It’s that time of the year when crops are sown and the weeding is done. However, even now you will still find the odd weed. Watch them, because in this mild weather some can go to seed. You are never finished in the garden, no matter what the season.
It’s lovely to get out and find something to do in the fresh air. Just wrap up well and get the exercise in. We all deserve a little break now and Jennie and I have just recently been on our annual bus tour.
This year we were northbound, with the same group of people we go with every year. It’s lovely that we all know each other so well. With a nice modern bus for comfort and a great driver, we look forward to this week every year and each day is packed with a full itinerary.
Viewing the lush countryside as we go, it’s hard to believe it’s so green when only a month or so ago it was patchy white from the drought. There was great colour from some well-kept flower gardens, but vegetable gardens were scarce. We stayed at the lovely Carrickdale Hotel just outside of Dundalk, where we were treated like royalty.
We visited Big Tom’s farm and grave in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, and spent a day in Belfast visiting historic buildings: the city hall was one where we looked at the monument dedicated to everybody who lost their lives on the ill-fated Titanic.
One of the people lucky enough to avoid disaster was Fr Browne, a great friend of my father. He boarded at Southampton but got off at Cobh at the request of his uncle, the bishop of Cork. I still have photos he took of my father ploughing. We also went to the shipyard where the Titanic was built.
These are but a few of the places we visited on our busy tour. Thanks to Betty our organiser and Patsy our driver for putting up with all 52 of us for a week.
Then we had the Ploughing to look forward to. It’s always a great show, so a huge well done must go to the organisers for all their work.
I met so many people who read my articles and I am always pleased to meet people growing their own vegetables, fruit and flowers. Nothing beats good, fresh food right on your doorstep, with just a little effort thrown in. It’s a pity the weather was not so kind, especially on the Wednesday.
I spent a few quiet moments at the Embrace stand thinking of all the wellies left behind by hard-working farmers. It brings it home to all of us on farms to remember to think of safety at all times.
Read more
Lily's Garden: Preparing for autumn days
Lily Champ: Gardening in a drought
It’s that time of the year when crops are sown and the weeding is done. However, even now you will still find the odd weed. Watch them, because in this mild weather some can go to seed. You are never finished in the garden, no matter what the season.
It’s lovely to get out and find something to do in the fresh air. Just wrap up well and get the exercise in. We all deserve a little break now and Jennie and I have just recently been on our annual bus tour.
This year we were northbound, with the same group of people we go with every year. It’s lovely that we all know each other so well. With a nice modern bus for comfort and a great driver, we look forward to this week every year and each day is packed with a full itinerary.
Viewing the lush countryside as we go, it’s hard to believe it’s so green when only a month or so ago it was patchy white from the drought. There was great colour from some well-kept flower gardens, but vegetable gardens were scarce. We stayed at the lovely Carrickdale Hotel just outside of Dundalk, where we were treated like royalty.
We visited Big Tom’s farm and grave in Castleblaney, Co Monaghan, and spent a day in Belfast visiting historic buildings: the city hall was one where we looked at the monument dedicated to everybody who lost their lives on the ill-fated Titanic.
One of the people lucky enough to avoid disaster was Fr Browne, a great friend of my father. He boarded at Southampton but got off at Cobh at the request of his uncle, the bishop of Cork. I still have photos he took of my father ploughing. We also went to the shipyard where the Titanic was built.
These are but a few of the places we visited on our busy tour. Thanks to Betty our organiser and Patsy our driver for putting up with all 52 of us for a week.
Then we had the Ploughing to look forward to. It’s always a great show, so a huge well done must go to the organisers for all their work.
I met so many people who read my articles and I am always pleased to meet people growing their own vegetables, fruit and flowers. Nothing beats good, fresh food right on your doorstep, with just a little effort thrown in. It’s a pity the weather was not so kind, especially on the Wednesday.
I spent a few quiet moments at the Embrace stand thinking of all the wellies left behind by hard-working farmers. It brings it home to all of us on farms to remember to think of safety at all times.
Read more
Lily's Garden: Preparing for autumn days
Lily Champ: Gardening in a drought
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