Suzanna

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Lupines are looking good despite the miserable wet rain.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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🤬😡

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

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.

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

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

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

Sometimes just being is peaceful

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

I unintentionally spooked my flock of sheep before sunrise

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 🕊️🕊️🕊️

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kettle boils, tea made and cats acknowledged A Caterday morning

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

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

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

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

This morning’s predawn bird song

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

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

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

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

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…..

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Cat Ovenmitt gives Java a really good bath

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

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

My Caterday tax with dog interest