cowpats and daisychains
Annie's Blog

A Marsh Harrier Scene

Hello, Today I share with you a fleeting moment that I was lucky enough to witness this morning! Whilst undertaking the mundane task of relieving the ‘slop’ bucket at the compost heap, I was promptly beckoned out of a daydream. I was on my way to wash the rather foul residue out from the bucket when a high-pitched holler awakened my ears, much like the sensitive ears of a Muntjac Deer.   The call repeated in perfect tone, it’s power forced my limbs to stop and then turn towards the sound. Compared to the collective drone from the Rooks (who incidentally I am very fond of), this bird’s call was somewhat…
Read More

Take a Closer Look

Hello, yet another week has flown by and it is blogging time again! The days are subtly shortening and the fire places more frequently lit. The mornings are slower to rouse my sleeping body as a grainy light sifts though my curtains. I have a collection of photos that document the patterns, textures, layers, forms and colours that have caught my eye over a period of time. The photos capture aspects of the grounds and farm that are routinely overlooked. Some of the photos pose questions about the existence of urban decay amongst thriving nature. I discovered a visual communication that exists between the two, whereupon a collaborative beauty appears. Both man-made and natural formations…
Read More

Has your Fruit and Veg got Character?

Hello! As I mentioned last week, today’s post is all about veg, amongst other tasty gems that can be found twinkling inside the walled garden on a sunny September evening. Even though the winter chill will soon be creeping in upon us, there are a number of fruit and veg that are still thriving. I for one have to keep reminding myself not to buy veg at the supermarket! We have an array of Onions, Courgettes, Runner Beans, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Beetroot, Swiss chard, Plums, Pears, Autumn- Raspberries and last but not least there are Apples galore! [caption id="attachment_202" align="aligncenter" width="644"] Jonathan selects Veg for Supper[/caption] I found the Victoria Plum tree…
Read More

Adventures and Returning Home

Hello, it has been three weeks or so since my last post. I am happy to say I have been itching to get back to my blogging, especially as this is my tenth post! I am back home breathing the Irish air. And how amiable this land of cow pats and daisy chains is! I had quite forgotten about my long coat and scarf: now they engulf my body that had acclimatised to the Mediterranean heat. Dare I even say a log fire was needed to heat the cockles of my soul yesterday… Autumn is taking reign over Summer like an older sibling might guide a reluctant younger sibling back…
Read More

Creative Play and the importance of mistakes!

Hello, today I have been painting an archway in my flat. I am always drawn to arches and it was looking a bit bleak so I decided to get the Annie Sloan chalk paint out and start letting my creativity flow from my subconscious. I put my music on as loud as I can get away with and do a sort of doodle-dance with my body and the paint brush- making marks as I go. There is a peace I find while painting. Nothing much can go wrong, many years ago I learned how to make a mistake into a modification. A 'mistake' often becomes a streamlet  of unexpected inspiration…
Read More

Love and other things

Hello, it has been a little over a week since my last post. I am glad to say the delay has been due to my having a hectic and joyful time. Last weekend, I was back in my ‘homeland’ (the UK) for Grandad-Norfolk’s wedding. By the way, Grandad-Norfolk is a pretty self-explanatory nickname my siblings gave our Grandad who lives in Norfolk. It was really very special to be in the presence of the love of two people who had had so much life experience. And with their individual life experiences came lots of family and many Grandchildren… Altogether there were sixteen of us Grandchildren, from ages three to twenty-four.…
Read More

Crabbing!

Hello, today I have been ‘Crabbing’ with three children whom I have had the pleasure of knowing for about five years. We have got to know each other very well. Many a school holiday we have spent time getting up too all sorts in order to entertain ourselves while I mind them. [caption id="attachment_156" align="aligncenter" width="644"] Where the Crabs Hide[/caption] Often we go for walks on the beach, fully equipped with a picnic to sustain our activity for the day. They make sculptures from the materials around them, using stone, seaweed and shells. Last year it was hot enough to go swimming or sunbathe at the beach, but this year…
Read More

Singing to the Cows

Good day to all! I have been in two minds about letting what I am about to tell you out of the bag! I expect the people who know me well will concur that it is rather an eccentric-Annieish thing to do… Since moving here, I have acquired many different ways of occupying myself and during that time I have learnt an awful lot of new attributes within myself I would have otherwise never discovered. Not all of them are good, but this one I enjoy, and it is an activity I have found has become a common part of my rural Irish existence. I often find myself up on…
Read More

Writing in the Garden

Today I write this from the Garden at Butlerstown where I live. I am within the walled garden. The red brick walls once straight and towering, stand today slightly slanting in age; like the slow and gradual curvature of an old woman’s spine, yet the wall is strong enough to create a sense of invulnerability. For this aged wall had protected the countless vegetables, fruits and roses for one hundred and ten years against wrathful sea storm gales. [caption id="attachment_115" align="alignnone" width="291"] Our Chickens enjoying the long grass[/caption] [caption id="attachment_114" align="alignright" width="215"] Found these Beauts- not sure what they are![/caption] Today is so pleasant it is hard to imagine a…
Read More

A Gosling Memory

Hello, Living here often prompts the lagoon of my memory to pounce upon me. Usually it is a scent that has the effortless power to pluck me from my present and plonk me into my past. The scent of a country road, perhaps triggered by a single wild flower, transports me to my childhood days spent in Norfolk. The scent wafts up my nostrils and dictates my brain to find this submerged recollection. For a moment I am eleven years old again. Free of all things adult and rural Norfolk is briefly my playground once again. I scamper down to a lush and overgrown stream on my own. I get…
Read More