Photo was taken at Altamount, Millstreet, Co.Cork (Irl)

Beautiful September sunshine brought the best out in everyone over the weekend especially the butterflies. These 10 butterflies were busy at work on the Sedum flower. With all the cold and rain I didn’t any of them during the summer months. But they certainly are making up for lost time with the recent fine weather.

Thought on Monday – September – 24/09/2012

‘They were gentlemen. They were hard working men. They were not perfect but they were genuine. They were best friends. They were Godly men. They didn’t talk about God, they just did God.’ ~Emma Spence speaking at the funeral service last Wednesday of her father Noel and two brothers Graham and Nevin

Sadly we often hear of farming accidents. But the events that unfolded in Northern Ireland last week touched a nation. It was a dreadful tragedy, an awful loss of life and a story that goes beyond words. Emma had bravely tried to save her dad and brothers in a slurry tank, but were tragically overcome by the deadly fumes within. The words she spoke at the funeral service were so moving. The line “they didn’t talk about God, they just did God” spoke volumes about her close knit family. The lives they lived were an expression of what they believed. They simply got on with what they had to do each day. They lived their faith and lived what they believed in. God was with them in the bits and pieces of their everyday lives and with them now in their anguish, heartache and devastation.

David Young reporting on the service said: “The three minute dedication to the lost Spence men was typical of a service that conveyed the pain but also the hope of a grieving family whose Christian faith has remained undented in the face of tragedy”. The ripples of this awful tragedy have touched all farming communities and homes. Hopefully an increased awareness of the many dangers lurking on every farm will save lives today and in the future. May they rest in peace.