On one of the first beautiful, sunny and warm days this year I made a walk at Lough Hyne and the forest that overlooks this salt water lake. At the lake it was very busy with swimmers and kayakers enjoying their Sunday morning. Folks have been soo browned off with all the rain we have been getting, so there was a pretty happy atmosphere all round.
Lough Hyne
I met by chance a friend of mine walking her little dog, and it was lovely catching up with her. After a while I started on my walk up the hill as I wanted to check the wild plants and the trees. It was an ideal day for it, the sun showed the bright yellow green of the emerging sycamore leaves beautifully, while underground there was a multitude of interesting wild plants and flowers.
It is of great interesting to me lately of what is growing underneath trees as my garden is slowly becoming a forest garden due to our tree canopies growing larger and lager.
Overlooking Lough Hyne, so peaceful.
I’m quite interested in what is happening to the trees at the moment seeing it’s spring time. I finally enroled in an online course on woodland trees id. Trees in the different seasons are discussed and given all the information to identify them in order to look up a whole lot more information about them. Encouraging nature connectedness and awareness of forest ecology. Looks like it’s going to be very interesting, especially coupled with enjoyable forest walks for practical identification.
Holly flowerSycamore treeQuite old stumpViolet plantMagestic!
Even the bumblebees were delighted with such a sunny beautiful day, and ofcourse they were hungry too!
While seagulls and other sea birds fly in the wind to the sound of their own piercing keow, and the crow family fight them for the food that an elderly man is putting on the sea wall, I stroll past them on my way to the coast walk in beautiful Schull. They, the birds, don’t bat an eyelid and continue their fervent snatching and feeding. The man never looks up, so intent on his dedication to the birds.
It is a sunny but very windy winter’s morning.
I’ve just past the path where a robin took my attention, it came up close and was making some sounds but not singing, that started later. It was the most beautiful little creature, its colours vibrant, this got me thinking that it was a male bird and that the mating season is not far off.
What fascinates me on this path are the trees. Ever since I did a short course last year on tree identification during the winter season, I keep wondering what this or that tree is called. I can recognise the obvious ones of course, and now I know an ash tree when I see one, its seeds, winged samaras or keys hanging down from twigs with black buds give them away. Seeing that we have a fair (but not huge) amount of trees here in West Cork, I’m thinking of taking a further course in tree identification as it’s fun to recognise what we learn.
Celandine leaves, and here and there the yellow of the flowers are already to be seen, as are a more plentiful sight of winter heliotrope plants in flower, their pink breaking their greyish leaves along the path. Ferns and old man’s beard are plentiful along this walk, as is ivy covered in thick berries.
Walking further along the coastline, there is plenty to see, the rocks are covered with interesting lichens, as well as seaweeds, and sea glass can be found. The rocks themselves Devonian mud and sandstones, look dark and some of them are quite jagged but some are really smooth.
The sea here is part of Schull Harbour which opens onto the Atlantic Ocean, where it is studded with a variety of islands. During the calmer months the harbour is a lovely sight with all the yachts and plenty of activity.
Mount Gabriel overlooks this whole area, it is a hill 407 m high. Two radar domes are to be seen on top, they monitor civilian aircraft in parts of Ireland’s air space. Recently I have travelled along the western side of this mountain on the way to Bantry, I drove through the Barancleeve Gap along which is where archaeological evidence of extensive copper and barite mining operations during the Early to Middle Bronze Age is found. I would like to explore. And looking at my map I have just discovered a few more little roads in the surrounding area which might be of interest.
Barancleeve Gap
Memories of the area… Once, when I first came to Ireland with my family, I spent a year in Cork city as an au-pair, and the family took me with them for a month’s holiday to Crookhaven. I still have wonderful memories of that time, all I had to do was walk the toddler to Barley Cove beach and entertain him. It is there that I discovered coral and the bleached skeletons of sea urchins, and walking along the roads I noticed many wild seaside plants. Crookhaven is about 23km from Schull, it is a peninsula and has a very rocky shore towards the top end facing the Atlantic, looking over this view, it was an amazing sight, and very invigorating as strong winds blow relentless there.
Views from the nursing home which is situated at Colla road in Schull and is a lovely place.
Seeing that I have the occasion to travel to Schull twice a week to visit Ian in the nursing home, which also lies along this coast line and has lovely views overlooking Schull Harbour, I’m spoiled really with a wealth of interesting walks and great photo opportunities. And with spring and summer coming up I look forward to this, map in hand and Google for research as a stand by. There is lots to discover I think, and I will take full opportunity of combining both seeing Ian and discovering this amazing landscape and what it has to offer.
February has started and thoughts move in the direction of what we’ll be creating in our gardens. Planning new projects, and welcoming new growth is the order of the day. Already there is lots happening out there, even while most of our garden is fairly water logged, and it requires a good pair of wellingtons to navigate towards the elderberry bush and the back gate. Even then, it is great to see new growth and even the odd wild flower, or the beautiful colours of the croccusses.
Dandelion, and a self-seeded young foxglove plant
Daffodils, and a young self-seeded mullein plant.
And an atmospheric view of an early spring sunset. According to some folks, spring starts on the first of February here in Ireland, but I’m never sure. I can see things happening though, which definitely point to an awakening in nature, so if not on the first of February, then spring cannot be far off and the evenings are getting brighter too.
Every year I purchase a few more bulbs, the last few years it has been a variety of old fashioned gladioli, I love them. But because of the heavy soil and the heavy winter rains I have to dig the bulbs up and store them. I grow lilies in containers for similar reasons, as well as alliums and agapanthus. By now I’ve got a tidy collection of container plants.
Tulips, grape hyacints, croccusses, and many other bulbs also seem to grow best in containers here.
Seeds are germinating inside, this year I’m trying out asters. I picked an aster resembling a spider chrysanthemum, the flowers look lovely on the packet. We will see.
A glimpse into our putting shed, not quite sorted or decluttered. I was looking at a new wheel barrow recently but they cost around €150! I think the old rusty one will get a clean up instead.
Yes, Jack Frost has been paying West Cork, as well as the rest of Ireland, and I believe other parts of Europe too, a nightly visit. That in the middle of it I ran out of heating oil through my own lack of attention is beside the point. I was able to solve the problem very quickly thanks to a loyal plumber and heating oil providers. This did not take awake from the beauty which greats me while attending to some domestic chores like emptying the kitchen waste into the compost bin at the end of the garden. I could not resist taking some photos at least. Meanwhile a little robin has been coming closer all winter and even sang to me the other day, how totally lovely.
And what I would really like to do this year is to make my garden into a lovely space, that is nurturing to the soul, a space where my family, friends and myself can rest and find quiet and peaceful admiration for nature. And a space for wildlife, where bees and other pollinators enjoy all the flowers and find nectar. Where birds can build their nests and sing their hearts out, for a mate when the time comes. I’ve had up to five goldfinch everyday feeding on the seedheads of the Evening Primrose, such a wonder. The usual bird population is fine this winter, I’m taking part on the survey again. The chaffinches are definitely down, the sparrow count is up. There is only one dunnock whereas there have been two for years. The wren is our resident bird, as are two blackbirds, a couple. Everyday there is now a Pied Wagtail feeding in the front garden, a first for our garden. Of course the robin is always there, but some years there are two, so far there is only one, I read that the males come feeding earlier than the females so I hope that the female is still on the way. It is nice when a robin comes up to you and it feels like they are really trying to communicate with you, and when they then start to sing so close, that is wonderful!
I wish you all a peaceful, joyful, healthy and happy 2026, enjoy!
We are ending the month of November and with routine changes and many things to attend to recently I’m only now starting to slow down and to dwell on what I’m at and what I would like to focus on in the next few winter months. I love winter.
Right now I like how there is such attention on gratefulness by so many people, so many friends. When looking at the small gifts we receive everyday, it’s easy to feel gratitude.
Well, my garden is full of seedheads attracting goldfinches. And new life is to be seen in primroses starting to flower.
The sun is out today and there is ony a little breeze. The garden has not yet died down so far, our really cold weather only arrives in January and usually last untill April. Our daffodils are already showing their head above soil. I could do work out there but I’m inclined to leave the seedheads for the birds, and as well as that the soil, the grass, everything is sodden, the rains having taken care of that. So I will leave the outside work for now, and I will make my adventkrans instead.
Along the road, somewhere in county Kerry I recently did a discovery. While on one of my journeys I stopped to take autumn photos and also to take a look at this cottage. I had often wondered while passing who would have lived there long ago, and why the people left, and where did they go, maybe across the sea to America as a lot of Irish people emigrated there in the late 19th or early 20th century. Anyway the house is boarded up but still looks in good repair. It is nestled among beech and other native trees, now beautifully coloured, and it looks out down the valley with hills in the distance. Some of the land is bog-like with a variety of grasses and sedges, some rocky outcrops and low bushes, and lots of bracken, beech and birch trees, a mixture of colour at this time of year.
To my surprise I found a notice fastened to the wall of this cottage, it happens to be a roosting place for bats, and in particular for the lesser horseshoe bat. An organisation covering both Ireland and England called the ‘Vincent Wildlife Trust’ has a long and successful history of establishing and managing reserves for rare bat species. It manages 37 sites in Ireland, England, and Wales, all of which are roosts of the greater or lesser horseshoe bat. In Ireland, the Trust manages 12 reserves for the lesser horseshoe bat. And so this cottage has been put to very good use.
Hi everyone, it has been a while since I contributed news from life in West Cork. So here I am again. My last gladioli flower from the garden has a stunning colour. I love these old fashion flowers.
I don’t think that I have ever seen trees so heavely laden with bright red apples, almost too beautiful to eat! But not only apples, pears, plums, and other fruit and nuts are having an abundant harvest, whole hedgerows are flaming red with hawthorn berries. I saw our own hawthorn tree filled with fat sparrows the other day, over 20 birds chirping away, did they feast on our haws? I wonder.
Hawthorn berries
Autumn is advancing. Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival is almost upon us. It celebrates the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter time. Pumpkins are all over the shops and my grandkids are talking about what they will dress up in. It’s celebrated here as Halloween, a commercialised version of Samhain ( I don’t like much).
Fall coloursMost recent full moon
Autumn is usually a time of slowing down, but not necessarily so, not until winter is properly upon us. There are exhibitions to go see, and musea to visit, and coffee gatherings with friends to enjoy, and so on. Some weeks ago I started a six week course online with the Transnational Institute, it is called “Cities beyond growth” focussing on post growth urbanism, it is very interesting, The first week we looked democracy and care, second week we looked at energy sustainability, how can living spaces be made more liveable in an efficient way , and we discuss housing this week. It is global, it draws information from scholars, writers, thinkers and idealists. Also interesting to hear what other students from all over the world have to say, and their experiences in their environments. The course is given via Podcasts, readings, video’s, lots to take in. The questions prompt us to think deeper about what it is to work toward a more sustainable future in every way, and to hear about what is, or is not working all over the globe. What this course is doing for me is very welcome, it is restoring hope and faith in a world that has been so shaken in recent years. Yes, It is doing that for me.
Other activies, like knitting socks for my beloved husband, and ofcourse my bobbin lace. Aswell as a recent webinar on the silk roads, which was brilliant.
Mellow evening sun, we are having a mild autumn
Ruin of St.Mary’s church in Schull. Schull is a lovely seaside village in west Cork, where my husband Ian is now being cared for in a nursing home. It is about half an hour from here. Ian is still writing a children’s book, it going to be brilliant!
Two more sights of beautiful Schull, can you believe that the fuchsia hedge is still in flower right now.
It has been a beautiful, long, and busy summer with very little rain and pleasant warm temperatures. I’ve collected a number of photos and writing which I’ll blog about over the winter months, over the rainy season, but for now just some recent pictures.
Driving over the Mine Road to Durrus in West Cork A typical Irish house of last century I just came across this dahlia somewhereOne late summer morning in the garden
I’m looking forward to catch up with everyone during the next while.
agoyvaerts 