No electric supply at the cottage…but that isn’t a problem as I fire up the little stove in the garden to make the tea.
Join me and Jack as I wait for the kettle to boil…
Tag Archives: Jack
Full Permaculture Gardens Walk…and a Big Surprise Find!
Here’s the video…enjoy!
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The Videos are Back!
Happy to announce that the Bealtaine Cottage YouTube channel has not died and gone to Heaven…for Heaven is a place on Earth! The first video of 2016…enjoy…and don’t forget to leave a comment, like, or even SHARE!
Little Things
A day of many things, but mostly of remembering and giving thanks…thanks for little things…like fresh, Spring water.
Seemingly inconsequential things…like an almost filled rain tub, a place where Jack loves to drink.
Things many do not see…little things.
Of a beautiful card made for me by a visitor… 
and the wonderful, heartfelt message she wrote.
Of all the little things we happen upon in our daily lives… those whose hearts we touch and all who touch our hearts.
It is indeed, all the little things, which really matter!
Irish Cottage Life
The permaculture gardens are very wet today…the rain has been quite relentless!
Never mind!
Lots to do indoors and sorting through boxes of “things,” I was happy to find these lovely Yuletide cards.
Doesn’t she look gorgeous in the snow?
As I am receiving orders for the Bealtaine Cottage Christmas Book, I thought that I would add these lovely cards, as a way for me to send the book to someone you love, with a card inscribed with your message.
Anyway, you can have a peek, using the link at the top of the page!
Missy continues to make a steady recovery, though has refined her taste-buds to a rather expensive prescription cat food, available only from Suzy the Vet, in Boyle.
When I refer to Missy as a “high maintenance gal!” …I’m not kidding!
Please ignore the clothes drying all over the stove today…it is rather wet outdoors!
Makes it really “Shabby Chic” style!
I take Jack into see Suzy the Vet, tomorrow morning, to have his “thumb nails” clipped.
Jack loves travelling in the car and tries to snap every other vehicle he sees on the road!
Which is why he can only ever be walked on a lead!
Dodging in and out, to collect up the logs, my friend Marian delivered to me yesterday, I still managed to get wet!
I’m stacking them under the shelter of the veranda by the lodge.
Despite the dull, rainy day, the gardens continue to look colourful!
As you can see, the potager beds continue in their abundance, producing herbs, vegetables and flowers.
There is never any shortage of work to be done here at Bealtaine Cottage!
Tree coppicing continues along the north bank, in front of the cottage, opening up the view just a little, as well as supplying the stove with kindling and small logs.
The fact is, no matter what the weather is like, it is simply wonderful to be outdoors in the gardens, working here and there!
Have a good week ahead everyone…Blessings from Bealtaine Cottage X
Missy Cat and Weird Weather
Last night the rain fell hard, in fact it rained in a thunderous fashion for around four hours.
Somewhere in the midst of the downpour I went to sleep, safe in the knowledge that with the heavy rain came the assurance of a snow free morning…I was wrong!
This morning the ground was covered with snow and so it continues.
How this happened is weird to say the least, but then the weather systems across the world have descended into chaos…nothing is as it used to be!
Missy cat is very reluctant to venture out this morning.
She is making protesting meows each time I open the back door, as though to say, “Shut the door, it’s too cold!”
I obey, She who must be obeyed!
Would you contemplate crossing her?
She bites those who attempt it!
I have lit both stoves in the cottage and resigned myself to a day indoors…apart from walking Jack.
Flo, on the other hand, takes her wilful self for as many walks as she decides to!
As always, I have lit a candle for those I pray for. It’s also a good way of being mindful of concerns and wishes.
I have some Lavender Hearts to sew, so I will be kept busy for most of the day.
I hope you’re warm and cosy wherever you are!
Photos of the Permaculture Gardens and Cottage of Bealtaine in January 2012
Bealtaine Cottage seen through the camera in 2012
Jack, January 2012
Beech and Bamboo January 2012
The girls on the veranda January 2012
The Mighty Ash tree against the stormy January sky of 2012
The full moon over Bealtaine Cottage in January 2012
First snow of 2012 settles on the permaculture gardens.
A well-mulched bed in the fruit gardens
Sorting and tying Willow in the shelter of the veranda, January 2012
The polytunnel in January 2012
Cutting, Clearing, Planting and Composting…Autumn at Bealtaine Cottage
Cutting back the willow in the forest fruit garden today, allowing the willows archways space to develop more.
The cut willow is shredded and spread around the fruit bushes as an autumn mulch.
This will compost down over the winter months and provide food for the soil which in turn will feed the bushes…cycle of life completed with a bountiful harvest nest summer.
I have cleared some of the potager beds today to make room for an autumn sowing of garlic and onion sets.
It makes good sense to plant out the garlic bulbs before the soil cools down…same for onion sets.
This is the sure way to grow good-size onions to harvest next year!
This is my favourite time of year to work outdoors.
It’s not too hot nor too cold…and the autumn scents are so evocative.
Meanwhile, indoors, Jack and Flo have spent the morning fighting over who gets the biggest dog basket…Flo has lost this time, so has decided to make Jack as uncomfortable as possible by sitting on his back!
Isn’t it amazing how little dogs can be so bossy?
The paths around the garden are so overgrown that some are no longer navigable.
The word “jungle,” springs to mind!
However, the sheer volume of prunings is adding enormous bulk to the compost heap, which is now the biggest ever!
I have grown some mighty pumpkins in the potager beds this year that have had only compost in them.
I think that the sheer biodiversity of the plants here at Bealtaine is the basis of some great compost!
Clearing the paths and cutting back is a lovely way to spend quiet time on the land…being outdoors on a fine autumn day is hard to beat!
Storms, Cats and Pumpkins
The storm has raged all day.
Wind has tossed garden debris around and every so often the heavens opened casting a deluge of rain upon the cottage.
Thunder has brought Jack and Flo rushing to my side…
Yet, through all of this, Che Mousy has lazily surveyed the scene from the comfort of his executive chair.
Missy has slept the storm away in the tunnel.
I was over there earlier clearing out weeds and harvesting parsley and seeds and she followed me, making camp on the potting table.
In between the showers I have managed a bit more pruning in the upper gardens.
Yes, I know…balanced atop a step ladder in a storm is rather silly, but single-mindedness is an integral part of my nature and has been my driving spur always!
There is an abundance of Pumpkins coming into harvest at the moment, as you can see…this one is growing outside and appears more than happy in the mad Irish weather!
I placed an old log alongside it to create warmth and a suitable micro-climate for growing.
It works!
True to form, the weather brings sunshine too…well, this is the West of Ireland!
