Customer of the Month

Stopped in at the builder's merchants again this week to find that I was their Customer of the Month for May - mostly timber, cement and hardware but the mains power unit for the electric fencing helped. Linda is still waiting for me to explain how I will use the power unit when we get back to the Barbican!

Glad that most of the joinery and building work is now finished - only 40 metres of fencing to erect - hoping to find someone with a post driver on their tractor to make life easier! In addition to the pen for the geese, I have built 5 gates, 2 doors, a couple of window frames, a sawhorse and a garden table. More carpentry & DIY in the last 5 weeks than I did in the previous 20 years!

Despite the efforts of 5 cows and their calves which followed the sheep onto the paddock, I still had to get the strimmer out to prepare for the arrival of the geese - too much dock, crowfoot, and nettles. Think we may have to resort to spraying them to keep them under control. Would prefer a non-chemical solution but havent found anything that will eat them yet.

In amongst all this work, we have managed a couple of trips around the Burren - had a great walk today along the clifftop from Hag's head to the Cliffs of Moher. Bright and sunny but a strong breeze which kept it cool. Hordes of Spotted Orchids, Sea Campion, Thrift and Bog Cotton along the paths and on the fields. There were also flocks of sea birds including the puffin colony and the auks and guillemots nearby.

With everyone gearing up for the Whitsun holiday, most of the visitors appear to be from northern Europe - including a pack of Dutch Harley riders in leathers and a gay german couple who had matching leathers but no Harley.

Our local agricultural show - the North Clare Show at Ennistymon - this weekend. Linda is busy finalising her entries for the craft competitions so expect news of her successes in my next blog! I chickened out because I didn't think my soda bread could compete with the local ladies.