Change of Scene

UPDATES at bottom of page.

I am very glad to have had the sunshine penetrate my body and mind last Sunday because it has prepared both myself and Mrs H for what we are now facing.

The above photo looks at my nearest neighbours house which can just be seen above and to the right of the yellow post.

The snowy road outside of our cottage with five inches of beautiful icing.

The boreen or lane opposite our front door.

What is expected from 4 pm tomorrow. 

It is then that Storm Emma, from The Bay of Biscay, mingles with the Beast from the East 

producing blizzard conditions of heavy snow and gale force winds in excess 100 kph. 

Goodness knows what the chill force factor will be.

The people like us who live in the Province of Leinster and those who live in Munster have been told

to be in their homes by 4pm and remain there until there is a cessation of the conditions.

UPDATE

Minister for Transport Shane Ross said this evening that it is predicted there will be 25cm of snow tomorrow and 40cm by lunchtime on Friday, which is an “unprecedented situation”.

 Further update

BREAKING: Met Éireann have extended the Status Red snow and ice warning to all counties from 11pm tonight until 3pm on Friday.

UNINVITED LODGERS

The other day Mrs H, whilst walking up from her studio, looked at the western eave of our cottage and noticed something strange.  

“Come outside and look at this odd looking nest ” she called.

I did and took my camera with me. 

It was large, it was fawn in colour and it buzzed.

Searching on the internet we soon identified it as a wasps’ nest, 

the first that either of us had ever seen.

Steve Butler prepares

to attack.

A quick study of the Golden Pages directory revealed a list of wasp nest removing specialists.

We rang three as I now I refuse to leave messages on answering machines, experience has taught me that very few firms ever reply, so the business went to the first real person who answered.

Mrs H spoke to Steve Butler, who lives in a nearby town, he was very friendly and quoted a reasonable price for ridding us of the threatening stinging menaces.

Steve in attack mode

He was as good as his word and arrived on time, complete with his kit to efficiently destroy the menace of these dreadful stinging insects. 

Although, I have to say this, that when I lived in Somerset, England and used to help a friend to make cider in his barn. There were times when the wasps after feeding on pressed apple juice were so drunk that they would crawl up our arms without stinging us. Never the less, the experience was not pleasant and we avoided flinching just in case their reflex to our movement evoked a sting.

The wasps where the arrows point have a 

coating of Steve's powder & will shortly be dead.

Steve told me not to destroy the nest for a couple of days and to allow the powder that he pumped time to work [kill] any wasp embryos that were in incubation process.
So tomorrow I shall, with help of a long pole and a step ladder, remove all traces of the offending empty nest which will be ceremonially burnt on a garden fire.

Have you any experiences of wasps that you would like to share ?

BEAUTIFUL BLOOMS

The title says it all, for the Slieve Blooms are beautiful, especially when the heather is out. This year it carpets the land with a purple blanket that burns the eyes. We are very fortunate to be living where we do close to Sliabh Bladhma [Irish name]. 

This photo was taken from The Ridge of Capard looking towards the east and on the skyline several ancient sites sit in equal splendour. Different to us in that they are on the tourist route; I am never quite sure whether it would be good to have the same number of visitors as they do or not, it would bring about changes and they are not always beneficial.

The quiet and almost secret mountains.

Part of the Ridge of Capard is an area of scientific interest, to allow access board walks have been laid to prevent damage.

Here I captured two female photographers unaware of my actions.

A proud Grandpa with his Grandson.

A significant full moon marked the end of our family

holiday together and the eve of my daughters' birthday.

We celebrated with Prosecco, gifts and talk that went on past midnight.

BE VERY AWARE !

Fore warned is fore armed is an old proverb and so today you are warned to read the small print on food labels.

European Commission -
Daily News 22 / 07 / 2016

EU Commission authorised three genetically modified soybeans for food/feed uses.

The Commission authorised three GMOs for food/feed uses (soybean MON 87708 x MON 89788, soybean MON 87705 x MON 89788 and soybean FG 72), all of which have gone through a comprehensive authorisation procedure, including a favourable scientific assessment by EFSA. The authorisation decisions do not cover cultivation. The GMOs approved today had received "no opinion" votes from the Member States in both the Standing and Appeal Committees and the Commission adopted the pending decisions. The authorisations are valid for 10 years, and any products produced from these GMOs will be subject to the EU's strict labelling and traceability rules. For more information see here. (For more information: Daniel Rosario – Tel.: + 32 229 56185; Iris Petsa - Tel.: +32 229 93321)
also read these two links
https://www.rt.com/news/352942-eu-approves-monsanto-soybeans

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/07/04/opinion/last-roundup

A FRANCISCAN GARDEN

On a sunny May day we visit our friends who are Franciscans and after much talk in the kitchen, we walk in their garden and hear poetry being read amongst nature. I find myself captivated by what I see and take photos to share with you.

She meditates barefoot in sunshine

A floral mound

The path may be narrow but
never straight.

Wild garlic among the Bluebells

A lonely Dandelion

Sunlight Grass

Wallflowers among the weeds, don't look out of place.

The skirts of fairies perhaps ?

Even darkness has it's place

TTIP last chance to sign

The one-year deadline for signing the European Citizens' Initiative against TTIP & CETA is tomorrow. Dear Mel, Today, the European petition against the dangerous trade deals TTIP & CETA broke the 3 million mark, making it the largest ECI petition ever. [1] What a powerful message to send those hoping to push the deal through in secret. This enormous petition will be hand-delivered to the European Commission this Wednesday, leaving us with just one day to add as many signatures as possible. Mel, we can double our impact if each of us gets one friend to sign the petition by tomorrow evening. Can you share the petition with your friends and family on Facebook or Twitter?  Share  Tweet In the past year, politicians across Europe have been taken aback by the strength of people powered action against TTIP and CETA. Let’s keep them on their toes by making this huge petition even bigger. If you don’t use social media, there’s an email below that you can forward to friends and family. More power to you, Anne Marie and the Uplift team PS: If you haven't signed the petition, you can add your name here: https://uplift.ie/2015/ttip/european-citizens-initiative-stop-ttip/ PPS: Uplift is a member of the Europe wide STOP TTIP campaign: https://stop-ttip.org/supporting-organisations/  [1] http://www.globaljustice.org.uk/news/2015/oct/5/three-million-people-across-europe-call-ttip-be-scrapped and https://stop-ttip.org/about-the-eci-campaign/ Dear friends, I just signed a petition against a secret trade deal being worked out between the US and the EU. It’s called TTIP and it’s the biggest corporate grab ever to be agreed. TTIP would allow corporations sue governments if they make decisions which could harm their future profits. For Ireland, it means that our water could be privatised and GMO foods and fracking could be allowed. Our beef and agriculture sectors will be hit hard and workers rights put at risk. But millions of people across Europe are saying NO to TTIP. On Wednesday a petition will be hand-delivered to the European Commission. It has over 3 million signatures from people across Europe. We have one day left to add as many names as possible. Can you sign the petition too? Politicians are beginning to realise that public opposition to TTIP is growing and this petition is getting a lot of notice. Let’s make it as big as possible before Wednesday. Here’s the link: https://uplift.ie/2015/ttip/european-citizens-initiative-stop-ttip/ Thanks,

UPLIFT | 37 Dame St, Dublin 2 | Tel: 01 513 3043 | Email: theteam@uplift.ie  Company No. 544851 Unsubscribe | Donate

Winter's Last Refrain

Where the snow still sits was once the home of glaciers 8,000 years ago.

The landscape that we see today, hills, valleys and rivers, were shaped by the melting of the glaciers. As large chunks of ice broke off and slid downwards, sweeping away the alluvials before, them they carved new shapes in the land. All of that is so easy to see and appreciate just before the last snow of winter melts away.

We travel this narrow road several times a week and only when a photo is taken do we actually see the beauty of its' form with all its' twists and turns.

Our Daily Visitors

Our regular morning visitor the friendly hen pheasant.

We place three heaps of cous cous around the garden for those birds who are ground feeders, for their anatomy is such that they are unable feed from the hanging feeders. These birds are the Robin, Thrush, Blackbird and Pheasant.

To prepare the cous cous we put a small amount dried grain into a bowl, pour on hot water and let it stand until it has swollen up. 

Excess water is then strained off with the whole process taking about 5 minutes. 

The cous cous is left to stand until cool before putting it out for the birds.

Mrs H gets great pleasure from putting out this feed as she is eagerly awaited by the robins and a blackbird who follows her around the garden.

FUEL DISASTER !

During the recent holiday period Mrs H & myself were listening to the radio RTE 1 to be precise and we were somewhat alarmed to hear about a tiny community of aboriginal Canadians and a Limerick GP.

"Undue Alarm" is the story of how Dr. John O'Connor became a tireless campaigner on behalf of the First Nations communities - and found himself at the centre of a nationwide controversy in Canada. Limerick man Dr. John O'Connor who went to Canada to practice medicine. He had little idea how his life would unfold.
The Alberta Oil Sands is the biggest industrial project on the planet. The area currently being mined for oil is the size of Ireland. Downstream from this on the shores of Lake Athabasca lies the tiny native community of Fort Chipewyan.
A breathtakingly beautiful place, 'Fort Chip' is on the far northeastern tip of the province of Alberta. In winter it is accessible by the 'ice road' - a road that is constructed from the harsh northern climate. In summer access is by way of a small plane.
Most of the people that live here are either Méti or First Nation - that is, native Canadians who have lived on the land through traditional methods of trapping, hunting, fishing and gathering berries for generations.

In 2000 Dr. O'Connor - or Dr. O as locals call him - became family physician to the tiny community of 1,200 people. When he started hearing concerns among the community about elevated rates of cancer in the community he did something that no outsider had done before: he listened to them. Then he spoke out about it. And what happened next is not what he expected.
A raft of professional complaints were made against him by the Canadian health authorities. And he would live with one of these - 'causing undue alarm' among the community - for five years.
Dr. O'Connor went from being a simple GP to a tireless campaigner and activist on behalf of native communities in Canada.

http://www.rte.ie/radio1/doconone/documentary-podcast-undue-alarm-canada-aborigines-john-oconnor-doctor.html

Greenpeace is calling on oil companies and the Canadian government to stop the tar sands and end the industrialisation of a vast area of Indigenous territories, forests and wetlands in northern Alberta.
The tar sands are huge deposits of bitumen, a tar-like substance that’s turned into oil through complex and energy-intensive processes that cause widespread environmental damage. These processes pollute the Athabasca River, lace the air with toxins and convert farmland into wasteland. Large areas of the Boreal forest are clearcut to make way for development in the tar sands, the fastest growing source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada.

Greenpeace is also concerned with the social and health costs of the tar sands. First Nations communities in the tar sands report unusually high levels of rare cancers and autoimmune diseases. Their traditional way of life is threatened. Substance abuse, suicide, gambling and family violence have increased in the tar sands. Meanwhile, the thousands of workers brought in by oil companies face a housing crisis in northern Alberta.

Enbridge Inc.'s tar sands tanker pipeline proposal threatens to allow a 30 per cent expansion in tar sands development. Enbridge's tar sands pipeline would span 1,170 kilometres from Hardisty, Alberta to Kitimat, in the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia. Over the past decade, Enbridge's own pipelines spilled an average of more than once a week. The pipeline would cross over 1,000 rivers and streams and the Rocky Mountains on the way to B.C.'s pristine coastline. The pipeline would bring more than 200 crude oil tankers through some of the world's most treacherous waters each year.

The governments of Alberta and Canada actively promote tar sands development and ignore international commitments Canada has made to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Through direct action, we draw international attention to government climate crimes in the tar sands and demand change.

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/Global/canada/report/2010/10/steering-clear-of-oil-disaster.pdf

http://norj.ca/2014/01/cold-lake-shocked-by-fourth-leak-from-cnrls-oilsands

Further information here: http://www.naturecanada.ca/tarsands_impacts.asp

TRAGEDY - UK

I have just been reading of the tragedy that is facing people on our neighbouring island and of the cash strapped families that will be forced to turn to the British Red Cross for help this winter for the first time in nearly 70 years, as millions face crippling cuts to their household budgets.

The rises in basic food prices and soaring utility bills have helped push more than **Five Million People** in the UK into deep poverty.

The British Red Cross said it was about to launch a campaign in supermarket foyers asking shoppers to donate food to be distributed to the most needy through the charity FareShare; This in a country where for a variety of reasons ploughs back into the land 40% of what it grows!

Yet I recall that their Prime Minister Mister C was proposing to virtually go to war in Syria until his idea was voted down.

Strange is it not that they have enough funds to wage an army and yet not enough to cater for the welfare of their people ?

Only in the USA

© National Geographic

A 3,500-acre wind farm in in northern California may become the first renewable energy project in the US to be issued a permit to kill eagles under a proposal by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The plan would allow the Shiloh IV Wind Project’s 50 wind turbines to kill up to five golden eagles over a five-year period in exchange for taking measures to protect large birds, including retrofitting power poles to avoid electrocutions. "The bottom line is a permit will help preserve eagles," said Scott Flaherty, the deputy assistant regional director of external affairs for the Fish and Wildlife Service. The report will now go through a 45-day public comment period.

Q: Sounds like double talk to me ?

Power for the UK & desecration of IRELAND'S landscape

There is a big row going on in my part of Ireland over Wind Energy: the proposal to build giant wind generators in areas of natural beauty.

One of the developers, Element Power, says the plan would save UK consumers around £7bn over 15 years compared to other renewable sources.

But concerns are now growing that the turbines needed to provide the power will be of a size and scale not seen in Britain or Ireland before.

Because the bog lands are relatively windless, the company behind the scheme says they will need to stretch high into the sky to catch sufficient wind to generate power.

"They will be spread around 40 clusters in five counties," said Element Power's Peter Harte.

"We felt it was better to built slightly larger turbines but fewer of them and that's the best way to minimise the impact on the local area."

But opponents say that local people have not been consulted and few actually realise just what an impact the turbines will have on the landscape.

My gripe is that as all of this power is going to the UK then the UK should build them on there own land. Am sure the people of the Somerset and Devon would welcome the investment as would no doubt the folk on the Yorkshire moors and other areas of northern England? 

Simplified sketch of giant wind generator

The red line is my addition: to show an under-water power cable passing between the two countries it is purely graphical and is probably not in the correct geographical position. 

That Bird

                   See he is back and now properly identified as as A Welsh Redpoll Llinos Flodiog

and this will no doubt please John Gray of Trelawnyd in darkest Wales who is

very fond of birds!

Every time I clip my beard or have a haircut the clippings are put

outside in the garden for the wildlife to use as nesting materials.

Goldfinches & Signs of Spring

Goldfinches feeding

Privately I refer to these as small parrots!

The Barbary type plant is leafing on it's 

lower branches.

Purple Croci in bloom around the Owl Stone

(in certain lights the standing stone is shaped 

in relief of an owl)

Daffodils a definite sign of Spring