Thursday, 28 July 2011
Showtime
The year is flying by too quickly - I can't believe that next week it'll be August. This means Gort Show so I'm busy amongst other things sorting out veg to enter into the show classes. I'll keep you posted of the results !!
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Big Baby Birds
In just 12 days they've grown enough to crowd out the nestbox - it's been amazing fun watching them. The day after this photo was taken, we got up early only to find they'd all fledged successfully.
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Monday, 9 May 2011
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Marching on...
End of another month, and what a month it's been here !!
St Patrick's Day, Bank Holiday and parades, the start of spring and the growing season (including weeds)
Irish Youth Climbing final - Ellie came 4th in the girls 11-13 category with 474 points out of 480, an awesome performance.
Choir practices for me, the choir will be competing at the choral competition in Wexford this May so we need 4 competition pieces up to the high standard that we witnessed last year.
Ellie has her first Irish traditional music exam on 4th April, on the tin whistle so is memorising her two set pieces for that.
Add in pony-riding, pony vaccinations and visits from the farrier, gardening work picking up for me (which is nice as we have had a very dry and sunny month so I've started my suntan early)
As the month draws to a close, the routine tasks (half-dismantle the stove and give it a thorough clean...messy) and sweeping the chimney (urgh) beckon, so as compensation, there's plenty of cuteness about. I'll leave you with another of Ellie's photos - a nice springtime one !!
St Patrick's Day, Bank Holiday and parades, the start of spring and the growing season (including weeds)
Irish Youth Climbing final - Ellie came 4th in the girls 11-13 category with 474 points out of 480, an awesome performance.
Choir practices for me, the choir will be competing at the choral competition in Wexford this May so we need 4 competition pieces up to the high standard that we witnessed last year.
Ellie has her first Irish traditional music exam on 4th April, on the tin whistle so is memorising her two set pieces for that.
Add in pony-riding, pony vaccinations and visits from the farrier, gardening work picking up for me (which is nice as we have had a very dry and sunny month so I've started my suntan early)
As the month draws to a close, the routine tasks (half-dismantle the stove and give it a thorough clean...messy) and sweeping the chimney (urgh) beckon, so as compensation, there's plenty of cuteness about. I'll leave you with another of Ellie's photos - a nice springtime one !!
Monday, 28 February 2011
February
....OK - who stole a month then ??!! Can't believe it's the last day of February already.
1st Feb is officially the First Day of Spring in Ireland (though it rarely feels like it) though the last week has been pretty nice - warm days, despite the sneaky night-frosts that destroy any seedlings that you're too keen to plant out. YES I have learned and all my baby-plants are safely in the front room. It's the time of year that the airing-cupboard gets emptied of its usual selection of demijohns full of home-made wine and becomes a heated propagator.
Currently living beside the towels/bathmats and Ellie's rather crusty crystal-garden in a jam jar are:
7 varieties of tomato
2 varieties of pepper
Chillis
Aubergines
Peas
Broad beans
Coriander
Basil
Spinach
In the front room (coolest and brightest place in the house) the seed potatoes are chitting in egg boxes
Have chanced a couple of rows of carrots and beetroot in the polytunnel, heavily protected by fleece from the frost and the cat, who likes to sleep in there during the day as it's nice and warm.
Strawberries thinned
Raspberries and redcurrants pruned
Bring it on !!!
1st Feb is officially the First Day of Spring in Ireland (though it rarely feels like it) though the last week has been pretty nice - warm days, despite the sneaky night-frosts that destroy any seedlings that you're too keen to plant out. YES I have learned and all my baby-plants are safely in the front room. It's the time of year that the airing-cupboard gets emptied of its usual selection of demijohns full of home-made wine and becomes a heated propagator.
Currently living beside the towels/bathmats and Ellie's rather crusty crystal-garden in a jam jar are:
7 varieties of tomato
2 varieties of pepper
Chillis
Aubergines
Peas
Broad beans
Coriander
Basil
Spinach
In the front room (coolest and brightest place in the house) the seed potatoes are chitting in egg boxes
Have chanced a couple of rows of carrots and beetroot in the polytunnel, heavily protected by fleece from the frost and the cat, who likes to sleep in there during the day as it's nice and warm.
Strawberries thinned
Raspberries and redcurrants pruned
Bring it on !!!
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Photography and Ellie
following Ellie's Christmas wish for a "proper photographer's camera" various friends and relatives clubbed together to buy a secondhand DSLR (Canon EOS 450D for the technical amongst you)
Thanks to a lot of co-ordination it arrived just after Christmas and in true 11 year-old technical style, the instruction manual was discarded after the briefest of glances and she shot outside to begin snapping away.
Paid off though - capturing this beauty by the sheer persistence of sitting under the bird-feeder.
Ellie's ambition is to become a professional wildlife photographer and work for the BBC... It's promising and good luck to her !!!
Thanks to a lot of co-ordination it arrived just after Christmas and in true 11 year-old technical style, the instruction manual was discarded after the briefest of glances and she shot outside to begin snapping away.
Paid off though - capturing this beauty by the sheer persistence of sitting under the bird-feeder.
Ellie's ambition is to become a professional wildlife photographer and work for the BBC... It's promising and good luck to her !!!
Saturday, 8 January 2011
Billy
...no I'm not trying to rhyme my posts (honestly)
Billy is the latest addition to our animal collection. He arrived on Christmas Eve (but "Baby Jesus" aint the catchiest name for a pony, and it's apparently bad luck to change the name of a horse)
He's a 2 1/2 year old gypsy-cob gelding and was a present to Ellie from my friend Kayt who was looking for a caring home for him...ta-dahhhh.
Bracken loves him to bits, to the point of being his shadow almost (after a year of being on his own, poor lonely little soul) so there we are... They live out 24/7 with no ill-effects (but quite a lot of mud...ha...)
He's used to being handled so we've had a saddle and bridle on him, Ellie's backed and ridden him but just for very short distances until his bones are a bit older. He's a lovely nature, cheeky and a little dippy.... should fit in well here then !!!!
Best buddies.....OY - quit shoving.....
Billy is the latest addition to our animal collection. He arrived on Christmas Eve (but "Baby Jesus" aint the catchiest name for a pony, and it's apparently bad luck to change the name of a horse)
He's a 2 1/2 year old gypsy-cob gelding and was a present to Ellie from my friend Kayt who was looking for a caring home for him...ta-dahhhh.
Bracken loves him to bits, to the point of being his shadow almost (after a year of being on his own, poor lonely little soul) so there we are... They live out 24/7 with no ill-effects (but quite a lot of mud...ha...)
He's used to being handled so we've had a saddle and bridle on him, Ellie's backed and ridden him but just for very short distances until his bones are a bit older. He's a lovely nature, cheeky and a little dippy.... should fit in well here then !!!!
Best buddies.....OY - quit shoving.....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)