We are in the process of linking ALL our photos to the Blog page of the same date. Just putting pictures on Blogger one at a time is a big pain.
If you go to our entries for September first, second and third, you will now find a link to a bunch of pictures shot on that day. A few of these pictures have comments now, but soon every one of them will. We just have to get them downloaded, which is more complex than what you can do at your house. Hang in there, our site is getting better!
On another matter. PLEASE post comments or send us an e-mail so we know that your out there.
Having a great day off in the Republic of Ireland,
Kevin and Renee.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009****
Finally able to post last week's entries, sorry for the delay in "publication" but we've had unsuccessful wireless access on our laptops and no access to the manor's computer until today. Photos are forthcoming, too slow to add on this computer, sorry again.
Bright sunshiny day again today. A real shorts wearing day, which does happen in Ireland, but two days in a row is something special. Renee and I worked on the grass creation all day long. Actually, the grass creation is just a by-product of what we are doing. We have been removing the grass from a huge field so that it may be used as a vegetable garden for the cooking school. All of this hard work is done with hand tools only.
Also today, Renee again took the foal and the Mare to the pasture and back at the end of the day.
In between, the filly was transported by trailer with her Mom to Bridge House Stud again today, for another treatment.
We didn’t leave the property today but we did get visitors. Greg and Sonya dropped by and we had some good craic and talked about our future collaboration. We are all very much into making this happen. More news regarding this to follow at a later date.
Yummy dinner tonight of homemade potato and vegetable soup, all ingredients harvested from the garden.
It’s aloha Friday, no work ‘til Monday. Yeah!
We’ll practically be having the place to ourselves this weekend. The housekeeper is off on holiday back to her homeland of Romania, the gatekeeper is off to Italy, and the lord of the manor is still in France . . . . If it weren’t for the tractors making hay in the fields off in the distance, it would be totally quiet, ’cept for the melodic tones of the little robins singing in the trees.
Kevin and I are working on acquiring insurance for a motor vehicle we will purchase next week. Then we will be able to do some exploring on our off time. Right now we couldn’t be in a more beautiful place, or luckier to have met such wonderful people.
Finally able to post last week's entries, sorry for the delay in "publication" but we've had unsuccessful wireless access on our laptops and no access to the manor's computer until today. Photos are forthcoming, too slow to add on this computer, sorry again.
Bright sunshiny day again today. A real shorts wearing day, which does happen in Ireland, but two days in a row is something special. Renee and I worked on the grass creation all day long. Actually, the grass creation is just a by-product of what we are doing. We have been removing the grass from a huge field so that it may be used as a vegetable garden for the cooking school. All of this hard work is done with hand tools only.
Also today, Renee again took the foal and the Mare to the pasture and back at the end of the day.
In between, the filly was transported by trailer with her Mom to Bridge House Stud again today, for another treatment.
We didn’t leave the property today but we did get visitors. Greg and Sonya dropped by and we had some good craic and talked about our future collaboration. We are all very much into making this happen. More news regarding this to follow at a later date.
Yummy dinner tonight of homemade potato and vegetable soup, all ingredients harvested from the garden.
It’s aloha Friday, no work ‘til Monday. Yeah!
We’ll practically be having the place to ourselves this weekend. The housekeeper is off on holiday back to her homeland of Romania, the gatekeeper is off to Italy, and the lord of the manor is still in France . . . . If it weren’t for the tractors making hay in the fields off in the distance, it would be totally quiet, ’cept for the melodic tones of the little robins singing in the trees.
Kevin and I are working on acquiring insurance for a motor vehicle we will purchase next week. Then we will be able to do some exploring on our off time. Right now we couldn’t be in a more beautiful place, or luckier to have met such wonderful people.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
“Are you part Egyptian?” Head Gardner, John, asked us first thing this morning. “Looks like the pyramids!” Of course he was referring to our extension of the “muck pile” along the garden wall (see yesterday’s photos). What a compliment. We were so proud.
Sunshine today. We were able to shed one layer of clothing. Silage being cut all across the midlands.
I tended to the horses, then spent most of the next hour cleaning up a mistakenly dumped load of dry, mown grass, on a paved area near the north side horse pasture. I nearly filled the wide bucket on the front of the teleporter with all the debris. I must say, it looked like a clean floor when I was through with the shovel, rake, and broom. Plus, I shed another layer of clothing in the process.
After properly mucking out the filly’s stall, the teleporter bucket was full to the brim and ready to be dumped. Next, I headed to the walled gardens for more creative grass building in the glorious sunshine. The weather was delightfully warm with no rain in sight. It’s shorts and tee shirt weather today for some, but we didn‘t pack any.
I helped Kevin add another two feet in height to the “grass creation” today. I don’t know its proper name and they don’t have anything like it in England, where John’s from, so he doesn’t know the name for this creation either.
You cannot tell from the photos, but this creation protrudes out from the wall at least three feet. It is constructed by taking the cut turf (what we call sod, the top layer of grass from the lawn, or proposed garden bed) and stacking the pieces upon itself in layers to make the four outer walls, then filling in the middle with dirt and cut turf as you go up. And don’t forget to ramp the side end, to get the wheelbarrow up to the top of the heap as you go! It is quite a creative feat of engineering and the whole thing will be used in the future to amend the soil. Sort of an attractive compost pile, if you will.
After lunch Kevin and I were collected by Greg, a longtime friend of our landowner, for a personal, in depth, tour of his Farm Safari Park, about fifteen minutes away. More to tell later. Please see photos.
Hours later, back at the manor house, choosing to spend time relaxing instead of cooking, for dinner we ate toast with damson jelly and a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties. We know them as Frosted Flakes . . . . They’re grrrrrrrrreat!!!!
Another great day.
“Are you part Egyptian?” Head Gardner, John, asked us first thing this morning. “Looks like the pyramids!” Of course he was referring to our extension of the “muck pile” along the garden wall (see yesterday’s photos). What a compliment. We were so proud.
Sunshine today. We were able to shed one layer of clothing. Silage being cut all across the midlands.
I tended to the horses, then spent most of the next hour cleaning up a mistakenly dumped load of dry, mown grass, on a paved area near the north side horse pasture. I nearly filled the wide bucket on the front of the teleporter with all the debris. I must say, it looked like a clean floor when I was through with the shovel, rake, and broom. Plus, I shed another layer of clothing in the process.
After properly mucking out the filly’s stall, the teleporter bucket was full to the brim and ready to be dumped. Next, I headed to the walled gardens for more creative grass building in the glorious sunshine. The weather was delightfully warm with no rain in sight. It’s shorts and tee shirt weather today for some, but we didn‘t pack any.
I helped Kevin add another two feet in height to the “grass creation” today. I don’t know its proper name and they don’t have anything like it in England, where John’s from, so he doesn’t know the name for this creation either.
You cannot tell from the photos, but this creation protrudes out from the wall at least three feet. It is constructed by taking the cut turf (what we call sod, the top layer of grass from the lawn, or proposed garden bed) and stacking the pieces upon itself in layers to make the four outer walls, then filling in the middle with dirt and cut turf as you go up. And don’t forget to ramp the side end, to get the wheelbarrow up to the top of the heap as you go! It is quite a creative feat of engineering and the whole thing will be used in the future to amend the soil. Sort of an attractive compost pile, if you will.
After lunch Kevin and I were collected by Greg, a longtime friend of our landowner, for a personal, in depth, tour of his Farm Safari Park, about fifteen minutes away. More to tell later. Please see photos.
Hours later, back at the manor house, choosing to spend time relaxing instead of cooking, for dinner we ate toast with damson jelly and a bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties. We know them as Frosted Flakes . . . . They’re grrrrrrrrreat!!!!
Another great day.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
090909 today. NineNineNine to all our German friends, okay, make that YesYesYes.
Awoke to a bright sunshiny day. There was a rush to make silage. Literally making hay while the sun shines. Forecast indicates it will last only today, then more cold rain.
On my own now with the horses, I spent the morning mucking stalls and turning out the mare and her filly. She is really suffering after her follow-up visit with the vet. A new abscess was discovered in the bottom of her hoof, poor thing. No wonder she was walking funny - wasn’t just because she was favoring her sore leg.
The master horseman, and horse-business partner of “our” property owner, came by to trailer the filly and mare back to his place for more intensive therapy/treatment and I was invited to come along. What an experience. With the help of two of his staff, we set about to clean, disinfect, and treat her wounds. Trevor pressure-washed the “holes” in the filly’s leg and in her hoof then bandaged the hoof to help keep the dirt out. A very strong (seriously strong) antibiotic was given intramuscularly, then we all returned home. What an experience, what an operation. Check it out for yourself, go out the back gate and turn left, keep driving ‘til you reach:
http://www.bridgehousestudireland.com/
Olympic show jumpers and famous race horses are bred and raised here . . . . “million dollar babies”. I enjoyed a top-of-the line Irish horse experience from the inside, side by side with the master. What a treat! And what a generous family man to boot, with a lovely wife, Elizabeth, and fun-loving, children.
It was lunch time by the time I returned. Chicken and potatoes with vine-ripened tomatoes for us. Mmmmm.
I spent the remainder of the day working with Kevin in the “future” walled garden beds. We took the sod that had been removed and used it to build an extension on the existing ???? Don’t know what it’s called here, but looks something like a muck pile. It’s a wall of growing grass. The pictures tell the story.
We enjoyed the afternoon in the sunshine and five o’clock came quickly. After a dinner of venison chili and rice we spent the evening trying (unsuccessfully) to get online with our laptops.
I have been writing our daily blog entries in a Word document and hope to publish them soon. May be able to put them on a gadget and do so tomorrow if we can get access to the “household” computer.
Off to dreamland, still smiling. . . .
090909 today. NineNineNine to all our German friends, okay, make that YesYesYes.
Awoke to a bright sunshiny day. There was a rush to make silage. Literally making hay while the sun shines. Forecast indicates it will last only today, then more cold rain.
On my own now with the horses, I spent the morning mucking stalls and turning out the mare and her filly. She is really suffering after her follow-up visit with the vet. A new abscess was discovered in the bottom of her hoof, poor thing. No wonder she was walking funny - wasn’t just because she was favoring her sore leg.
The master horseman, and horse-business partner of “our” property owner, came by to trailer the filly and mare back to his place for more intensive therapy/treatment and I was invited to come along. What an experience. With the help of two of his staff, we set about to clean, disinfect, and treat her wounds. Trevor pressure-washed the “holes” in the filly’s leg and in her hoof then bandaged the hoof to help keep the dirt out. A very strong (seriously strong) antibiotic was given intramuscularly, then we all returned home. What an experience, what an operation. Check it out for yourself, go out the back gate and turn left, keep driving ‘til you reach:
http://www.bridgehousestudireland.com/
Olympic show jumpers and famous race horses are bred and raised here . . . . “million dollar babies”. I enjoyed a top-of-the line Irish horse experience from the inside, side by side with the master. What a treat! And what a generous family man to boot, with a lovely wife, Elizabeth, and fun-loving, children.
It was lunch time by the time I returned. Chicken and potatoes with vine-ripened tomatoes for us. Mmmmm.
I spent the remainder of the day working with Kevin in the “future” walled garden beds. We took the sod that had been removed and used it to build an extension on the existing ???? Don’t know what it’s called here, but looks something like a muck pile. It’s a wall of growing grass. The pictures tell the story.
We enjoyed the afternoon in the sunshine and five o’clock came quickly. After a dinner of venison chili and rice we spent the evening trying (unsuccessfully) to get online with our laptops.
I have been writing our daily blog entries in a Word document and hope to publish them soon. May be able to put them on a gadget and do so tomorrow if we can get access to the “household” computer.
Off to dreamland, still smiling. . . .
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
The rain and wet continued with nary a notice until late afternoon when it finally took its toll. With three projects completed, Kevin and I headed for the manor house around 3:30 pm for inside activities the rest of the day.
After a nice hot shower I hand-washed all our dirty socks in the utility sink. Than I rinsed our jeans out so as not to fill the washing machine with mud. It kind of feels like “jungle living” in this fine, fine place when all it really is, is too many people needing to clean their rainy, muddy clothes too often.
Kev is trying to connect to the web while I write and he’s not having much success. Oh, oh, it’s official . . . . No internet for us again today. We probably need to climb higher to another level in the house for access, like we do with the telephone.
We just realized tomorrow’s date. Not auspicious like last year’s 08/08/08, but going be 09/09/09. We’ll see what it means. All will reveal itself in time.
Yummy community prepared dinner of rice and chili with a tossed greens, tomato, mushroom, and avocado salad.
Some of the horses were transferred to another location in the past two days leaving only the pregnant mare in the pasture, and the stabled mare with ailing filly under my care. There has been a change in personnel. My new friend, Sonja, (farm manager, co-worker, and all around “good mate”) is no longer employed here. I will still see her when Kev and I visit Greg at the Farm Safari.
Actually, we saw Greg this evening when he came to visit the manor house. Kev and I sat around the kitchen table talking story with him, Peter, and John until 10:00 pm. Good craic!
Another grand day.
Sweet dreams, ya'll!
The rain and wet continued with nary a notice until late afternoon when it finally took its toll. With three projects completed, Kevin and I headed for the manor house around 3:30 pm for inside activities the rest of the day.
After a nice hot shower I hand-washed all our dirty socks in the utility sink. Than I rinsed our jeans out so as not to fill the washing machine with mud. It kind of feels like “jungle living” in this fine, fine place when all it really is, is too many people needing to clean their rainy, muddy clothes too often.
Kev is trying to connect to the web while I write and he’s not having much success. Oh, oh, it’s official . . . . No internet for us again today. We probably need to climb higher to another level in the house for access, like we do with the telephone.
We just realized tomorrow’s date. Not auspicious like last year’s 08/08/08, but going be 09/09/09. We’ll see what it means. All will reveal itself in time.
Yummy community prepared dinner of rice and chili with a tossed greens, tomato, mushroom, and avocado salad.
Some of the horses were transferred to another location in the past two days leaving only the pregnant mare in the pasture, and the stabled mare with ailing filly under my care. There has been a change in personnel. My new friend, Sonja, (farm manager, co-worker, and all around “good mate”) is no longer employed here. I will still see her when Kev and I visit Greg at the Farm Safari.
Actually, we saw Greg this evening when he came to visit the manor house. Kev and I sat around the kitchen table talking story with him, Peter, and John until 10:00 pm. Good craic!
Another grand day.
Sweet dreams, ya'll!
Monday, September 7, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Sunshine Today!
A worldwide day of celebration of the harvest for the people of India occurred today. Locally, the families and friends of Indian heritage residing in nearby Mullingar spent the day at the Farm Safari (belonging to our new friend Gregory).
While Kevin stayed at Mearsecourt to attend to a barbed wire issue, I rode along with Sonja and was not only invited to join in the festivities, I was recruited to help with the actual safari. What a magnificent day.
The food was all vegetarian, served on a facsimile banana leaf, and all eaten with the hand. More than twenty different dishes had been prepared and I was offered at least twelve, including a finger banana only grown in India. Two kinds of rice, some hot and spicy carrots, some curried this, and ginger that, many coconut based goodies . . . . Everything most delicious!
Kevin and I had seen both the men and women preparing the lodge last night for the festivities today. The 4’ diameter, round medallion “painted” with flower petals on the floor being the most memorable. There would be singing and dancing after the safari but Sonja and I needed to return to meet with the vet and attend to the filly.
The safari itself was truly memorable. I was enlisted to “guard” the starboard side of the train. This entailed keeping the passengers on and the animals off when and where appropriate. Traversing the fields and pastures of the deer farm (three different breeds), we also saw camels, llamas, longhaired bulls, donkeys, ex-circus ponies, sheep and pigs. Quite a fascinating mix of creatures.
Amidst with the running commentary, I was engaged in many conversations with old and young passengers, one more fascinated than the next. The train stopped atop one hill and everyone disembarked for a group picture, handing me their cameras at Greg’s urging. What fun.
When we returned to the lodge at the end of the safari, Sonja and I thanked everyone for the food and the fun and said our goodbyes to attend to the visit of the vet. We were not allowed to leave until we were photographed with the group in front of their commemorative banner. An historical occasion, indeed!
Back at the ranch, there is news. The vet is here for assessment of the filly and Trevor has joined us to transfer some horses down to his place. The news is not good regarding the filly’s progress.
It is now 9:00 pm and Kevin and I have retreated to our room for a movie on the laptop. Neither of us finished with our “duties” until nearly 8:00 pm. A quick bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties was all we wanted for dinner. My mouth was still burning from all the Indian cuisine and the milk was most soothing.
It was another grand day.
Sunshine Today!
A worldwide day of celebration of the harvest for the people of India occurred today. Locally, the families and friends of Indian heritage residing in nearby Mullingar spent the day at the Farm Safari (belonging to our new friend Gregory).
While Kevin stayed at Mearsecourt to attend to a barbed wire issue, I rode along with Sonja and was not only invited to join in the festivities, I was recruited to help with the actual safari. What a magnificent day.
The food was all vegetarian, served on a facsimile banana leaf, and all eaten with the hand. More than twenty different dishes had been prepared and I was offered at least twelve, including a finger banana only grown in India. Two kinds of rice, some hot and spicy carrots, some curried this, and ginger that, many coconut based goodies . . . . Everything most delicious!
Kevin and I had seen both the men and women preparing the lodge last night for the festivities today. The 4’ diameter, round medallion “painted” with flower petals on the floor being the most memorable. There would be singing and dancing after the safari but Sonja and I needed to return to meet with the vet and attend to the filly.
The safari itself was truly memorable. I was enlisted to “guard” the starboard side of the train. This entailed keeping the passengers on and the animals off when and where appropriate. Traversing the fields and pastures of the deer farm (three different breeds), we also saw camels, llamas, longhaired bulls, donkeys, ex-circus ponies, sheep and pigs. Quite a fascinating mix of creatures.
Amidst with the running commentary, I was engaged in many conversations with old and young passengers, one more fascinated than the next. The train stopped atop one hill and everyone disembarked for a group picture, handing me their cameras at Greg’s urging. What fun.
When we returned to the lodge at the end of the safari, Sonja and I thanked everyone for the food and the fun and said our goodbyes to attend to the visit of the vet. We were not allowed to leave until we were photographed with the group in front of their commemorative banner. An historical occasion, indeed!
Back at the ranch, there is news. The vet is here for assessment of the filly and Trevor has joined us to transfer some horses down to his place. The news is not good regarding the filly’s progress.
It is now 9:00 pm and Kevin and I have retreated to our room for a movie on the laptop. Neither of us finished with our “duties” until nearly 8:00 pm. A quick bowl of Kellogg’s Frosties was all we wanted for dinner. My mouth was still burning from all the Indian cuisine and the milk was most soothing.
It was another grand day.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Day off . . . . Slept in little bit. Kev and I went off to stables to meet Sonja at 9:00 am, then Kev returned to our room to read, write and relax while I helped attend to the horses.
After mucking the stalls and loading the teleporter bucket (big front-end loader) with manure, I learned how to drive the big thing. Yippee!
We treated the filly in the stall, then I walked down to feed the mare her “hormone feed” (to keep her in foal). The veterinarian comes tomorrow to check the filly’s progress.
Two hours later, when the “horse work” was finished Sonja asked if we would like to attend the American Auto Show in Kilbeggan where Greg would be selling his grilled venison burgers. When we accepted her generous offer, she planned to picked us up at 2:00 pm.
It was now almost noon, so after a nice brunch of rice, veggies, and chorizo, Kev and I retired to our room to relax before our outing. It was suddenly very cold as well as rainy.
I think we enjoyed the ride through the countryside to Kilbegan as much as anything. It was fun to see the American cars plus the Irish interest in them. And the Irish venison burgers were tremendous. We also met Louis, the creator of Lilliput Loaf (a potato bread) and a wonderful “box tea” which is nothing like the name implies. It is actually a potato, buttermilk, onion, flour, and herb bread cooked in a cast iron skillet over a peat fire. Simply delicious.
The event took place across the street from the horse racing track, we’ll be back for that!
Around 5:00 pm, after the event closed and we tired of watching people being pulled out of the mud by the many tow trucks at the ready, we helped the lads pack up.
We accepted an invitation for a cuppa tea on the way home with our new friends then returned to the manor house around 8:00 pm. Another good day.
We’ll sleep well tonight.
Day off . . . . Slept in little bit. Kev and I went off to stables to meet Sonja at 9:00 am, then Kev returned to our room to read, write and relax while I helped attend to the horses.
After mucking the stalls and loading the teleporter bucket (big front-end loader) with manure, I learned how to drive the big thing. Yippee!
We treated the filly in the stall, then I walked down to feed the mare her “hormone feed” (to keep her in foal). The veterinarian comes tomorrow to check the filly’s progress.
Two hours later, when the “horse work” was finished Sonja asked if we would like to attend the American Auto Show in Kilbeggan where Greg would be selling his grilled venison burgers. When we accepted her generous offer, she planned to picked us up at 2:00 pm.
It was now almost noon, so after a nice brunch of rice, veggies, and chorizo, Kev and I retired to our room to relax before our outing. It was suddenly very cold as well as rainy.
I think we enjoyed the ride through the countryside to Kilbegan as much as anything. It was fun to see the American cars plus the Irish interest in them. And the Irish venison burgers were tremendous. We also met Louis, the creator of Lilliput Loaf (a potato bread) and a wonderful “box tea” which is nothing like the name implies. It is actually a potato, buttermilk, onion, flour, and herb bread cooked in a cast iron skillet over a peat fire. Simply delicious.
The event took place across the street from the horse racing track, we’ll be back for that!
Around 5:00 pm, after the event closed and we tired of watching people being pulled out of the mud by the many tow trucks at the ready, we helped the lads pack up.
We accepted an invitation for a cuppa tea on the way home with our new friends then returned to the manor house around 8:00 pm. Another good day.
We’ll sleep well tonight.
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