May 28, 2012

Day 8: Ahiohill, Co. Cork, Ireland

Woke up a bit later again this morning. I fully intended on going for a run when I first woke up around 8:30, but then quickly realized I don’t have the slightest idea what a good running path would be. Maybe tomorrow!

After spending a bit more time looking into my plans for post-Ireland, we started on our day’s work! We were to turn the compost, earth up the potatoes, plant some wax beans and do some various watering around the grounds.

Turning the compost was a process. There are a few separate areas that Tina and John have set up around the yard to deal with their compost. There is a large pile along a wall where organic materials from the grounds go (grass clippings, strimming excess, etc), a few wooden bins where the compost is piled, and then a container where food compost from the kitchen is deposited. The first pile of compost is given some time to start breaking down, from where is it moved to the wooden bins when it is ready. The food compost breaks down in the plastic bin and is used directly. So! As mentioned, there are 3 wooden 3-sided bins located in the backyard. This morning, we loosened the compost from the farthest two and consolidated the material into one of the bins. I imagine it’s almost time to move some of the other compost from the pile over to the bins! It was a comical task, as Zoe and I had trouble making the compost form into a solid pile. We ended up using our bodies to create a pseudo-wall to contain the compost as we patted it down to make it fit into the 3-sided bin. That might not have been the best description of the process, but all you need to take away from the story is that it certainly gave us a laugh.

Then, we got to work on the potatoes. Basically, the potato plants need to be continuously buried with just the tops of the plants poking out the pile of dirt. As the plants grow, continuing to bury them means that once the potatoes are starting to form, they will grow from everywhere! You’ll end up with a nice mound of full grown potatoes. It seems like an easy task, but with a large amount of potato plants and excessively rocky soil, it was definitely a work out!

After this was complete, We planted wax beans in small trays so that they could spend some time germinating/sprouting before they’re relocated to a larger plot.

After this, we came inside to grab some lunch. We each made some form of a toasted ham/cheese/tomato sandwich and had a tomato, cheese, and fresh rocket with vinegrette salad. YUM!

Our last task of the day was to gather sticks, yet again, for the various fires. We used a lot this weekend with the bonfire outside, so we had to replenish!

After a fabulous dinner of pasta Bolognese, Tina, John, Rob, Alex and Jules went into Cork tonight for the session and Zoe and I stayed home to get things together for our trip over the next few days which will be to Cape Clear! Cape Clear is a small island off the southern coast of Cork, where there’s an incredible variety of birds, a lot of seals, dolphins and basking sharks! (Definitely just read that offline after a Google search). But in all seriousness, we’re going to stay with Ed Harper, a goat farmer who has a farm there. He actually also hosts WWOOFers (which we’ll be meeting & staying with) as well. Zoe wants to interview him for her senior thesis about animals- Ed is actually blind and runs this gigantic goat farm at the same time!

It’ll be really interesting to hear his story and also learn more about goat farming! His WWOOF profile highlights fresh goat cheese, goat’s milk and goat milk ice cream, which I’m really looking forward to. J More to come when I get back from the Cape and/or while I’m there! We’ll see how internet access goes.

And finally- I just wanted to share my own piece of paradise with all of you. This is the view from the backyard.. at approximately 9:40pm. Still light J

Favorite part of the day: Working outside for most of it. It was very rewarding and I learned a lot!