An Organic Lifestyle (Organic Growing Pains)

 I headed up to the plot early this morning as it was promising to be a really warm day, I put my 2 surviving hens into a box and took them with me. Two have died during the past few months from what I can only presume is old age, they have stopped laying now and are like 2 elderly dowagers. I had a rather romantic notion that they would like  to spread their wings, feel the breeze in their feathers and romp in slow motion through the long grass of one of the unused plots?!  I left them out, they investigated the long grass for all of 20 minutes grumbling loudly and proceeded to stand by the gate with their heads buried in the long grass with their tales sticking up for the remainder of the morning ! I had worried in case I would not be able to catch them again but they almost hopped into the box for me! Back in their run they marched up and down squawking loudly, my hens do not do foraging they like their food and water provided! I painted the gate a ...

I got a beautifully scented package in the post yesterday, Anna who had asked to me to do the guest post sent me some of her handmade soap. Anna is a very talented lady who does evening classes in gardening and crafts in Mullingar in Co Westmeath.Anna has another blog and the soap making is included in that.Last year when I had so much dried lavender I would have loved to make soap or bath bombs but could not find any similar classes down here, I may have to book a weekend in Mulligar for next season! The soap on the left is seaweed soap, seaweed has amazing properties and for an island nation like ours surrounded by sea and coastline we do not utilise it enough. The soap on the right is Gardeners soap, a handmade castille soap with Olive oil,coconut oil,rain water,calendula and orange peel. The children are off school for the Easter break and today we went to visit one of my daughters in Castlemartyr in East Cork. We passed Loughderra lake and I had to stop to take some photos of th...