A little bit sad

"When loved ones die, you have to live on their behalf. See things as though with their eyes. Remember how they used to say things, and use those words oneself. Be thankful that you can do things that they cannot, and also feel the sadness of it" Louis de Berniere, Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

Helen's father died at the end of October. He had helped us at every stage of Lough Bishop House's development. From the septic tank to the roof he was there with practical assistance and good humour.

He was diagnosed with cancer in February of this year and asked us if we would plant a tree for him. He particularly wanted a Wellingtonia and after much searching O'Mearas Garden Centre just outside Mullingar managed to source one for us.

We brought the tree home in October.

And in December we finally got around to planting "Graham's Tree". All who come to visit us at Lough Bishop House will now be met at our entrance by a Wellingtonia (Sequoiadendron Giganteum). As its name suggests this tree will grow to be very big and I suppose we won't get to see that either.

John McCabe, from McCabe Contracters, was coming to do a little digger work, so we took advantage of the opportunity and got the machine to dig the hole for  us. Christopher mixed in a bag of compost to the loosened soil and the job was complete.

In a few hundred years time it will look like this, and will probably be blocking the avenue if not the road!

Broken Fence Posts

It's about fifteen years since this fence was put up, and some of the post have started to rot and break off which means the fence is sagging, and cannot be relied upon to contain livestock. Replacing intermediate post is not a big problem it's just a case of removing staples taking out the old post and banging in a new one either by hand or by machine.

King posts on the other hand, which have to take the strain of the entire fence, are a different story altogether

And it's a king post I'm replacing today, which has rotted off at the base!

It's been in the ground about 15 years which is good going for a tanalised post which is guaranteed for 10.

I used to go to all the trouble of removing every staple and untying all the wire, which is very time consuming and not worth it, so now I just cut the broken post out.

I'm replacing it with a new pressure creosoted king post which should last at least twenty years. If it's good enough for a telegraph pole it's good enough for me!

Mind you they are expensive but they do last, so for any new fence creosoted posts all round are best, but if you want to save money use creostoted kings and tanalised intermediates.

For high tensile fencing the king posts need to be driven in by machine.

To see more photos of this machine action click HERE for a link to an earlier post.

A new section of wire is then joined in using these ingenious joiners from Gripple, and the fence pulled tight.

As good as new and stock proof once again!

I've done 3 articles on fencing and never mentioned.... 'The American'.

An essential tool for fencing, the american fencing pliers is used to remove staples, cut wire, pull wire and if badly stuck can even be used as a hammer.

Basically if you don't have one you can't go fencing! Just what a farmer needs for Christmas, or in our case a wedding present!

Irish Beef

Marvelous piece in the Farmers Journal this week entitled 'Where's the beef?' by Imen McDonnell about the quality and taste of Irish beef and how she has come to appreciate the taste and flavour of our grass fed beef.

From our own point of view, for quality and taste the traditional breeds are best whether it be Angus, Hereford, Irish Moiled etc.. We of course would be rather partial to the Irish Moiled, but basically if you want top quality beef  buy Irish, buy it from your local butcher and preferably from a butcher who has his own abbatoir. They need our support and our beef needs them!

And speaking of local butchers, we have just come back from Flood’s of Oldcastle where we went to see our Moile bullock which has been hanging in their fridge for the past 3 weeks. It was a great opportunity to see it on the hook and to discuss with Johnny, Declan and Martin Flood the different cuts and options to make the best use of it from our freezer!

If you’re ever in Oldcastle be sure to call in, or alternatively look out for their market stall on Saturdays at Sheridan’s Cheesemongers warehouse in Carnaross.

The four quarters ageing nicely in the fridge, and a good covering of fat too, essential for flavour. I was relieved to see the carcass looking so well as I was worried he wasn’t finished properly, but Declan assures me that it’s looking really good.

Our own organic rare breed beef, butchered locally and into our freezer: a total of 25 miles from ‘field to fork’!

We will be using this Moile beef through our B&B, and may have small amounts for sale but essentially we envisage using most of it here, however we sold 2 bullocks to Clanwood Farm who own and operate The Organic Kitchen, which you may have seen at shows and festivals round the country.

As part of their business they also sell their organic beef to specialist shops in the Dublin area: Cavistons, the Organic Supermarket and Thomas’s of Foxrock to name a few. So keep your eye out for Irish Moiled beef in these establishments and better still, create a demand by asking for it!

Some of our Irish Moiled Cattle

Eco Label

Stealing the phrase of a certain motoring journalist I suppose we have always been 'Ecomentalists', and now we have the certificate to prove it!

During the summer we did an Eco-Tourism course which was organised by Westmeath Community Development and facilitated by Neil Faulkner. 

To find out more please click on the following link: www.greenhospitality.ie

 From left to right: Maurice Bergin of Green Hospitality Ireland, Christopher, Helen and Joe Potter of Westmeath Community Development.

Nine businesses took part, all from Westmeath and all still committed.

A special thanks to  Westmeath Community Development who ran the Eco Tourism Training Project which was funded under the Rural Development Programme 2007-2013

Autumn

I'm not sure what happened to summer but it seems as if autumn is with us in the form of conkers at least.

The damsons and the crab apples are the last of the fruit to ripen, and while the recent windy weather and the birds have had their share there was still plenty for us to pick.

After much teetering on ladders we can return to the house and start processing the haul!

More jellies and jams - lets hope our guests, family and friends enjoy them as much as we do. 

Home Made Ribena

Summer is rushing by and the last of the blackcurrants have been picked, for the past few years having frozen lots of blackcurrants and made lots of jam we now also make  a blackcurrant cordial - probably better known by its commercial name of 'Ribena'. It makes the taste of summer last all year, is so easy to make and so much more delicious than any shop bought variety. Everyone should give it a try.

Put two and a half pounds of blackcurrants in a large pan with four litres of water and bring to the boil. Boil for fifteen minutes.

Strain off the fruit. Add fifteen cups of the liquid, one cup of wine vinegar and thirteen cups of sugar. Allow the sugar to dissolve and boil for three minutes. Allow to cool and then bottle.

We keep some in the fridge and freeze the rest for use later in the year.

Dilute to taste with either ordinary or sparkling water. Cheers!

Summer's Bounty

It's that time of year again, and we have an abundance of produce!

We always plant a few potatoes, these are Roosters, and it's impossible to beat freshly dug, boiled potatoes with a dab of butter.

Mange Tout are in full swing and cook really well steamed over the aforementioned potatoes.

Blackcurrants are also on the go and Helen has been busy making jelly as well as lots of summer puddings!

Helen also makes homemade Ribena using a Darina Allen recipe which is absolutely delicious and freezes really well.

 Our earliest plums have just come ripe and Helen has made a wonderful jam this year which is really good on toast for breakfast and is also goes well with Moonshine Dairies organic natural yogurt.

 The clover and blackberry seems to have yielded really well for our bees. This is some brace comb that I cut off one of the supers, packed with honey and our first taste of this years harvest. Eating it is a bit primative and is a case of biting off chunks, savouring the honey and spitting out the wax. Once the initial frenzy has worn off, it's really good spread on buttery toast!

Poppies in the Barley

The barley will be harvested any day now, all it needs is for the rain to hold off. But in the meantime, is it possible to have too many photographs of poppies?

Westmeath Tasting Plate

We are members of the Westmeath Slow Food Convivium, and on Friday last at the Hilltown New Music Festival we put put together a Westmeath Tasting Plate to showcase some of the local produce and producers in the County.

Beef from Joe Brady of Lough Owel Organic Farm

Our Lamb

Smoked Mackerel from John Rogan of Rogan's Real Smoked Fish. Tel: 043 76264

Gouda from Mary & Gerry Kelly of Moonshine Organic Cheese

Salad from Kevin Harmon (Castlepollard on Fridays, and Mullingar Farmers Market)

Breads from 'Just Baked' 29 Pearse St. Mullingar

All served with a delicious glass of Prosecco from Wines Direct in Mullingar

The Tasting Plates looked really well going out and we served over 70 music goers!

We were very fortunate with the weather, and everyone was able to sit outside and enjoy the atmosphere.

The music got underway later in the evening.

The courtyard or castle keep to the rear of Hilltown House made a fantastic venue for the whole event.

Bailieborough Show

It's an early start on show days, and yesterday, at Bailieborough, was our first show of the season. Shows are a great opportunity to showcase our stock and compare them to others, and of course if a rosette is forthcoming it's another string in our bow when it comes to promoting and selling our animals.
We are showing Derrynagarra Celeste today who is a 5 year old Registered Irish Draught mare in foal to Crystal Crest (RID), and since we're only showing the one, Helen is off by herself while I go to the bog to save turf! Click here to read last years post on Turf.

There is quite a lot to do to get a horse ready for showing. There is no point bringing her if she doesn't look her best, and so by  7am Helen has Celeste shampooed and washed and ready for plaiting!

Starting with tail....

...and finishing the plait by stitching it into place.

Onto the forelock....

....and then onto the mane.

The reason Helen goes to all that trouble is that with the mane neatly held up out of the way, the judges can see the shape of the neck much better, and it makes it much easier to get an overall view of the horse from a judging prospective.

Derrynagarra Celeste plaited up....

...and off to Bailieborough. She's looking well, now it's up to the judges.

All the work paid off and Celeste won her class!

The red rosette in it's prominent position!!

 Home again and with the plaits out.....

...it's back to the field with the others.