[Blair]

Hello everyone.
Helen and I have been living a 6 year holiday here in Ireland. It has been a working holiday but light and fun ... we have taken challenges when presented and changed our lives for the better.
We are from the South of England and opted for Sligo as Helen's ancestors hailed from the area. Helen is the tractor, I am the trailer ... she is the gardener whereas I am a techie ... and there's not much of that in smallholding.
We have an acre with an extended traditional Irish cottage and have spent the last 5 years restoring it to an updated version of it's former glory. The land is 1/3 raised beds, fruit bushes and polytunnel with 2/3 set to meadow. At the moment, the farmer next door 'takes the cut' which gives him high quality, free silage bales for his cattle and he gives us the manure once processed. It's a win-win.  The area is quiet but not isolated with staggering views and being higher on the land, we have no worries about flooding !
This was my first visit to Ireland, Helen had been coming here as a child and I have to say it has really opened my eyes as to what can be done with an acre and the freedom you get when not in the confines of the straight jacket of urbania. We didn't change lifestyles because we had money to allow us to change, we just changed life and abandoned money ... you cannot buy the quality of food that can be grown, no amount of cash can buy the tranquility ... you live life !  It's been a great 6 years.
... and I still know very little about gardening.

[Bionic]

Hello and welcome to TAS Blair  . Its great to hear about your smallholding and that you are both enjoying it.
Sally

[deepinthewoods]

hello from cornwall

[Rosemary]

Hello and welcome from sunny Carnoustie 

[Lesley Silvester]

  Hi and welcome fron sunny Shropshire.

[Daisys Mum]

 
Hi and welcome from the Scottish Borders 

[plumseverywhere]

Hello Blair - welcome from Worcestershire 

My mums side are Irish - Limerick. Beautiful country, love visiting, can't wait to bring my children over.

[Blair]

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone   
we're battening down the hatches now as the temperature has dropped considerably and last night was frost on frost. The house has been too warm at times but not uncomfortably so  (it's a shame that we can't share the heat with the tunnel and raised beds) ... we DO love woodburners. They heat in a much better way that oil or gas.
Let's hope you all are prepared for this winter - we're told it'll be a hard one. We have some Chestnut in the barn to season and have friends who let us have the odd Ash tree or two so, as long as we can move on the roads, we shall remain cosy. There's always the gas tank C/H as a back-up but we try to remain off-grid as much as we can.  Good luck to you all !