Saturday, May 30, 2009

Painted Ladies & baby Goldfinches

Growth is well under way now that the warm humid Summer weather has truly arrived. Some of the birds seem to have hatched and fledged clutches earlier than other years so we are hoping it may be a two or even three clutch year for some species.
In particular, jus now, we are over-run in the nicest possible way with small flocks, a 'charm', of fledgling Goldfinches, their high pitched jingles and bright yellow wing-bars instantly identifiable. They are drawn to our feeders.
We saw a Painted Lady butterfly on daisy flowers yesterday and that is, indeed, early for that species with us. There are plenty of Orange Tip butterflies about.
I thought I might leave you with a view of Achillbeg island, the next island to us, between ourselves and Clare island, though both are much smaller that Achill which is Ireland's largest island.
Enjoy the good weather.

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Nesting box Success!

Over the past few years we have been working hard at making River Cottage gardens as attractive as possible to birds. This has consisted of increasing the amount and diversity of shrubs grown, not being too tidy in the way we garden, avoiding the use of chemicals, and providing food and nestboxes.
For the first couple of years nestboxes we had carefully sited in our Rowan trees weren't used, though plenty of interest was shown by blue tits, coal tits, and great tits. We began to worry it was due to Rowan trees being late leafers. However, we need not have because this year Great tits have been successful and now they are busy in and out feeding their young who can be heard clamouring and cheeping whenever a parent bird appears.
So all's well here. The Cuckoo is still calling and preying on meadow pipits. The sedge warbler is singing and the 'crowlets' across the river in the nest in the top of the old Scots pine tree are croaking and thinking about testing their wings.
Have a great week.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Driven Cuckoo!























Despite being woke up a few times each night by our local cuckoo whose hormones have him calling almost incessantly, we are making good use of the beautiful weather.
Mostly, this means continuing to clear the new 'plant nursery' area, and re-instating the fruit garden near 'Fuchsia chalet'. Despite the area being scraped by machine two years ago it had totally overgrown with grass, rushes, and 'wild rhubarb', our giant weed here.
However, we are getting somewhere and will shortly lay 'mypex' sheeting, (the horticultural cover), to suppress weed, allowing us to establish raised beds and gravel paths. That should give us maximum use of the area as well as minimum maintenance.
The rugosa roses, zanteschia aethiopica lillies, and fuchsia magellanica are flowering freely. And a number of ornamental flax are throwing up flower spikes.
We have been tentatively allowing the ducks and hens to free-range openly in the garden when we ourselves are out and busy. So far there have been no casualties from a daytime visiting fox. But, in view of recent losses, we are very cautious. At other times , they free-range in their pens. The hens and ducks are laying freely at present. As I am writing (7pm) Eileen has just knocked on the study window and directed my attention to a very healthy red fox a few yards away in next door's land. It's a good job the hens and ducks are just put in. Phew!

Part of the reason we came to live here at River Cottage was a lifestyle change. We had grown disillusioned with our noisy, busy, but rather empty former lives. Our proffession was also failing us in a number of ways, we felt. There was a deep unmovable restlessness at our core. We wanted to live in a quiet, peaceful way close to nature, to grow our own food, to make things; to paint and write. To find out who we really were and what we really believed and valued.
Fourteen years later we are continuing to align our lives with living here in a quiet, appreciative, hopefully inobtrusive, way among wild rivers, mountains, the ocean, wildlife. We feel the more successful we are at this the more the next phase of this journey will unfold, or reveal itself, to us. Is it a journey of gradual awakening to the 'now'? Being fully conscious of our surroundings and appreciating each moment. I think that is coming close to it. Being fully present. Paying attention. Noticing the ordinary, everyday miracles.
A skylark spilled its beautiful song high above us in the blue sky this afternoon; we both stopped working and looked up, listening. Whatever it is to be present and at peace with the world, that lark was living it through his song.
Have a lovely week.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Rain and Painting





















It has been wet at times here this past week. And misty. The river is swollen and thundering past the cottage. It has only a short journey of half a mile or less from us to the sea - Achill Sound, in fact.
Prevented from working outdoors on a couple of days, Eileen has been able to dedicate more time to painting her flower canvases in our studio/chalet. This week she has made rapid progress with them.
The rain has caused a surge of growth in the garden. This, unfortunately has proved most beneficial to weeds, and as one of our weeds (gunnera manicata) loves water, our mild climate, and is one of the largest perrenial plants known to man (some leaves reaching 8 feet across), this is not good. Vigilance is called for.
However, the rain has also been beneficial to our vegetables and ornamental plants/shrubs. So, we are grateful to the rain. The soil here, being light and sandy/peaty, rapidly dries out in a few days if we have no rain.
Our friend the sedge warbler has arrived back and is singing in the scrubby/brambly/willowy areas around us. The gorse continues to flower (see photo above fm. yesterday afternoon), and the wild rhododendron ponticum is now making a show with its lilac and purple blooms.