The wind had engulfed the cottage for several days, starting its angry encirclement in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The kettle kept a simmer on the stove for cups of tea to pass the evening in quiet repose.
The storm raged for most of yesterday too and now, this morning, the rain falls softly on the trees, hardly making a sound on the roof of the veranda.
Last evening the candles burned as the electricity flicked on and off in little staggers.
The stove in the sitting room was lit and I made up a bed on the sofa.
Myself, Jack and Missy kept company as the wind howled overhead.
The weather has settled down this morning…just a drizzle of soft rain that keeps a persistence about it.
Work here continues in the tunnel, clearing the beds and digging in new compost for the winter plantings.
Kale, Purple Sprouting Broccoli and Chard were planted this morning.
The Garlic will go in outdoors in the potager beds, before the soil cools down too much…it gives them a better start! The harvesting continues as more and more produce is brought onto the shelter of the veranda.
I will slice and freeze some of the apples, sprinkling them with a little sugar and cinnamon first…this helps to keep them better.
One would find it hard to believe that there was a storm at all, looking around the gardens here at Bealtaine Cottage…the benefit of planting over 900 trees; just heaps of shelter now!
The apples are still on all the trees!
Just a few more days until the Equinox…
Here are the wonderful “Moving Hearts” with their classic, played live, “The Storm”
So glad you made it through the storm OK with your little ones all cozy and safe. 😉 Here in southern Alabama, USA it is hot and muggy. I am looking forward to our winter storms that begin in November through March.They are not dangerous, just VERY WET! LOL! I really love your Permaculture homestead since I found it online a couple of weeks ago. Keep up the good work. You are amazing!
Hi Collette,
I wrote this post about my garden hoping it might inspire people who have been ill or injured to try gardening themselves back to health – if you wouldn’t mind sharing it?
Sounds like a lovely way to weather the storm. I have a technical question about the polytunnel and/or a cold frame. How do you deal with watering, since it’s not left open to the rain? Is your surrounding ground just so wet in the winter that you don’t need to water inside, or do you hand carry water in? (I assume it would get too cold over the winter for a drip irrigation system to continue working all the time.) Just curious how others handle this, as I’ll be having my first cold frame tunnel over a raised bed this winter. I know the plants need less water when it gets colder, but I assume they still need some! Thanks and blessings, Laura
I carried water in for several years, but had a standpipe tap put in last year, after the pipe from the well got split by a spade…so made the most of the event and got the tap fitted!
Ah, that does sound like making the most of the event! I’m not sure what we’ll do here, but the covered bed is only 4 x 8, with an easily pulled back top. Maybe I can just catch some rain on a warmer, rainy day. The other bed will go uncovered, but with very cold hardy crops. All an experiment! Thanks for replying. 🙂
The storm raged for most of yesterday too and now, this morning, the rain falls softly on the trees, hardly making a sound on the roof of the veranda.
The stove in the sitting room was lit and I made up a bed on the sofa.
The weather has settled down this morning…just a drizzle of soft rain that keeps a persistence about it.
The harvesting continues as more and more produce is brought onto the shelter of the veranda.
One would find it hard to believe that there was a storm at all, looking around the gardens here at Bealtaine Cottage…the benefit of planting over 900 trees; just heaps of shelter now!
The apples are still on all the trees!
So glad you made it through the storm OK with your little ones all cozy and safe. 😉 Here in southern Alabama, USA it is hot and muggy. I am looking forward to our winter storms that begin in November through March.They are not dangerous, just VERY WET! LOL! I really love your Permaculture homestead since I found it online a couple of weeks ago. Keep up the good work. You are amazing!
Thank you so much Debbi!
The storm has passed and the Autumn has returned…and very lovely it is too 🙂
Blessings from Bealtaine X
Colette
Hi Collette,
I wrote this post about my garden hoping it might inspire people who have been ill or injured to try gardening themselves back to health – if you wouldn’t mind sharing it?
I love your tip about the apples. We don’t have any of our own yet but we do have a source in a wild tree down the road.
All the best
Grace
http://gracelikestogarden.com/raised-bed-garden/
Hope all is well with you 🙂
Blessings
Colette
Just discovered your blog – loving the peace that exudes from your garden and home – no sign of that storm upsetting that peace!
Lovely photos. I never thought of slicing apples and putting sugar and cinnamon on them before freezing. What a great idea!
Glad to hear you weathered the storm safely. Thank you for the music. Heckuva piper.
Davy Spillane is the foremost uilleann pipes and low whistle musician in Ireland…in my opinion for sure!
Sounds like a lovely way to weather the storm. I have a technical question about the polytunnel and/or a cold frame. How do you deal with watering, since it’s not left open to the rain? Is your surrounding ground just so wet in the winter that you don’t need to water inside, or do you hand carry water in? (I assume it would get too cold over the winter for a drip irrigation system to continue working all the time.) Just curious how others handle this, as I’ll be having my first cold frame tunnel over a raised bed this winter. I know the plants need less water when it gets colder, but I assume they still need some! Thanks and blessings, Laura
I carried water in for several years, but had a standpipe tap put in last year, after the pipe from the well got split by a spade…so made the most of the event and got the tap fitted!
Ah, that does sound like making the most of the event! I’m not sure what we’ll do here, but the covered bed is only 4 x 8, with an easily pulled back top. Maybe I can just catch some rain on a warmer, rainy day. The other bed will go uncovered, but with very cold hardy crops. All an experiment! Thanks for replying. 🙂
Thank you very much for the music and the post! The storm is here (Belgium) now..The music will accompany me to wait and rest till it blows over.