NEW BEGINNINGS

January 14, 2016January 14, 2016 | gaiainaction

Though colder the last few days, we are experiencing some sharp frost and even snow not too far away, there are nevertheless signs of early, very early spring and new life.

I took a stroll through the garden today, underfoot the grass is still very wet, because of the very mild but wet winter so far the slugs have not hibernated in great numbers and have been eating my kale with a relish, meanwhile creating real pieces of lacy art.

I found some white fungi on logs that are lying around waiting for dryer weather and to be stored properly. Our little Korean Fir is back outside after the Christmas festivities, there are signs of new growth, fresh and delicate, a delight to the eye.

The sprouts, leeks and parsley are doing great in the garden, the rhubarb though, has disappeared, and as a result of all the damp and wetness there is moss to be discovered, beautiful bottle green moss, growing healthily and bountifully.

Normally during January I start to get a real early ‘spring’ feeling and it releases a lot of energy, the last few years this did not happen, however, this January I got the feeling back again, my energy is on the up, full of plans and excitement for the coming year, whether it is in the garden or in the house, the plans are being laid. I have always like this saying:

Early in the year, early in the week, early in the day…. that is how I like to get things done, it works for me. At the same time, life is not all about ‘doing’, it’s much about ‘being’.

I guess a balance in everything is the best.

GARDEN SURPRISES

December 2, 2015 | gaiainaction

It’s amazing what can be of interest or beauty in the garden even in December while all the tree branches are bare and stark against the winter sky. For a while I have been watching the barks of our five trees, and the knots one can see in them, I actually never knew the connection between a knot in the bark and a branch, and that a knot is a branch that got enclosed in the wood of the trunk during years of growth. I see these knots all the time in the wood panelling inside the house. Today I took note of them outside in the garden. My Hawthorn tree has many knots, the douglas fir, chestnut, oak and birch less so. While observing the fir tree bark I found a variety of colours, some quite red, the bark is also covered in white in certain areas, not sure if it is lichen, fungus, or even bird droppings, there are quite a few birds that like to use this tree, this morning a lot of twittering came from it, there was only one starling sitting on it’s branches though. On the fir I came across a tiny little snail, and on the hawthorn bark around the knot there was a slug to be seen, so I guess bark is quite important for wildlife. Once I was thinking that I would have to cut down the fir, but during last summer I observed so many of our garden birds using this tree, I decided to keep it despite having to sacrifice a little bit of vegetables due to less light, as birds are after all so precious, and some of them are declining, sad to say.

At this moment another big storm has been forecasted for Ireland, we have had more stormy days than quiet ones the last week or two, but today was a perfect day, wind still and 10C.

As Barbara Winkler once said:

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle. . .
a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining
to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.”

THE CROW FAMILY AT HOME

November 30, 2015 | gaiainaction

For many years some of the crow family have felt very much at home in our garden and on top of the roof, eating from the bird table and nesting in an old empty chimney. When seen in detail they are all very beautiful birds. The rooks have a bluish shine on their very finely preened feathers, they shine. The hooded crows have both black and grey feathers and they only venture on to the patio from time to time, they mostly feed on carrion somewhere else. The jackdaws, also belonging to the crow family feed side to side with the rooks, they are not afraid of these black birds with huge beaks. One of the rooks, we call him Charlie, is very noisy and demonstrates his superior voice quality whenever there is something happening that he does not like around the place. Rooks are very sociable and we see them in groups of about a dozen, intermixed with jackdaws. They are said to hide food into a hole but I have never seen them do that around here. I have seen them play catch in the skies above the garden here, while being very vocal they fly after each other creating great manoeuvres. At times when I go into the garden, one of them, sitting on the roof will give out being very vocal and goodness knows what he is communicating to the others, they know I feed them every day in winter (mainly seeds and peanuts, sometimes table leftovers).
It is a pleasure to have them around, though in a way I might be fonder of the little birds with highly coloured feathers. The crow family are very welcome in our garden, and quite interesting to observe.

GLOW OF THE EVENING SUN

November 25, 2015 | gaiainaction

What a most beautiful day it has been, full sun and quite warm for the time of year. This evening I happen to be in the garden getting in the washing and noticed what beautiful light surrounded me, and how the evening sun was bringing out all the colours of vegetables and herbs alike. Magnificent especially as not long after that the moon came up, large and beautiful.

I feel so blessed with all the beauty that surrounds me. Really good to counter balance all the sadness and strife that is going on in our earth.

Feeling grateful.

A WINDY NOVEMBER EVENING

November 17, 2015 | gaiainaction

While it has been windy for the past week, today was wilder still. It has been drying out the garden which is good as the heavy rains have made it so sodden that doing any work in there is just impossible. This wild weather has brought with it some amazing views of a watery sun this evening. Birds have had their feathers ruffled big time, and they must have been very seasick from sitting on the swinging branches of the trees! So far we still have electricity but a lot of the country are without it, I would not mind as I love candle light and we always have candles handy during winter time just to be prepared. Right now the stove is roaring as the draft is strong, a lovely cosy evening with my partner, after a day making the kitchen ‘mouse’ proof, something that has to be done at the beginning of every winter, there should be nothing in paper or plastic, everything should be in strong glass containers, and now it is 🙂 it feels good to have done this, something I had on my list and can scratch out.

THE HEDGE GOT CUT TODAY

October 28, 2015October 28, 2015 | gaiainaction

Well, believe it or not but today the hedge got cut, and it wasn’t me that did it 🙂 I tried, and did not manage it, so I got someone else to do it, he was a nice and precise guy and he worked real hard. My little helper was here too, and he had so much fun watching and even trying to help a bit with clearing up.

I just had to do something about the height and thickness of that hedge, as discussed in an earlier blog post. Half of the height was cut down, this means that we can see some of the neighbour houses, and some of the town below, but it does not matter, around here all the people are real nice, and down the little town there is no industry at all. All we can see are things such as warehouses and building suppliers, or hardware stores and some other residential areas. Further along we see a wooded hill (the Atlantic Ocean is beyond that), and flowing pastoral scenes sometimes with sheep in the fields, how much better can it get if you live urban. Now that the hedges are lower the sun today was illuminating and warming the soggy, wooden, raised beds, all is wet and sad enough looking, all the raised beds badly need attention. I am hoping that the garden will become dryer now that the wind can reach everything better, yes it is more exposed now so I will have to take that into account during the winter months.

A brilliant day had by all, and much work done, now I feel more motivated to work on my raised beds again.

A hole in the hedge waiting for tender loving care (new plants in other words) And my elderberry sapling.

My little helper having fun, and afterwards inside we were preparing garlic for planting.

GRANDPA SCRATCHY

October 14, 2015November 10, 2015 | gaiainaction

What a mellow, mild, and wind still autumn day it was, so nice to spend time outside in the garden today. And Ruben came, and Ian felt like splitting some of the larger logs, so a lot of activity was happening in the garden. At first Ruben and I were pruning soft fruits, Ruben was collecting the leaves and twigs, then we went and dug out a forgotten potato plant, Ruben got one big potato and some babies which he was very happy about, then there were broad beans to pick and gather. After that I lost my little helper to Ian who came out to split his logs. Ruben takes such an interest and is learning all the time, he gathered up the logs as they fell, with the biggest of smiles on his face, he just loves helping Ian. He even had a little go at letting the hammer fall on the axe, under the eagle eyed supervision from amma (that’s me) of course, and grandpa scratchy too. Grandpa scratchy got his name from his little grandson, (because of his beard), and now he’s grandpa scratchy for my grandson too. We are both very fond of Ruben and love to see him grow and do so well with everything he learns about.
To end the day we all sat down for the usual cup of tea, a worker deserves their break isn’t it, it is a ‘thing’ between Ruben and us, the cup of tea while having a rest from working in the garden. A good feeling.

These beautiful mild autumn days are just what we need here in West Cork after a wet and cool summer. How blessed we really are.

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Sorting the garlic for planting, And playing with his block, trucks, and grandpa scratchy!

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THE LONG STRAND AND SEAWEED

October 11, 2015October 11, 2015 | gaiainaction

A very refreshing walk on the beach at Long Strand this Sunday held a pleasant surprise for us, apart from being just wonderful as it was a mild, wind still day. The beach had just a few people and dogs walking on it, and there were some surfers playing on the waves, it was relaxing and very tranquil. And to our surprise we found a lot of loose seaweed lying around, the tide was coming in so we took some of it over to the car, to use in the garden, when it is well rotted and the salt is removed. So I have now got it soaking in the bath. I am really happy about finding the seaweed as it is priceless for use as compost. Nature is so bountiful, everywhere you turn it gives us rich pickings for use to improve our soil. The other day I gathered the brown leaves from the front garden to make it into leaf mould which is extraordinary stuff to use.

This new week is going to be a busy one in the garden, planting garlic, dealing with the seaweed, some pruning (got a book out from the library), taking down the last of the bean plants, taking out old strawberry plants, and much more… hopefully the weather stays calm and dry. This is a most beautiful time of the year, full of beautiful and vibrant colours and earthy scents, I love it so much.
A time to celebrate harvests of all sorts, and to be thankful for so many blessings.

AUTUMN GARDEN

October 6, 2015 | gaiainaction

The Indian summer looks as if it has come to an end for the time being, that does not mean that October cannot be a great month though. We have had showers which are really welcome in the garden. There is more wind and the leaves, now in browns and yellows are flying all over the place, yes it is autumn – big time – and I love it, though not so much the dark days without any sun at all.

The garden birds have come back, plenty of sparrows this year, but I am delighted to say that we have a variety of tits, including blue tits, coal tits and the great tit, and this morning I saw a gold crest, these are the little birds in the pine and the birch tree that I had difficulty identifying, that is because I could only hear them, not see them properly, but this morning one was feeding at the bird table, what a lovely sight, I hope to catch them on camera one of these days. I’ve also seen gold finches, and we are planning to plant some thistles next year especially to see these lovely creatures feeding. It was the garden next door where it was full of thistles that attracted the gold finches into the area last year, this year though our neighbour cut all his grass, and also the thistles, a pity that is for the birds. Our robin is still around too, and the collared doves have returned, of course we always have the rooks and jackdaws, and so far I have noticed quite a few starlings too. Finches always abound in our garden, they are great users of the bird table. Other than that there is the resident wren, some blackbirds and the occasional song thrush. So delighted all over as we both enjoy these birds very much.

And this morning I planted out some round black radish among the leeks, looking forward to cooking with them later in the winter. I picked another generous bunch of sweet peas, they are still flowering profusely, and beautifully scented. The roses too are in full bloom. I was surprised to find an evening primrose plant flowering among other herbs this week, I sowed these during spring and then forgot about them, a lovely yellow flower and medicinal herb. Some of the other produce still in the garden is the broccoli and some of that is for dinner tonight, lovely freshly picked.

Still seedlings are coming up and these plants will go into the cold frames later on, it are winter salad leaves mostly. Though I was out of action for a whole week, it is always great to spend time in the garden no matter what the weather.

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To observe, to be enchanted, and to enjoy the simple stuff in life, is truly a delight.

My Garden