cowpats and daisychains
Annie's Blog

Happy Easter To All

Hello, I wish you a Happy Easter before my journey back to Yorkshire for fun and frolics with my six other siblings; who are all no doubt awaiting (rightly or wrongly) the Easter Bunny. Over the next week we shall celebrate four family birthdays among the Easter frenzy. We shall toast our glasses to Spring and New Life! I have a little Easter gift for you, in the form of pictures and two short videos. I want to say thank you for all the support you give me here at cowpatsanddaisychains.com. I hope to keep your valuable following by continuing to post interesting and creative insights into my life lived…
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Sometimes Spring Takes Us Unexpectedly

Hello, Sometimes spring takes us unexpectedly and one is roused earlier in the morning by the communication of the birds, hollering frantically, forcefully declaring their territory to one another. And on some days, spring seeps through the window panes and the cloth of the curtains more ardently than before. The spring sunlight penetrates one's eyelids with a welcoming glow. It is early March, and the lambs bleat and play, much like children do. My body feels more restless and energetic as if the spring is calling me to take part in whatever role I am to play today. Spring, the season of new life, resurrection and of miracles. And sometimes…
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Taming The Inner Carousel

Hello, Firstly I would like to welcome my Granny and Grandad to the world, wide, web. After receiving a good old-fashioned letter from my Grandmother this morning, she excitedly alerted me to the fact she has just got a ‘tablet’. I think this purchase shows my Granny’s great ability to adapt and develop new skills. I feel very proud of her and I shall endeavor to be as engaged in the world as she is when I become a Granny one day! Who knows, Granny might even set up her own blog?! Blogging has become an important cog in my very being. From today my blog posts are going to…
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A New Year

Hello, As we edge ever nearer to the 12th day of Christmas, I felt today was an apt moment to undress our guest the Christmas Tree. On the 10th of December I picked it myself down the avenue. I just about managed to saw it down, then assemble it in our home. In the past month the Christmas Tree has taken up a significant amount of space. There was nothing else for us to do but remould our lives around it. It has managed to mesmerise ‘Kitty’ the new addition to the farm, as she explored the lights, baubles and bells for the first time. The Tree also guarded the…
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A Christmas Wreath

Hello, It has been a little while since I last wrote a post. I must say it feels rather comforting to have finally found the time to steal away with one’s pen and begin to write again. I suspect the log fire I have just made is also playing a part in giving me this lovely feeling! As I peer outside, I watch the naked trees being bullied this way and that way by the forceful gale. I notice that the wind has a particular appetite for teasing the helpless fallen leaves. Like a mass of energetic six year olds a more than playful wind, kicks and tosses every leaf…
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Getting to Grips with the Meat I Eat

Hello, it is shooting season and last week I was given two dead Pheasants from a kindly neighbor. My initial feeling was that there was a lot left to be desired in preparing the birds for a tasty meal. I have eaten Pheasant before and I know I enjoy the taste, but I had never been left alone with fully intact birds before. For where does one start? I did remember my Grandad (aka The Shepard) telling me that plucking Pheasant can be difficult and can get rather messy... That ruled out plucking for me so skinning seemed the next best thing. However, I had no idea what equipment one needed or…
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Autumn at Butlerstown

Hello, Yesterday was a beautiful day and I felt my pictures would illustrate  the Irish Autumnal scene for you all better than words this time. Hope you enjoy looking through them. Next week, find out how I dealt with two dead pheasants... Bye for now.
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It’s not called Sloe Gin for nothing!

Hello, today I have a visual step-by-step guide and recipe on how I made my first batch of Sloe Gin this year. The beauty of making one's own Sloe Gin is in the slow process of 'steeping' (infusing)  Sloes in delicious Gin. October is a great time for picking sloes if you know where to find them. The concoction of sloes, sugar and gin need plenty of time to commune with one another in order for them to mature into a full bodied liquor. My Sloe Gin should be sumptuous just in time for December's festivities. Luckily, we have lots of Blackthorn growing on the back avenue in the hedgerows. Blackthorn produces…
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An Urban Setting

Hello, from Dublin City… Not my usual blogging spot, as you well know. Today I am submerged in an urban setting. Everything about the city vibe is fast and unstopping. I see it as though a patchwork of cultures, languages, styles, cars, shops, offices, hospitals and bicycles. It keeps spinning, like a human vortex of urban survival. I can hear a constant stream of exhausts groaning outside the window. An occasional thunderclap from a lorry’s under belly bursts the air as it hurdles another speed bump. I also identify the sound of people, unlike at home. The shouts and screeches of a disgruntled toddler scare a few cats from their…
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Wild with the Scent of Lavender

* L A V E N D E R *  Hello, as you can see I have been harvesting Lavender and I am wild with the scent of it! I was accompanied by the last of the thrifty bees who were sucking the remaining drops of scented nectar from the flowers, while I gathered basket-fulls of the ancient herb.     After about a week of air-drying beside the Aga I have now begun to collect the flower heads. Each head harbours a pungent aromatic smell… It is safe to say my home is engulfed in the stuff. [caption id="attachment_272" align="aligncenter" width="644"] By the end of my cutting I had filled…
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