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Suzanna

Suzanna

@suzannacrampton

Ireland, blanket designing shepherd, farms with nature, writes, farm tours, soil health, biodiversity of flora & fauna, dung beetles, regenerative farmer, gardener https://zwartblesireland.com/shop/ https://m.youtube.com/@SuzannaCramptonIreland/featured

71 videos

All the ewes and lambs have settled in to a life of shorn fleeces.

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Absolutely devastated!!! My favourite teapot shattered into a thousand pieces!!!😭 DOGS!!!!!🤬 Who would have them!!!😡 My language would’ve made a merchent seaman blush. Hence dogs have scattered and now watch me worried. So many needle like shards to be swept up.

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This morning about 6:15 fed my flock on another farm for a shearing day event. It was very strange to drive onto this camping farm. I drove past countless tents full of families asleep. Evidence of many humans but not a single person seen. Yesterday it was teeming with people

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Ladies Smock/Cuckoo flower is very prolific this year. Great news for the orange tip butterfly. #wildflower

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My 5am alarm sounding off. I still haven’t managed to find a snooze button or even the off switch

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A low hanging branch creates an illusion that my ladies mantle is blooming pink flowers.

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Lupines are looking good despite the miserable wet rain.

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I love how these ewes love this particular tree as a hiding place for themselves and their lambs. Thankfully all is well this morning

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Ewes with single lambs have tucked themselves in under this scrub plum, out of the rain. A black bird must be nesting in this tree as she is very agitated by my presence.

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Single lambs have been let out into a pretty secure, from foxes, high walled paddock. A ewe with a single lamb has at least 85% better ability to keep her lamb safe from fox predation. Twins are being kept inside shed as better security, till they’re more mature.

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Tiz the height of cow parsley season!!! All that floofy foamy white floating amongst tree trunks in a dusk light

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A gorgeous Bullfinch got caught in the house. I caught and released him

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Twins born very early this morning. Still wet when I came out around 5am. I thought one was dead it lay so still on the ground

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Thankfully no fox incident this morning. 5am check all well. No new lambs since big single ram lamb around 10pm.

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This first time ewe has just had a lovely big ram lamb. She’s a very attentive mother. They’ve got a lovely cozy stable, temperatures are set to plummet tonight as north winds blow

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What a sh1t start today. Probably only minutes before I came out to lambing paddock, a fox snatched this ewe’s 2day old ewe lamb. She’s now nervously taken her remaining lamb down to shed away from offending gate lamb was snatched from. I was out 5/5:15am & all had been well🤬😡

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1:30am check for any new lambs. Only a pair of twins from earlier in the day. Otherwise all is quite.

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A beautiful morning to check for lambs. Mount Leinster looks glorious in the distance. Dare I say it…. Even airline vapour trails are beautiful in an abstract way as their hot air exhaust meets freezing cold air to create elongated clouds across a steel blue sky.

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I love cow parsley season. It’s such a lovely frothy floofy foam of tall lacy delicate white&green. Particularly when sunlight splashes through trees to illuminate its nodding umbels. It’s often under appreciated by humans. While a multitude of insects live&thrive amongst them

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Good morning world!!! A walk through Irish woods before sunrise with romping dogs and a cat.

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Another of my favourite times of year here on our farm, is cow parsley season.

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Sometimes just being is peaceful

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chilly stroll past fields into our woods full of a diversity of flora life, before sunrises

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I unintentionally spooked my flock of sheep before sunrise

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A beautiful dawn, as sunrises over Mount Leinster and the Black Stair Mountains accompanied by bird song

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Before sunrise under a gloaming sky, bird song is heard to welcome approaching daylight

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Someone mentioned that they love to watch my dogs walking particularly the fluffy floof Java. Hopefully this distracts you from all the world’s political turbulence and brings a smile to your face

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I thought I saw a bumblebee sleeping in a daffodil but it wasn’t 🫤

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Our cherry trees are nearly in full bloom. Fingers crossed that tomorrow’s storm Dave doesn’t strip the branches bare before the pollinators can do their work

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This little dell is really coming into its own as bluebells start to bloom. Lilly of the valley are pushing up and I’ve boldly planted a few dog toothed violets.

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Yes I am so very lucky to live where I do, to watch a peaceful dawn, listen to bird song while my dogs gently play around me. Yes I am truly grateful and thankful. Hopefully wherever you are you can find an essence of peace.

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Ovenmitt strolls amongst daffodils and ferns and dogs romp and play during this morning’s dawn walk

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A view out from woodland toward a pastel sky before sunrise, accompanied by bird song and dogs at play

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Another absolutely gorgeous morning. A frosty misty sunrise. So atmospheric. So beautiful. A stroll through the woods as well

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A good morning stroll with dogs, a cat, bird song and a beautiful frosty misty sunrise

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Stop gloom scrolling and start bloom scrolling. Hyacinths, grape hyacinths, daffodils and cherry trees all blooming accompanied by bird song

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Daffodils are looking great despite overcast skies this morning around 6:30am Dogs have a great romp

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Going 100% none traditional Irish meal for today’s Saint Patrick Day lunch. French toast with Canadian maple syrup

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As unpleasant horrors and disruptions continue elsewhere in our beloved beautiful world, we are so lucky here in south Kilkenny Ireland. We awaken to a rainless, frosty, misty dawn filled with birdsong and dogs at play. May peace be with you 🕊️🕊️🕊️

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Have a doom scrolling break and watch a cat bathe a dog. Cat Ovenmitt gives pupper Java a good bath.

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A balmy still evening of bird song and blooms before tomorrow’s storm of rain, wind and plummeting temperatures

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Sometimes the sun comes out at just the right time and makes plants glow in spring sunlight

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Deep dark blue skies in this morning’s gloaming accompanied by a predawn chorus. I return inside, dogs & cats fed. I then make a pot of breakfast tea while Ovenmitt sits overseeing on the Aga

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This morning’s dawn chorus: New research shows vibrations, like birdsong have a greening effect. It can influence/stimulate stomata to open, boost nutrient/water uptake, enhance growth by triggering molecular changes in plants. So spring bird song improve plant respiration and vitality

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Bright daffodils glow in gloaming light before this morning’s dawn sunrise. Territorially bird song, a chorus of diverse voices greet this new day as cloud strewn skies slowly lighten

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Checked to see if we had any frog spawn this morning. Thank goodness we do despite a local quarry now pumping out our ground water

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A short break away from all the news: A stroll in the woods before breakfast. Towards the end Bear makes sure that I’m following towards the house for he wants his breakfast

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Wood anemones are full of bees this afternoon. Snowdrop season is just about over as wood anemone season begins. This is another woodland plant that I continually dig, divide & transplant to other areas of our woodlands. It’s such a beauty

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I forgot to post this yesterday!!! First of March, first day of spring

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This morning’s dawn chorus sings in a calm gloaming after last night’s stormy winds and lashing rain

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Kettle boils, tea made and cats acknowledged A Caterday morning

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This morning’s dawn chorus with daffodils, dogs playing and river mists rising

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A beautiful line of scarlet elf cup fungi in our woods. Bird song all around us

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This morning’s dawn chorus. One of the best benefits of farming for nature and biodiversity

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This is why every year I try to do my bit for early emerged pollinators. To dig up,divide&transplant snowdrops&crocuses. Essential food for insects like bees&hover flies which become healthy food for many birds. It’s all connected for essential environmental health&biodiversity

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This morning’s predawn bird song

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A frosty dawn walk with dogs playing and bird song. Feeling a bit better. I’ve heard from others that the bug I have can last 24 hours or a week. Fingers crossed I can boot it bodily out and it only vaguely lingers for a few days

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Dawn chorus a bit damp this morning with snowdrops glowing in the woodland understory

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The January lamb “oppsy daisy” gets turned out as it’s not a wet day (for the moment). Also known as Cinda-fecken-rella by the farm sitter while I was away

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The dawn chorus is beginning to grow in volume as birds welcome break of day with their territorial song

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Pupper Java is desperate to taste my absolutely deadly delicious American “Virginia Honey Roasted Peanuts” treats. I’m glad I can’t get them in Ireland or I’d not have anything resembling a waistline😬 Java defends my lap from Lorca incase a peanut drops and then it does…..

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10years ago this embankment of snowdrops was a gift of 5/8 bulbs. I regularly divide&planted as singles until they’d bulk up&divide again. I also collected their seeds&sowed them to grow on. It took about 3/4 years for them to flower from seed. Sorry I do not know the variety.

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Sometimes there are those days when you’re just waiting for the next problem. At least I know a lovely Machanic and I have great company while I wait.

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Inca sits on anyone with a fluffy tail for warmth and comfort. Our snowdrops are getting a battering from dogs at play which doesn’t help displays for this weekend’s garden tours.

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This is what I mean by peek snowdrop display. It’s when both the early and later snowdrops are out at the same time. It’s still spectacular as the earlies are looking fabulous

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I was away for a number of days and the farm sitter had an unintended surprise……

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This is why division of snowdrops is an annual absolute necessity. Pollinators need food and there aren’t enough areas that grow native early spring blooms. Snowdrops aren’t native but do a necessary job

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Cat Ovenmitt gives Java a really good bath

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This morning I was not allowed to film emerging snowdrops. Puppy Lorca demanded a run. When weak from my recent illness I use the quad

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I get up to load up woodstove and the big puppy thinks that means he can ask to go outside. I oblige but the rain dissuaded him that it wasn’t exactly a good idea. So he about turned back inside to woodstove dry warmth

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My Caterday tax with dog interest

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