New Year

Leeks are the only thing left in the garden at this time of year.

But once the chores are done it is nice to sit by the fire in the evening and browse through the seed catalogues.

The Organic Centre, Irish Seed Savers. Brown Envelope Seeds, Heritage Bulbs and Mr Middleton

have all sent out their catalogues and somehow it is nicer than browsing on the computer. Pen in hand we mark all the seeds we think we might like, and then cut down our order trying to be realistic about the amount of time and space we have. Never enough of either!

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!

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!

Gooseberries

Sticking with the elderflower theme of earlier this month, I decided to make gooseberry and elderflower jam.

First you have to find your gooseberries...

We must have been stuck for somewhere to plant our gooseberry bushes, they are all at the back of flower beds.

It is worth the search, but the fruit is not easily given up by the bushes.

Having picked a few pounds of fruit, and some elderflower heads it is time to head for the kitchen.

The recipe is three and a half pounds of gooseberries, five elderflower heads, one pint of water and three and a half pounds of sugar.

Top and tail the gooseberries put in your pan with a pint of water and the elderflower heads (tied in a piece of muslin).
Simmer until liquid is reduced by approximately one third.
Remove the flowers, add the sugar, bring to the boil.
Test for set and pot.

Et Voila! Gooseberry and Elderflower jam! The kitchen is positively fragrant after this.

Redcurrant Jelly

The weather is still very unsettled, in fact so much so that I didn't have time to take pictures of the fruit bushes in all their glory before the rain started.

However I did pick enough to start on the redcurrant jelly.

After removing the currants from their stalks add two pounds of redcurrants and two pounds of sugar to a saucepan. Stir continuously until it comes to the boil.

Boil for eight minutes. Strain the fruit off and then pot. Couldn't be easier!

Enjoy with roast lamb, or on a slice of toast.

Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera)

The weather is wonderful, and for the first time in about eight years it is coinciding with an abundance of blossom from which ours bees can get ample supplies of nectar and pollen. So far it has been a great year for bees, acres of dandelions which yields nectar at low temperatures and plenty of pollen from Pussy Willow etc gave them a great chance to build up numbers over the last month or so and now the hives are bursting with bees and they are taking full advantage of the opportunity, and so am I!

The Horse Chestnuts and Sycamores are both in flower...

 ..as is this tree in the orchard, an ideas as to what it is?

It's a Quince and sorry to go all flowery again but they really are spectacular.

Our native apples are also in flower.....

...and indeed this Ecklinville Seedling is only just about to start.

The only real way to tell what blossom the bees are working if you don't actually see them on it, is by the colour of the pollen, and in this case it looks like Sycamore. There is also brick red pollen going in which  means they are also working Chestnut.

As you can see there are lots of bees in this hive, and these are probably only the house bees since the photo was taken on a warm sunny day (yesterday) and all the flying bees are out foraging.
You may notice a drawing pin on a frame on the LHS of the photo. There is also one that you can't see on the RHS, these mark the extent of the brood nest at the last inspection and in this hive there are 15 sides of brood which means that the colony is building up really well and could do with more room. It's time for a 'super' and we'll hopefully get some honey.

'Supers' on and fingers crossed for some honey. The whitethorn is about to flower so if the weather holds we should get a good crop.
The tall hive on the left is the strongest, and has already supplied 2 frames of capped brood to the colony on the right which was wintered as a 'Nuc', thereby allowing it to build up more quickly. Not only that but it has a second brood box on because I wanted to get some frames drawn, and they have drawn 5 frames in 4 days. Busy Bees!


We are members of the Midland Beekeepers Association  whose help and training has been invaluable. If you are interested in beekeeping it's important to find a local association for help and advice particular to your area.

Raspberries

Well where else would your thoughts stray other than to raspberries at the end of January?

This may look like a particularly weedy patch of ground, but it is actually where our raspberry canes live.

I'm not sure if this is the correct time of year to cut back all the dead canes from last year, but as it was a dry day it seemed like a good idea.

The large wheel barrow is ideal for carrying all the canes away.

Perhaps this year we will have a more orderly raspberry patch. It's certainly not a row of raspberries! They are an autumn fruiting variety, though I don't remember which one, and carry on fruiting until the first frost finishes the season.

Feed the Birds!

When we're feeding the hens a row of birds from crows down to the wagtails and wrens sit along the chain link fence waiting to swoop down and share breakfast. It is almost impossible to get a photo of them since they fly away as soon as we move amongst the hens.

 However the bird table made by a friends son some years ago (thank you Lukas) has come into its own, and it didn't take the birds long to discover the feeders once they were tied on.

 Other birds wait on the ground to pick up any bits that are dropped.

Our native birds are perhaps not as colourful as some from warmer countries but most birds remind me of this poem by Bai JuYi. It's one of my favourites.

The Red Cockatoo

Sent as a present from Annam—

A red cockatoo.

Colored like the peach-tree blossom,

Speaking with the speech of men.

And they did to it what is always done

To the learned and eloquent.

They took a cage with stout bars

And shut it up inside

Grandma Sale's Mincemeat

Lots of cooking apples mean trying to think of lots of different ways to cook and store them.

We always make mincemeat, and at this time of year we are often polishing off the previous years jars before making some more.

Recipe:

3/4 lb currants, 1/2 lb sultanas, 1/2 lb raisins, 1/4 lb mixed peel, 2 oz flaked almonds, 2 oz glace cherries, 3/4 lb suet, 2 1/2 lb apples (grated), 14 oz demerara sugar, 1/4 of grated nutmeg, 1 lemon rind and juice, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp mixed spice, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/3 cup whiskey.

Put all the ingredients in a bowl, and cover. Leave in a cool place for two days, stir several times. We use vegetable suet now, but I'm sure Grandma would have used beef suet.

Pot and cover. Not sure what we'ld do without a certain brand of mayonnaise jars. They are a great size to recycle and use for pickles and mincemeat.

The mincemeat easily lasts twelve months but it is unusual to have very much left by the following year.

So, with some we'ld made earlier the mince pies are cooked, iced and quickly devoured and it's not even December!

Autumn Fruit

All around us the year is winding up and reminding us to lay down stores for the winter.

In the orchard the last of the fruit ripens.

Medlars

Asian Pears

Quince

For the first time the Sweet Chestnuts we planted some years ago on the drive have fruit.

In the hedge rows the elderberries are ripening

and the blackberries

the rosehips

and the sloes. Must buy some gin!

So much to preserve, so little time.

Pickled Shallots

We lifted the shallots from the garden ten days ago and left them to dry in a shed.

Then we peeled them, and put them in brine for 24 hours.

Rinsed and sorted by size, they are now ready for putting into jars.

The spiced vinegar had been cooled and left with chillies, cinnamon, all spice, mustard seed and bay leaves to infuse.

The vinegar is poured over the shallots, and now we have to wait for a while before we can taste the fruits of our labour!

We haven't had much success with shallots for the last few years due to the wet weather, so it is all the more satisfying to have managed a good harvest this year.