Well, spring is supposedly upon us and there are a number of promising signs. This last week we managed to get our new trees in, finally. After the scramble to get some from the “Free Trees Ireland” site there was a long delay. The weather has been so bad the poor growers haven’t been able to lift them without damage to their tiny roots so we all waited – and waited. When the message they were ready came through we had a scramble to book our excellent tree man, Donal, and arrange the clearing and planting. The young man distributing the trees told me I did actually have two bundles, a total of 20 trees, and we were seriously worried about collection. Twenty trees in a small Peugeot hatchback – well it would take at least two trips. We stripped out the back seats and set off, excited but a bit nervous.
Well, it seems bare root trees are – twigs. I picked up two small plastic bags containing the twenty trees and we drove off feeling a bit let down. Donal was most encouraging however. They are mainly fast growing, all seem in good condition (alive!) and he planted them with decent space between each one. The four spruce trees will have to go in later as they are going along the back and we are waiting for Fergus to fell the dead “leaners” so they are in a little pot. You can see how small these trees are. Despite this several of the new trees are already showing signs of growth after only a couple of weeks. As we left a lot of the undergrowth I spent a jolly afternoon looking for them amongst the long grass and putting some tape around each one to ensure they are not trodden on in the meantime.
The orchard is coming back to life now with leaves or buds on all the trees. Jacqui managed the first cut of the grass last weekend as the rain finally stopped and – miracle – the sun came out for a few days. There are some bulbs and lovely flowers in Betsy’s Garden and the magnolia tree has burst into flower. Then the weather turned nasty again with very high winds and more rain. Spring is certainly interesting this year. There is a saying – March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb. It seems we have a bi-polar lamb this year.
It is raining again as I write this to the sound of car engines roaring past at the bottom of the hill. A motor club has decided to hold a rally through the lanes in Tipperary and for the last week signs have gone up about road closures. Not very helpful signs – there was one at the end of our road saying it was closed “at the next junction” but with no date, time or idea for how long. This was added a few days later but there was no proper indication of exactly where these “junctions” were until yesterday when red and white tape was strung across roads and in hedges along with big signs saying “THINK!”
It was (and is) a bit of a mess and I am very sorry for residents and farmers along the route. The noise is not too bad here but we are about half a kilometre away and it is still intrusive. The route goes past fields with young cows and sheep, many with tiny lambs. The roads are already in a very bad way due to the weather and constant damage from heavy farm machinery (remember the winter game of “puddle or pothole?). I dread to think what the impact is on the wildlife and all the birds nesting in the hedges along the route. I’m not a fan of motor “sports” but this seems particularly foolish.
We are adjusting slowly to a house without Chloe though we miss her every day. We have a huge number of photographs (which animal lover doesn’t?) so decided to make a memorial photo book for her. It arrived on Friday and is a lovely reminder of many happy memories. Even her early behaviour when she would pee (and worse) in the pots in our yard. Charlie seems to have taken her loss particularly hard and needs a lot of attention. In the evening he fusses and barks until we get some toys out to play but he loses interest almost immediately. He misses going out into the big back garden with his Grannie Chloe. They would trot around together, probably discussing the various scents. I’m dodging the rain to try to give him a walk every day and he seems to enjoy that. He was quite wary of much of the wood but now it is opened up with the felling of some ghost trees he’s more adventurous and even ventures along some of the animal tracks occasionally.
I want to finish with a big “Thank You” for everyone who sent messages to make contact with me. It has been lovely reading how you are getting on and in a couple of cases I’ve found a dear friend from almost 40 years ago. The Internet can be a nasty place sometimes but it can also bring friends, new and old.
Take care and here’s hoping the bi-polar lamb shambles off and spring finally arrives. Thank you for reading.
Jennie.