piece of art. It would be as temporary as the banana taped to the wall and perhaps wouldn't fetch $6m but it's way better imo. People miss the little things like you photographed when they only are looking at the big picture. It is a worry when there are signs of changing seasons and many people still have their heads in the sand pretending it's not happening.