Tuesday, 21 February 2017

The Beauty and the Beast ....


Yesterday I did, what I do most weekends .... go for a little hike.
Sometimes I might go somewhere specific. Therefor I would use the car, drive to an parking area a few miles away and go up the mountains, around a Lake ( Lough Easkey or Lough Talt ) or even better I might hop on the bike, hide it somewhere in the bushes and go from there. But the very best of all options is just getting my booties on, a rain-jacket and the high viz bib and start walking. Lucy the spaniel-collie Mix would just run ahead and off we go. Poor Murphy, the 15/16 year old sheepdog only goes now for as far as a 2 - 3 miles stroll, as he is getting rather slow and Arthritis seems to be a problem too.

Just about 1 km down the road, there is a large bog-area, which has fascinated me since our arrival 27 years ago. We don't have a lot of boggy areas left in Germany and it would be a strictly protected area, as flora and fauna within Bogs are rare and unique. But Clooneen Bog has more to offer. The roads and little tracks are well maintained and I often stroll into a grassy lane, just to find out, that it’s a dead end. Many people in the area have their turf cutting rights since decades and maybe longer. In summer time it is a busy enough place. Turf cutting machines bring up the soggy wet peat and leave long lines of moist, dark brown turf on the top ground. After a few days drying, the top part develops a hard skin and now it is ready to be turned. If the weather is really content and even sunny you leave it just another while and foot it straight away. We have done this for many years with our old neighbour Pat Smith, who surely also had a traditional turf spade and was able to demonstrate it to us and to many of our visitors. It is not all idyllic, as people are anxious to get their turf saved and weather plays a big part in this. If it rains heavy straight after cutting, the lines of peat just get washed back into the ground. Well and then there are the midges … tiny little biting insects, which appears on a calm day, when rain is lingering about. As you might imagine, the weather  in the North-West of Ireland is just ideal for it.














But for me it is a heaven of unique plants and mosses, which only grow in such an specific environment. There are the different types of orchids, carnivores plants, rushes and other types of ‘grasses’ (cotton-grass is a very obvious one), mosses and lichens, ferns, heather, pond-weeds, bilberry, gorse, foxglove, primroses … to name just a few. Also some of the willows, ash, alder and birch developed smaller types, which can grow very well on even acid soil.
If you are lucky you might encounter a bit of wildlife, like fasans, wild ducks and other birds, otters, foxes, hares, Insects and spiders, frogs and newts ….
It is also an important fact, that intact blanket bogs are a huge benefit when it comes to climate change and issues about reaching international goals to combat climate change.
If you are interested in more information about the pure magic of common peatland, check up this:http://www.ipcc.ie/a-to-z-peatlands/blanket-bogs/, one of many educational web-pages about our bogs.















From that webpage a few facts about this exciting habitat, which is a blanket bog:
* Only a small amount of blanket bog exists in the world. Ireland possesses 8% of the world’s blanket bog and is the most important country in Europe for this type of habitat.
* Blanket bog landscapes provide a refuge for a rich biodiversity of species including several rare plants, birds and invertebrate species.
* Blanket bogs are commonly used as rough grazing land for sheep and cattle, grouse shooting, deer stalking and fishing.
* Blanket bogs preserve prehistoric farming landscapes beneath the peat as well as a diverse range of artefacts within the peat mass.
* The patterns of pools on the flatter areas of blanket bog is of particular conservation significance. * * The pools support a specialized range of mosses (especially species of Sphagnum) and plants and they provide essential feeding habitats for wetland birds.
* Within their peat layers, blanket bogs preserve a record of their own growth and development and on a larger scale, they provide insights into regional vegetation change, climate change, atmospheric pollution and act as chronometers for other events such as volcanic eruptions.
* Blanket bogs accumulate and store millions of tonnes of carbon and have a vital function in controlling the green house gases that cause climate change.
* Blanket bogs contain in excess of 90% water and act as vast water reservoirs. They have a vital role to play in the management of water within river catchments.
* Blanket bogs and their utilization for recreation can have positive benefits on the health of people.

Back to my long, inspiring and beautiful walk and to some very disappointing and disturbing scenes. There are some people out there, who see this sensitive habitat as a waste-land, a patch of useless ground, a real dumping place. Especially after the Christmas 'clear-out' the amount of rubbish is just appalling. Would love to hear about your opinion about this issue and maybe ideas, how to combat this major problem.
Disturbing scenes ... the pictures speak for themselves....
























Wednesday, 1 February 2017

February Activities :)


let there be SPRING
Today it is February the first and the Irish people celebrate St. Bridget's-Day.
the old St.Bridget's crosses above the portrait of our neighbor Pat
Many rituals are connected within Irish History and Folklore about that special day. But most of all it is famous for the St. Bridget's cross, which is made out of rushes from the marshy land. Also people say, that you should leave a blue cloth or ribbon outside on one of the hedges. St. Bridget would bless it while passing and this material can be used for hanging around your neck or head to keep sore throats and headache away. Today it's also said to be the start of Spring.


Spring actually already had a step-visit in mid/late January. Therefor I spent any free time of those last two weeks in January mostly in the garden and the tunnel. The weather was reasonable mild, actually that inviting, that I just couldn't resist. While digging the ground and fighting with nettle roots and other invasive plants for hours I also listened to the birds singing.  It is a very different tone ... no croaky chirping or gentle peeping, like in wintertime. They seem to give their best and it just sounds like a melodic symphony concert to me.
Over 20 boxes all weeded and manured with our own compost
Any kind of work in the garden or on the land is a great healing act. While using your body through physical work, your mind drifts off and memories emerge out of nothing while philosophy kicks in. My late Dad always comes into my mind when working in the garden. Year after years he used to visit us in Springtime - mostly in March/April. around  the time of his and my birthday. Beside doing plenty of day-tours to the great blue ocean ( as he loved the sea ), he always supported me greatly in the garden. He was like a machine, like an engine, like a magic apparatus.  Working as a bricklayer all his live, he was used to work extremely hard day in day out .... and if he didn't work he exercised, cycling, hiking, jogging... for endless miles and miles. Even after his strokes and with a severe Dementia he still kept going. That was somehow a bit worrying for me, as he would just leave after lunch and go for a walk. It is easy to get lost between the small lane ways or on the mountain - even without Dementia - and considering that he had no English at all. But having visited us for almost 20 years and celebrated communions and confirmations within the local community, many people knew his face and would have 'an eye' on him, that particular way without attracting attention like only rural community would perform. Sometimes I did follow him on the bicycle for a while, just to calm myself down. Nothing ever happened ... he always found his way home.
Dad's having a picnic at Dunmoran  beach during his last visit
But back to the pile of weeds, I must admit, that I admire the perfect constructed root network of any of those hardy plants .... no wonder that they cant be fully distinguished - even not by weedkiller, as they always come back. No weedkiller goes EVER on our land, as it is never worth it. Why would I poison the soil, where I grow food on, where my animals and we all walk on, sit on, play on? Not my game!

Another work I still have to do is cutting down some of the herbs and reducing the heavy shoots of my currant-bushes and raspberries. I pile them up on my rough wood heap beside the compost or use them within my workshop. Cuttings of all sorts and other 'dead material' come in very handy when creating spring arrangements. Especially if you want to demonstrate the emerging of springtime with twigs, moos and dry, wild, strawy materials.


So the Workshops in February are:

Valentines - Workshop for Men - 11th of February
Valentines Workshop for everybody on Valentinesday, 14th of February 
More information in my last blog 'BE my VALENTINE




a frame out of willow 



the finished product














Some people cant make the weekday-workshops, so I will also offer a Saturday workshop:

Spring -weaving and arranging, 
Saturday, 18th of February 2.00 pm - 5.00 pm

Spring -weaving and arranging
Tuesday, 28th of February 11.00 am to 2.00 pm

As always there is homebaking/lunch included.
Places are limited.

If none of the times suit you and you would like a bit of spring-feeling 'delivered', you can contact me with any query.