"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..."

Dear Diary,

It is finally here! After a year of preparation and planning, I'm off to Ireland tonight. I'm staying with a friend outside Boston and this photograph is of her sweet cat Chester. Despite his grumpy expression, he is very loving. I like the way the wind caught his lion's mane and how he blends so well with the tulips, which have just hit their peak.

Photography is always about recording that precious moment that can be so fleeting. The sunlight on Chester, the tulips and the bottle tree was just such a moment. BTW, for those who may not know, bottle trees were brought to the south by African slaves. Blue bottles were most highly prized. They believed they caught evil spirits who were enticed to enter the bottles and were unable to escape. I need to get one of these for my garden this year!

"Leaving on a jet plan..."