After the last few settled days we have found ourselves in the midst of a whirlwind of preparation and planning. As is often the case, we have been expecting some of it but some is new and rather unwelcome. There was some nice weather to begin with so we got out the mower and spent a happy hour or so whizzing around the wood, garden and orchard. It’s still the total mad growing season so we have to be vigilant and keep the undergrowth at bay. This requires some preparation – checking the weather forecast, being ready early in the morning and having a spare can of petrol to hand to keep the mower topped up. Still, the results are immediate and very gratifying.
Jacqui’s driving license needed renewing and we realized she needed both medical and eye sight forms completed. This needs some planning as both required a trip to town, about 40 kilometers round trip. We were able to book both on the same afternoon and with a bit of cunning planning I added a shopping trip whilst she was having her eyes tested. This triumph of organization fell flat when we got the news she needs some urgent medical intervention for her eyes. She’s fine to drive at the moment but the failure of the hospital in Limerick to follow on with her injections is having a bad impact now.
After some serious thought we decided we would try one more time to get this put right. We have another Limerick trip next week (oh joy) so will haunt the eye department until we see the specialist. This needs quite a lot of preparation as we will be away most of the day and the dogs can’t be left inside and alone all that time. Enter our lovely friend Catherine who has promised to sit with them for part of the time. So, off we will go to arm wrestle some sense and help out of the hospital. Wish us luck!
Some of the preparation involved getting ready for our good friends Helen and Adrian this week. They are walking along the Wild Atlantic Way every time they visit Ireland and then come to us for a bit of R&R. Actually I’m not sure how much R&R Helen gets as she spends a good amount of time weeding the drive and clearing areas of the orchard or wood when she is here. We love to see them both and are very impressed and grateful for all her endeavors but it’s supposed to be a bit of a holiday for her! Seriously, thank you Helen.
A chunk of my time was spent getting ready for the North Tipperary Show on (Irish) August bank holiday. This has taken a lot of preparation, as I don’t want to be just a wobbly table in the corner especially if it rains. The show is a very eclectic mix of agriculture, dogs, craft and cookery competitions, art and music. It is, for this area, large and crowded so I want to stand out and be noticed. Jacqui suggested I should have some sort of small tent and found a rather lovely pop up gazebo that was delivered last week. As it was raining we practiced putting it up indoors, with Helen’s help and were very impressed. It was a bit large though, even for our kitchen-diner.
I also decided to go a bit professional and spent several days designing a roller banner. This involved a lot of photographs and struggling with the website but finally we had a finished design that looked good. This is also rather large – so tall I have to lay it on the floor to fix it and then lift it up. The result is very striking though not exactly as I planned. Whilst I ordered a rather nice soft purple it arrived a bright fuchsia pink. So much for careful preparation and planning! Well, I don’t think anyone can miss it anyway. The final result will be revealed next time.
It is now getting cloudy and wet again and once more we have (very) late night farm wagons on the road. I wonder why it is necessary to slurry the fields at midnight? Maybe a lack of planning and preparation…
We have more birds around again including a swift’s nest in the new lean-to. They didn’t waste any time, arriving, building and moving in within a few weeks of completion. I spotted the nest when in the wood section and two very startled birds flew past me and out into the wood. I was concerned I’d driven them away but last time I was out I saw a large pile of droppings under the nest. I’ve never been so happy to see bird mess in my life.
We’ve also had a bullfinch on the garden fence eating the grass seeds. The next day there were four of them, a family I think as two were small and the other adult was male. On the down side, the birds (unidentified species) stripped the young raspberries one night. I must find some deterrent for next year. However one of the apple trees, “Katy”, has started to produce a crazy amount of fruit. Bear in mind the trees were planted just four months ago!
So, next week has far too many medical appointments and I will continue my preparation for the show, which is on the 5th August. I’ve lots of books to pack up, sets of crime novels to sort and a range of different bookmarks to arrange. I might have another go at the gazebo too, just to make sure. If you are around do pop over and say hello – it would be lovely to meet you.
Thank you for reading and I hope you have a happy few weeks.
Jennie.