How to be Happy

I know this is completely off track from my usual blog posts but when I came across this again I thought it was something nice enough to share.

In the late '90s  BBC had a documentary called 'How to be Happy' and as a result of the research into the programme a team of 'experts' came up with a '10 point plan'.

I found this '10 point plan' stuck on an old office wall at a time when I needed an extra bit of happiness and couldnt resist taking a copy.

At the very least it makes for interesting reading:


1. Get physical: Take half an hour of exercise three times a week.

2. Count your blessings: At the end of each day reflect on at least five things you are grateful for.

3.Take time to talk: Have an hour-long, uninterupted conversation with your partner or closest friend each week.

4. Plant something: Even if it's just in a window box or pot. Keep it alive!

5. Cut your TV viewing by half.

6.Smile at and/or say hello to a stranger at least once a day.

7. Phone a friend: Make contact with at least one friend or relation whom you have not spoken to for a while and arrange to meet up.

8. Have a good laugh at least once a day.

9. Give yourself a treat every day and take your time to really enjoy it.

10. Spread some kindness: Do a good turn for someone every day.

Fence making; DIY style

I was going to write a big explanation about this DIY job, but I think I will just let the pictures do the 'talking'. After pricing fence panels etc we decided it was alot cheaper for us to make our own. So we bought all the wood in bulk, storing it in our large shed (a big plus when we were buying this property in 2010).

Our stock of treated wood



Clearing the ditch (view 'up' the garden) '11

Ditch cleared, posts & sheep wire up(view 'down' the garden) '11 

All nice & neat (view 'down' the garden) '11

Posts in; cement filled around them '12

 

My 'baby'

12' lengths halved & shaped

Bulk painting

Drying out

Putting the fence together

View 'up' the garden

Had a little help turning the corner

All finished, 100ft of fencing. For this part of the garden all I have to do now is to make a gate; but thats another days work methinks.
 

 

Boom to Bust, in Plum terms

Seeing as last year was our first year in this garden we were intrigued to find out what the main tree in the wee orchard was.

When the fruit started to appear we had no idea what these wee green things were (having never seen anything like them before).

It turned out to be a Plum tree, which ended up producing nearly 18 kg of Plums. We had Plum jam for months after, and some very yummy Plum Vodka too which we only finished off at the start of the summer.
The branches were laden down with the weight of the fruit this time last year...

We couldnt believe our fortune!

This year its been a completely different story...

How many Plums did I find?

One!!

And why? I have no idea.

I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens next year (and maybe do a bit of reading about how to take care of Plum trees in the meantime).

Catch up in the Garden...

Its been a while since my last post but July/Aug with kids seems to fly by. Next thing you know and it will be back to school time!

As for the garden, well I was going to tell a tale of woe, of a garden that hasnt dried out all summer, or of the hundreds of slugs which have eaten all of our carrot seedlings, and the tops of most of our onions, and are slowly eating their way through our cabbage (regardless of beer traps) and I took photos to prove it too.

But why share the woe when most gardeners are all too familiar with my tale.

So instead I'll just share a few photos of what is doing well this year.......our Strawberries and our Tomatoes. And where are they? yep, in the polytunnel, out of the rain.

The strawberries have finished giving their crop so are now concentrating on 'spreading their wings' and producing offspring, in abundance!

I plan on potting up as many of the runners as possible in the coming weeks.

A small snippet

The Tomato plants (Gardeners Delight), all 20 of them, are thriving, I've had to 'top them' before they took over the tunnel though.

I planted them out 2 weeks later this year than last year, so we are still waiting on them to ripen...

We cant wait for a bit of red.....

Ok, just one photo of my woe this year...

Dun a Ri Forest Park

Ladies Lake

I know I have blogged about this park before but seeing as its only 'down the road' I reckon this wont be the last time it comes up here. But I just cannot help myself.
I've been really lucky as an adult to live near great parks, my last abode wasnt too far a drive from Newbridge Park in Donabate,  Ardgillan Park in Skerries and Malahide Castle in North Co. Dublin.
All lovely parks; with playgrounds for the kids (very handy esp when our boys were younger), small cafes, and Newbridge Park has a wee farm too. I have some lovely memories of all three. Time spent in these parks kept me sane through some tough times in my life.

For anyone living in an estate having a public amenity like any of these parks near by is just brilliant.

For those of us living in the countryside having a park near by is equally brilliant. There isnt many roads where I live that one can go for a 'stroll on' without the fear of being run over by a speeding car. And if you visit this park on a good day you will meet plenty of strollers/walkers/joggers.

I count myself blessed to live so near to such a wonderful park, not a playground or cafe in sight though! But the entire park is like a playground, just ask my 10 & 11 year old boys! And if you are looking for a drink there are 2 wells to satisfy your thirst!

The park has 565 acres, with the Cabra river flowing through it. We are still finding new parts to explore, or should I say the boys are always finding new parts to explore, I just follow. Here is a little taste of what its like....

Cabra River Walk

Cabra River Walk

Refreshments available..

Cromwells Bridge

Rabbit Bridge

Horse Chestnut

A very quick job

A couple of weeks ago we picked up some nice cute Lobularia maritima (Alyssum) flowers in mixed colours. They make great ground cover, but I was probably very late planting them out. They are supposed to be annuals but the 2 we planted last year came back again this year so fingers crossed these wee guys will make a reappearance next year, bigger and better!

Buying a second hand house has its advantages, one of which is that the lawns are established and the previous owners used railway sleepers to kerb the front drive.

But arent they very dull looking? And the one thing the garden is missing alot of is flowers. Something we are slowly trying to rectify! So I had an idea for the Sweet Alyssum....

After a bit of weeding I planted them out inbetween all of the sleepers. Some gaps were bigger than others so I had to compromise in places. But if they grow (hopefully) we'll have beautiful wee flowers instead of weeds/grass.

A work in progress..

Woke up yesterday morning to no rain, which considering the week we've had was a surprise.

And as the old saying goes 'make hay while the sun shines' I was up and dressed and out to the garden as fast as my legs could carry me (not necessarily true but I can pretend).

I've so many jobs to do in the garden that I try to do them all at the same time, so a bit of this then a bit of that.

But one job that is a bit easier to do when its not raining is filling the wheelbarrow with sand/clay/pebbles and moving it to the veg patch.

A few weeks back I laid down sheets of black plastic inbetween some of our raised beds to kill off the grass and weeds. The idea is to eventually get rid of all the grass inbetween the raised beds and have nice pebbled walkways around them (easier said than done).

I've removed some of the plastic to reveal dead grass and mud. Next step is to put a layer of sand down before putting the polythene cover, and then covered this with pebbles......

our Sapro Mira potatoe plants

Its hard work, and theres only so many barrow loads I can manage in the one day, this is one job that will take some time to complete.

On the other side of our garden our so called lawn is now a meadow, we havent been able to mow it due to it being so wet but we dont really mind because the wildlife are loving it.

Another job I had been planning to do this year was make a permanent structure to enclose our 3 Blackcurrant bushes, a fruit cage of sorts, but I think it will have to wait, because the berries are starting to ripen and the birds wouldnt be long about finding them and eating them all on us.
So I've just covered them in netting instead.

In the polytunnel all of our 20 Tomato plants (Gardeners Delight) are starting to flower, I have to say I am so excited. Even the four extra that I have planted in pots are flowering. Hard to believe that from such a tiny flower comes one of Mother Natures juicy mouthfuls.