A REVIEW OF 2013

First I would like to wish all of you a very happy and peaceful New Year and I would also like to thank those of you who have enquired about me due to my lack of blogging,it was nice to know I was missed.
Since my last post in April,my quiet life became so quiet I felt I had nothing to blog about and the longer I put off blogging the harder it became to get going again.
Looking back over the year things did happen,it was not as boring as I had imagined,in May my friend Deb from Delaware came to stay with me for a week and I had a wonderful time showing her around Ireland,well the county I live in,I will show her the rest when she comes again.!!
My eldest grandson left school and went off to university,my granddaughter changed from a little girl into a very tall teenager and the youngest ones have started school and are growing up so fast it it frightening.!!
In September John and I went to England to a very grand wedding,I also visited my sister and my mother,the first time I had seen them this year.
I got on a horse for the first time in years....yes that is me in the new header picture...!!!
Now we have just spent a very quiet Christmas as most of the family went away this year,and we will have a very quiet New Year as they are all still away.
I have not taken a lot of  photos this year but I will leave you with a few of the better ones I did manage to take.

 Cheeky rabbit

 August thistles

 Peacock butterfly

 Fox,hoping I could not see him .

Hummingbird Hawk Moth,not common in Ireland,so I was thrilled to get this photo.

My New Year resolution is to make sure I do something worth blogging about and not let my quiet life get to quiet and boring.

Carolyn.

ON MY WALK TODAY.

Though busy in the garden this week,not a lot has been happening  of any interest.The weather continues to fluctuate between spring,summer and winter,all three in one day.!!!

However,I did manage to get some photos  today while taking the dog for a walk.

The walk started with this,put rain coat on,when there is a rainbow,there is going to be a heavy shower of rain.

After a short shower the sun came out and it was quite warm,so took off rain coat.I saw this cheeky little pied wag tail on a gate post,he was very keen to have his picture taken and followed me up the road for quite a while.

 

This lamb was also bemused by my camera and posed beautifully for me,or it might have been the the dog  he was interested in.!!

We have not had many wild flowers  this year so this was a rare find.The biggest  Primroses I have seen for years  but they would have easily been missed because they were growing well away from the road,in thick reeds and briars.

These Violets are also a rarity this year.They are one of my favorite wild flowers so I was thrilled to find these.

Having walked two miles ,I was greeted by this herd of deer,the perfect end to an enjoyable walk,and I was back before the next shower of rain and hailstones.

I wish you all a pleasant week.

Carolyn.

THE HOLE IN THE ROOF

We use the barn every day,the wood and coal are stored in it so are all the gardening tools,lawn mower etc,and John's bike.
We knew there was a hole in the roof but a few days ago we noticed twigs sticking out of it,we were in the front garden (the side with the hole )and I kept an eye out to see who was taking up residence.

Soon this Jackdaw turned up.

The next day the hole looked like this.

Both MR and MRS Jackdaw continued to bring in twigs...

....both of them working tirelessly from sun up to sun down.
All this time we have been going into the barn,then yesterday John called me to bring the camera to take a photo of the nest.
Jackdaws usually nest in holes in old trees or their favorite is a chimney ,( they are the cause of many a chimney fire ) they drop twigs down the hole until they get lodged,then build a stack of twigs to the desired hight,and nest on top of it.
OK,that makes sense ,a hole in a tree or a chimney stack is a confined space but dropping twigs into a huge void beneath  a hole in the roof must be an endless task.

This stack  is over 4ft tall and as wide and still they are dropping sticks and twigs in.
Unfortunately the base of this nest is resting on the trellis panels  that are for the new patio area,we were due to start this project this weekend but I have not got the heart to demolish this monumental structure,the fencing will have to be put on hold until the nest is finished with. I can not believe we did not notice it before now.!! I think we both need some new glasses.

Chaos was caused on the road today....

 

....the sheep escaped from a field and blocked the road in front of our house,the locals could not get past them and we could not get out of the drive. We are used to this kind of hold up,though our quiet life is not so quiet,with bleating sheep and tooting car horns.
Have a good week everyone.
Carolyn.

GUESS WHAT IT IS.

This photo is an object on the patio in the garden,in fact there are two of them.They are about 3feet tall and as round as a large barrel constructed in concrete.I thought they were some kind of ( not very interesting ) modern art structures .I recently found out what they are,but for a bit of fun,wondered what you thought they might be.!!

The next  couple of photos are little oddities connected to the house and garden.

 A folk art stone head in the shrubbery

 The ancient stone dog or lion guarding the entrance to the side passage to the house.

Two angel heads? either side of the front door.
The more I look at the stone and the garden the more I am convinced that who ever did the new building on the house used reclamation stone and marble from an old church or monastery.

To finish my post today I leave you with pics of the birds on the feeders.

With so many bird in their spring plumage,lets hope spring actually arrives.!!!!
Carolyn.

THE GARDEN AND LITTLE DETAILS.

Happy Easter to you all,I hope the weather was good where you are and that you enjoyed the weekend break.
It is still very cold in our part of Ireland and there is still snow on the mountain,but it has been dry so this weekend we started on the garden,weeding,digging etc.We have some big projects going on ,a new patio area,that we will do ourself and a new drive being done by a contractor,yet to be finished.

This is the area we are clearing for the patio,it was a huge garden rubbish dump,while the digger man was here doing the drive we asked him   to use the machine to pull all the debris out,making our job a bit easier.

This is some of the junk hidden under all the garden rubbish...a complete bathroom set,bath,toilet and sink.Old window frames complete with masses of broken window glass,a television set,old drainage pipes and building rubble.

These are the patio slabs,there are also some rigid trellis panels  to go round three sides of the area,then lots of shade loving climbing plants to go up the trellis.

 The new drive,waiting for top dressing

 Looking down to the road,there will be new gates at the end.

The side garden/small field

So,lot to keep us busy.Will post pictures of finished project soon,I hope, if the weather holds out.

Some details I have noticed recently while tidying the garden.

 The ornate edging to the rose beds,the base to the garden light and the fountain  are all carved from marble,I knew it was ornate but just thought it was stone as it was covered in moss and discolored,but the snow and frost has revealed what was hidden.

I think these features are so ornate that they must have come from a church or monastery,will have to give them a scrub to bring out the beauty.
Until the next installment,have a good week,
Carolyn.

THE FARM HOUSE

I have had requests to see some photos of the house,so here are some that I took today

Back of house,single extension with french windows is the kitchen.

We do not seem to be getting any spring weather so the garden is devoid of any flowers or color,so these are rather drab looking shots.

The hall

Antique two seater bench,we think this is monastic and may well have come from an old church.

 One end of sitting room

 Other end of sitting room

The sitting room is open plan and has a gallery  above one end leading to the bedrooms.

I have photos of the garden projects,but I will post those next weekend.
Until then,have a good week,
Carolyn.

A FRESH START.

This new blog has been set up to get me back to blogging.Since my move from the hectic life at the Castle to the quiet plodding pace of life at the farm house,I have had great difficulty finding things to write about on my old blog.So, out with the old and in with the new.!!!

This photo is the view from my sitting room window,a fabulous panoramic view of the mountains still covered in snow.

Atmospheric shots taken from the back garden.

I hope to post my photos on a regular basis,I hope you will enjoy looking at them and I look forward to any comments you leave.I hope to see some if not all my old loyal followers,you will be very welcome.
Carolyn.