Morning light floods the kitchen.

The sky opens early revealing a mist over the valley.

It’s been very dry here in the west of Ireland, so morning mist adds a little dew to the plants and is very welcome.

I am busy writing my book, all about Bealtaine Cottage and how it grew from barren monoculture into Eden, with some permaculture magic!

As I write, I compare this ten year journey to that of my great grandmother, Mary Ann, who felt compelled to leave the comforts of a small town and re-invent her life, on a small farm, in the countryside around Omagh.

At the age of fifty four, during the great depression of the 1930’s, Mary Ann Baxter strode into a property auction being held in the town hall and bought, for cash, a small farm.

This swallowed up her entire life savings!

My great grandmother was a remarkable woman, for in the 1930’s, a woman in her fifties was considered old and good for little!

Not alone that, women did not do anything as bold and individual as buying property, on their own, at an auction!

The farm became her life and she slept for the next twenty years in a big brass bed in the barn…never in the little cottage which she kept pristine!

Her story is simply enchanting and I promised my father to write it…and I will!

In the meantime the story of this obsessive desire to live close to Mother Earth continues to be written.

The first four chapters are posted on this website and I would be happy to receive any comments you may care to leave…

Talking of which…I know there are many, many subscribers to this blog, running into the thousands and often wonder why so few use the “Like” button at the end of the blog.

It does my heart good to see that what I write is appreciated 🙂 and maintaining a spirit of generosity in photographing and posting regularly is helped by appreciation, so please take the few seconds to like.