More Allotment Patio

You join me outside with Andrew who is planting up another vegetable crate to add to the lovely jumble of allotment pots we have on the patio. Everything is going terribly well and there aren't even any pests on the plants (bar one slug), unlike at the main allotment plot where everything is being tackled by everything! It can't just be me - there are a lot more insects (hover flies in particular) and sweetly singing birds around this year - no??

So we are making an allotment box out of an orange plastic crate; we got this one discarded outside a farmers' market. Andrew carefully opened up a grow bag with scissors running along one end and poured all the contains out into a trug. Then he trimmed the other end and cut up the seam along the back length of the plastic. Laying this rectangle out, he lined the crate before emptying all the compost back in, spreading it evenly. This one is being planted up with coriander plugs, spring onion plugs (multi sown) and carrot seeds (rotundo - little round ones), see above.

Toby is over by the tulips and the water feature (which he frequently drinks from) laying in the sun and every now and then stretching and getting more comfortable; he's being a good boy.

Elsewhere in the patio allotment the mangetout peas are starting to romp away up the trellis support, the turnips have gone a bit bonkers with a growth spurt and the radishes are so juicy and plump we are eating them everyday with baby perpetual spinach too.

The potatoes are just starting to show their tips which I find very exciting and the broad beans are slowly (strongly) climbing up by their bamboo sticks and the flowers teasingly get bigger every day.

In the greenhouse my flower seeds are looking lovely but still a little too wee to plant up yet in the empty pots I have beside me. We also have baby celery, purple sprouting broccoli, Brussel sprouts, kale and lettuce seedlings in there, all looking well.

In the cold frame here, we have leeks (multi sown) and a wide variety of chard and beetroot varieties.

I hope you are having a good weekend my lovelies. Stay well and happy growing!
Hugs
Carrie xx 

Looking back on November

What a difficult month mental health-wise; it has gone by in a whorl of confusion, despair and exhaustion. I reluctantly had to accept all the help and support that was offered me just to drag myself through the days. Time moved in a odd way, feeling like it was stretched out long and never ending but somehow also slipping through my fingers, days upon days wasted. I couldn't be more thankful that today I feel a little more in control.

I haven't been out that much (obviously) and anything I have done has been very relaxed. It seems perfectly understandable that any afternoons out have been in wooded surroundings with my camera and Toby. Ecotherapy heals :)

Blogging will hopefully be made more enjoyable and easier by this wonderful new laptop and my early Christmas present from Andrew of an incredible new lens for my camera.

I will end this first blog in a while with some of my most liked photographs I have taken for Instagram this November (for the Fat Mum Slim month of colour prompts and for myself) with said new lens!

the last Geum of the year

Moonrise at Nendrum

Withered willow leaves

Sunset at Nendrum

A puffball in the moss

Beautiful rust

Gingerbread and coffee

I love Autumnal colours so it seems :)
STAY WARM my friends and best wishes for the month to come!
Love Carrie
xx

A triumphant plot departure

OK, before I tell you a single plot thing or show you one photograph we must address a very unexpected and wonderful piece of allotment related news...

This past Saturday I walked home from an afternoon at the plots by myself! All alone, on my lonesome, unaccompanied and indeed, solo. WHAT? Yes my friends it is possible, though it has taken me a good few years now to even think of trying. I did it, I survived and I may even do it again 😌

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cheeky fern

It was a cold day and though the sky was blue there had been a lot of rain the night before = a soggy field of plots. Never mind though; we had plans to enact and dreams to conjure up about our little slice of Eden.

Toby guarding the weeds and my bag at the blueberry bed

Toby at the path between the trees

I finished off weeding the blueberries (finally) and got the areas under the apple trees and path cleared too. It doesn't sound like much but boy it was a hot mess and the weeds were wicked and had long roots.

rotten apples at all stages of decay under the trees

Andrew finished his bed too which was mainly grassed over and then he tackled the external paths (those between the different plots) and used the strimmer the hack back the knee high grass there. The whole place is a lot safer now.

Next up we thought about our hedge and tree options for the make over. Plus this coming weekend there shall be skips on site and we have a lot to get rid off so we're really looking forward to it.

See you soon,
Hugs,
Carrie

Back on the plot

Two days at the plot, reclaiming it from the weeds and general neglect has given us a boost that was sorely needed - friends we are back in love with allotmenting (or as I keep calling it in my head 'aplotmenting'!?).

** The first day back was Sunday afternoon on the 6th of the month and Andrew planted the garlic! The Solent Wight is in and I have my fingers crossed it will do much better this season. We planted the last lot last April as plug plants and they simply didn't do, maybe because it's best to plant your garlic direct in the autumn and let it get a darn good freezing before it starts to put on the growth in spring.

looking good

Andrew got the two espalier apple trees pruned that day too whilst I continued my struggle with reclaiming the plot from the grasp of nature. Honestly I felt unwell and too weak to enjoy the activity and the sight of the place so overgrown and in need of tremendous renovation and filled me with dread. Usually I'm excited by tidying up and improving but that day it all felt so overwhelming.

pruning the apple trees

No photo, sadly (oh how I tried) but I saw a lovely frog on the plot and there was such bird song and more worms than usual. But my mental health was just too poor - I felt utterly ashamed to be myself even though no one could even see me. Time to go home. (I'm getting panicky even thinking about it)

** On Saturday 12th we were back and I was in fine fettle and ready to work hard! Oh we have exciting plans I so hope we can achieve :)  A new shed, lots of fruiting trees, and a curtain of wonderful native hedges to provide shelter and a sense of a secret garden for me.

exciting new plan!

The rain tried to put us off but we simply waited the worst of it out in the car and then got started. Both of us tackled the re-wilding of the plot and by the time it was getting cold and darker we had reclaimed some paths and most of the rotation beds - hoorah! We even had time for a freshly brewed tea there on the plot bench.

stopping for tea

The new wee slit paths are being put in so as to facilitate my shortness and inability to reach anywhere near the middle of our beds to harvest or tend to the plants. Incidentally, we brought home a harvest of potatoes, a last sweetcorn cob and some kale :)

harvesting potatoes

Love and hugs to you all - I hope you will tag along for our renovation journey
Carrie xx

Ulster Way Hike - Ring of Gullion (pt 2)

Saturday 19th

In the car we hummed and ha-ed about the weather, it being rather cold but now raining on top of that, which we hadn't expected. It was time to pull into a garage and get a coffee in our new fancy Keep Cups and have a think...

"Well fortune favours the brave" said I, "who dares wins" said Andrew and on we went; the Ring of Gullion required a good conquering beneath our boots.

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Slieve Gullion from Jonesborough

Jonesborough, is where we started again (as with pt 1) parking in the village car park. It didn't take us long to get ready and start the hike, the weather here being lovely, cold yes but blue skies poking through.

Moyry Castle

It was a lovely narrow road walk surrounded by farms and great views to get to our first point of call; the 17th century Moyry Castle (fort). What a surprise and what a situation, up on a hill with commanding views all a round for miles on end. It defended 'The Gap of the North', the main direct north-south route in Eastern Ireland. Truly, it had so many gun loops.

the best bit where I felt able to take my camera out

On again along lovely lush high sided lanes until we arrived at a battlefield; here all the trees had been cut down in a sweet bit of forest that looks so good on the map. Left behind was a mess of bog, holes and branches and brambles. We found it hard to get ourselves out the other side, thank goodness for the map app on Andrew's phone!

the border!

I was glad to get back onto the little roads, crossing over the border and back I don't know how many times. At one point Andrew used his phone map and we watched ourselves cross the line on the map - it was denoted by nothing more than a bit of hedge on one side in real life. Lovely.

* I have to keep reminding myself that I felt pretty good - all the beautiful little ruined farm steads, the views, the lush plants and now horses and donkeys! *

Awesome fungi - wood ears and ?

Making me smile now was my most favourite part of the walk - a trail round a ruined house, past a friendly horse in his paddock, down to a river with another gorgeous old house and some awesome fungi, a hibernating ladybird and lots of coconut in the air - gorse. It was heavenly.

At other end and we found ourselves in Forkhill. Here we stopped for a small pint and some crisps in The Welcome Inn (which we discovered a little late was for members only). They were very nice though and on leaving they wished us luck with our mountains, haha.

On the walk out of Forkhill we came across one of the most joyous experiences ever - 14 donkeys in the one huge field. We stood there for some time just admiring them, then had to drag ourselves away and on along the main roadway.

At a right turn onto a lane we met another donkey - more feisty and demanding attention; just gorgeous.

Then we began our slow and agonising ascent up the side of Slieve Gullion (so many false summits!). That's when it all started to metaphorically down hill - the drizzle started. Soon it was heavy and we stopped to put away the camera and put on our coats; we had climbed up into a cloud. Soon came heavier water drops and we (still climbing upwards) had to stop again and put on our water proof trousers and for me, take off my glasses - they were useless.

Miserably wet and now in some difficulty with seeing at all we slowly but surely made our way to the Slieve Gullion Forest Park - yay! Here we found coffee and toilets and a hand dyer which I used almost everywhere but my hands!!

Andrew did a map for us all - hugs Andrew x

It had been exhausting but after finishing our coffee it was only a mile to the bus stop. Back in the relative comfort to our car the heating was turned right up. We had done it (13.5 miles) and now it was time to go home and have a very warm shower.

Love and hugs
Carrie

Ulster Way Hike - Ring of Gullion (part 1)

We're onto a new section of the Ulster Way in the far side of Co. Armagh, on the border. Determined to crush the kilometres beneath our feet and conquer the Way this year!  Here's part 1 of the Ring of Gullion Way.

We arrived in Newry early and caught a bus to the beginning of our adventure and it wasn't a long walk to our first area of beauty -  Ravensdale forest. Here we climbed up through stunning mixed woodland and heard lots of birds and little waterfalls in the distance. Toby tried to pee on every tree, haha.

Taking the above photo of the mushroom, I found a phone laying in the mud and leaves. Luckily it had an app on it that helped the owner know where it was and only allowed a finder to ring the owner's chosen liaison person. I made Andrew do the ringing (photo) we arranged to give it back; it was so lucky they lived in Newry.

We walked lovely narrow paths leading up the northern slopes of Clermont Carn were the wind whipped up from the sea through the trees and made us shivery. It is a beautiful area but oh my, the fly tipping!

It was a very steep descent down to a main road, patching up tarmac with concrete isn't the best practise. This road was on the border, not that you'd notice! After a short while we had to climb up again into the countryside  but before this could be attempted I had to have an emergency Cadbury's fudge break.

Up here there were many ruined cottages, horses and cows, perfect photograph fodder. I remember loving the very old farmer gents in their equally old tractors up this way. The roadsides slowly got higher and higher in the old countryside fashion and again it suddenly got very cold.

We planned to take our lunch break at Clontygora court tomb, a Neolithic picnic if you will. This time the cold stayed with us and we had nibbles and a sup inside the actual tomb.

Slightly warmed up again we got back on the road and passed by Flagstaff viewpoint with wonderful views over the Newry canal and off into the harbour. Then came the highlight of the hike - 3 donkeys! They were gorgeous and Lordy did we take many a photo of them. They in turn wanted nose rubs and and were momentarily intrigued by Toby but then simply ignored him.

Down and down we went on small winding roads and over a railway, beside it on the left then over it again and walked for a good while on a grassy path to the right hand side. Oh, it turned into a beautiful narrow trail all the way back to the car, twisting and feeling so old.

Back at the car we met the phone owner, a postman called Brain :) We quickly got ourselves unburdened of our backpacks and drove home, via some take out coffee - just so cold!

***

You should know that I find these days mentally and physically exhausting, every single time I do them. BUT I am a huge advocate for ecotheraphy and encourage everyone (not just those who also have mental health problems) to be outside as much as possible.

How does it feel? To me, I generally feel nothing but my physical aches and tiredness. It's the memories that I capture with my camera that mean something. I observe when I see through the lens and I take those moments with me into the next few days, slowly building up a picture (no pun intended) of what I did and how it should have made me feel.

Conversely, not feeling at the time is a two sided coin - I am detached from reality to keep me from exploding with anxiety; but also I am receiving the healing balm of 'the space in between' each photo. Those quiet, detached moments that we all get are when I feel no anxiety, no depression, no self harming desires, no suicidal thoughts - it's just blissful nothingness. That my friends is worth all the sore feet, the confusion and the tiredness. Plus I get the photos and the kudos :)

The First Day of 2019

 On Christmas Eve Andrew, Toby and I went for a walk around the boundary trail of Castle Ward, (the National Trust site). I was in so much pain with my hip and back that we had to cut it short but nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves and got rather muddy. Plus it made for a good appetite later on.

It was a great excuse to use our new Millican backpacks that Andrew bought in a flurry of infatuation a few weeks before Christmas.

You see, sometimes you need a backpack but don't want to take your sporty hiking one and then drag it around all day in and out of lovely cafes etc. Instead, why not have a gorgeous, long lasting, hand sewn, recycled bag of utter style and wonderfulness?

I have the Rust Smith Roll Pack 15 L with pockets (Andrew's is a 25 L smith Roll pack in Tarn) and they have a multitude of pockets, internal organisation to place special things and a secret laptop sleeve and even a chest strap and hip belt if you wanted to go up a mountain with it. But to me it is a truly stylish, going to cities and taking photos, writing notes and reading a book kind of bag - too pretty for messing about on hill sides.

I also had my new 500 ml Chilly's water bottle (which I have used loads since I got it around the same time - it fits in most handbags too and I always need water on a trip out - dry mouth syndrome, from my medication). I LOVE this as it's reusable, it keeps my water hot for 12 hrs or cold for a whole day and yet the outer shell stays at room temperature the whole time = no condensation, plus it's totally leak proof :) They come in many colours and finishes and in 3 sizes - 260 ml, 500 ml and 750 ml.

I got mine here - Amazon Chilly's Reusable Water Bottle

The matte finish makes it so easy to open with cold be-gloved hands  and feels lovely to ungloved ones too:) 

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Then on New Years Day we did the same thing, only without Toby this time. It turned out to be a drier walk and unlike the first trip I was in the mood for taking some photographs.

Thus began my new-ish obsession with photographing fungi. I have always been drawn to moss and ferns but recently I'm taking more notice of the fun array of fungi we come across on our hikes so I am collecting them in photo form.

I'm hoping to walk more here, ideally once a month or every other month (we are still tackling the Ulster Way and wish to finish it this year). I'd love to document the place change over the months and take photos of my nature highlights. I hope you enjoy these from the 1st of January..

left - dark mushroom I have only ever seen in or near cow poop

right - look at those colours! the lichen in this area is beautiful too, the bracket fungus is very wiggly here :)

left - bulbs! I think they're snowdrops as I think I remember lots in this area before
right - just an idea of the beautiful pathways through the forests

left - a single fern leaf and ivy (my faves too)

right - tiny wee mushrooms 'common inkcaps'? I must get a book on them

Left - love this hedge of twisted trees, I look forward to see them change throughout the year

Right - bracket fungus and beautiful moss

left - dead men's fingers fungi

right - gorgeous starry moss with thousands of water droplets :)

(Sorry - I don't know why my descriptions are playing up like this but I can't seem to fix it!! 😩)

Hugs and love

Thanks in sharing my first blog of the new year and hopefully this walk will become a lovely tradition

Carrie xx