CATCHING UP – TAKING STOCK

| gaiainaction

It is time for a bit of stock taking, and for catching up with many friends and followers of my blog.  Personally the year 2024 has brought many changes, some challenges, some sad, and some good.  Worldwide it’s been a sad and chaotic year too I think.  Many of us have asked ourselves serious questions about our general humanity, our deeds towards our fellow human beings.  A lot of good has been happening too during this past year, a lot of compassion has been shown, and brave and good people have shown to be always around. 

I visit Ian, my husband, in the nursing home every week, something we both look forward to very much.

And now January is almost over and I’m still organizing my activities inside the house and out in the garden, and in society.  Lots to do, all good things.  During the winter I’ve availed of webinars and zoom meetings a lot.  Webinars about grasses and rushes, and other natural subjects.  Regular zoom meetings of a lace making group.  And an introductory course in tree identification.  Collage making or painting with my grandchildren is very rewarding too. Locally there have been meetings of the Early Retirement Group which has fabulous and interesting (mainly) other women as members and a good program, one of the things we do is a weekly chair yoga session which keeps us all quite flexible.  Then the monthly book club and the poetry circle are such a joy, as are the very regular and hugely interesting art exhibitions.  Skibbereen has it all.  There is simply not enough time to do it all.

And then there is the weather which during winter can be quite challenging, storms, heavy rain, frost, the type of weather that makes you want to crawl behind the stove with a good book.  Christmas and New Year celebrations seem to have come and went in a flash this past year.  The dark days are now getting a little lighter and soon it will be the first of February, for Ireland that heralds the beginning of spring, it is also the feast of St.Bridgid and has now become a public holiday.  And so…. I’m chitting my potatoes to have them ready for planting in March.  My garden is still my focus a lot of the time.

This coming season my main big plan for the garden is to plough up half my little grass field so I can plant more vegetables.  For the past five years I have added more and more shrubs because I had much less time to garden and thought it was the better way.  This meant that I now have less and less space for vegetables.  So space will have to be made.  My grandson Ruben who is now a strong teenager and very willing to help me has already cleared one plot in the back of the garden, he wants to do more.  We are great mates and I love him coming over and working alongside me, and afterwards we have pizza and watch a movie.

Luckily during the last storm none of our trees suffered, we have seven trees in a small garden.  We live in a terraced house and the garden is relatively small.  Ours are a birch, oak, chestnut, hawthorn and elderberry, and in the front garden, a currant tree and an acer.  Our hawthorn tree was affected by blight last summer and lost all of its leaves, we’ll see what happens this year.  The chestnut had been trimmed five years ago and has some rot in an outshoot and that will need looking after. 

Gardening and planning a garden, as many people know very well, is a great joy, and keeps us fit, it’s also hard work at times, but that can be done in part, an hour here and an hour there on a daily basis, weather allowing of course (I’m a fair weather gardener).  To be out in nature is such a joy, the fresh air, the scents, sounds, and seeing the growth is all delightful and will keep me going for ever.  The observation possibilities of seeing insects, birds, wild plants and herbs growing, as well as tasty vegetables and trying out new types.  And then there is the digging up of potatoes and the harvesting of edible produce, how much better can it get  I think it satisfies one of our most basic instincts as humans, that of survival. 

Not being sure what 2025 will bring for us all, I wish many blessing for each and everyone.

Loving thought to all.

22 thoughts on “CATCHING UP – TAKING STOCK”

      2. We can be very impressed by happenings in our schooldays I think so too. One year we had a teacher would put a pin board on the wall, quite a first in those days, and on it she put “A window to the wide world” it did open up our awareness of the wide world…the cultures, the politics even…it’s when I started to become aware of injustices like apartheid etc… many teachers showed seeds in many a child. A wonderful thing!

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  3. thank you so much for sharing.

    with ‘a lot is happening, worldwide’ you name it all.

    lots of challenges .

    Gardening in line with nature.

    may I recomend you following website?

    http://www.naturalfarming.org. Or.com? I’m not sure.

    wishing you, your husband many many heartwarming visits, and happy moments for you, and the family.

    Much love

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  4. Blessings to you as well, Agnes. We are still in the depths of winter and spring seems far off, but the days lengthen as the sun grows stronger. Soon, soon!
    I envy you with your grandson helper, how I wish I had similar help!

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  6. It’s good to hear from you and catch up on how things are going. You seem to have a just-busy-enough life, with your gardening and crafts etc. It’s great to see your grandson helping in the garden – maybe he will inherit your love of that hobby!

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  7. The holidays came and went quickly here as well. We are having a dry, open winter. I’m feeding a lot of birds–red polls, chickadees, mourning doves, cardinals, blue jays, tit mice, common and rosy breasted nuthatches, flickers, goldfinches, and hairy and downy woodpeckers–and the two white tail does and the bunny that clean up after them! The garden is frozen hard, but I still have the houseplants under lights and the Aerogarden I just started up again (basil). We are dealing with dump trucks of crazy here. I’m going to be gardening for sanity and food this year, an hour at time as well. 🙂

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    1. It’s a great idea to garden for sanitair and solace too, and no harm in having some food growing besides. I found it fascinating the variety of birds you get to feed. Our bird population is goingdown every year sadly! Delighted for you though ❤️

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  9. This is such a warm and reflective post. It’s inspiring to see how much joy and meaning you find in your daily life, from tending your garden to engaging in your community. Your plans for expanding the vegetable garden sound exciting, and it’s wonderful that your grandson is so eager to help—those moments together must be truly special.

    I love how you describe the connection between gardening and our instincts for survival; there’s something deeply grounding about growing our own food. Wishing you a season of abundant growth, good health, and many fulfilling moments in 2025! 🌿✨

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    1. Thank you for your kind comment Ilze. I’m so glad that you are growing your own food too and I also wish you a very fruitful growing season this coming year. The very first signs of spring are here in the garden! ❤

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