First Friday at Burtown

Thursday was another simple day of weeding and clearing the plots where cabbage and other brassicas had been grown the previous year. The three of us volunteers went into Athy to a traditional Irish pub and listened to the traditional jam session made up of several local banjo, bag pipe, mandolin and guitar players. We came back around midnight and headed to bed. I was up early around half past seven making a good breakfast and cleaning up before going out to the gardens at nine. I weeded for the first hour and then went to work with the main house gardener, Giles, to plant the trees me and Lesley had gotten on Tuesday. The digging was easy for the most part in the loose agricultural top soil out in the pasture where we planted each tree and added some manure compost, paking it in and taking away the left over sod. I helped James line out a path through an area of the pasture where he would be growing some various tall grasses and trees as a small aboretum. I weeded a bit longer until lunch and joined the family for a home made pizza with potatoes, fresh bread and a kale salad. One of the duaghters was having a birthday party that afternoon, and most of the family was headed to the house around three to enjoy the rest of the day with family and friends. I went in at five and joined the other volunteers for drinks at the party after washing and dressing up. As the family and the guest made thier way through several bottles of wine, we made our way to the basement and relaxed with our own wine and dinner. I made a kale kale and bean sauce out of the previous nights vegetable mix over a bowl of rice for myself and Lindsay while she prepared a bowl of bean burger mix. A few friends of the family stayed around for the night along with a previous au pair that had lived in the house before Lindsay arrived last summer. Saturday was my first day off, but it didn't keep me from getting up early and making a good breakfast. I went for a walk with the au pairs before they started working and then spent my morning sketching and painting. I made my self a cream sauce pasta for lunch on my own since Sean was visiting Belfast for the weekend. In the afternoon I went for a long walk around the surrounding farms and small properties until sunset. Lindsay was going out for the night to visit friends, so I had the evening to myself to relax and watch a movie. I feel asleep early, tired from a long walk and a few days of work. I am really enjoying the new gardens and living environment. The wwoofers are more secluded from the Host than my first place, and we work with other workers that come to Burtwon each day. The gardens are schedueled to open the second week of April along with a photo gallery and cafe for the Spring and Summer months.

Wednesday, March 7th

Wednesday was a pretty standard day of work. I got up at eight and fixed some egg and spinach on toast with a banana and got ready to go out to the garden. First I moved all of the freshly cut verbena to another small glass house outside of the vegetable garden so that one would be open for seedlings. I made room on a shelf made of boards and small slates as well as lining them on the gravel bottom. I spent most of the day cutting and removing weeds from the old brassica plot which would soon be sowed directly with lettuce seed. After an area would be hoed, I would go back through with a large bucket and remove all of the plant pieces of the various weeds and take them to a waste pile outside of the garden wall. For lunch we had a noodles and meat sauce dish with salads, bread, and potatoes. We all helped clean the cookware and dishes and went back to our tasks after a short break. I weeded the rest of the afternoon and went for a run around the property soon after I had finished. I went in to wash up shortly before dark and Lindsay had already started preparing a vegetable curry sauce with rice for our dinner. Shaun baked some sweet pastries for dessert after we cleaned our dishes, and we hung out for the evening chatting over drinks and a movie.

Day Two at Burtown

Tuesday was a very wet and mucky day in Kildare, so I didnt get much done in the vegetable garden. I started the day cutting back a row of lettuce and topping several verbena, which helped the first hours go by quickly. I had to leave for my immigration appointment shortly after eleven to travel into town, where me and the au pair waited over an hour to be seen. The appointment went smoothly from that point and I was quickly processed for my visa to stay through out the summer. Now I must figure out new flight arrangements to return home in August. By the time we got back to Burtown lunch had already been served. After I ate some good stuffed pasta, sauce, and bread I went to meet Lesley, the mother of James, who lives next door. She had asked me to join her to go to a nearby garden center to buy trees for the landscaping. I got some time to walk around the gardens and house area which sat above a small lake surrounded by various sprecies of trees and rose gardens. The gardens had an extensive collection of Snow Drop, Hellebores, and Rhododenron as well as serveral interesting varieties of small and large hardwoods. Lesley choose about five small trees along with about ten beech trees and a few potted hebaceous plants for the flower gardens. When we returned, I unloaded her vehicle while she took her dogs out and prepared to leave soon for a pilates class. When I got in I rested for a while and helped the au pair, Lindsay, prepare a few dishes for dinner. She practies a vegan diet, so any meals that we share are mostly fresh greens, beans, and various grains cooked with plant based and natural oils or additives. The three of us watched a movie during dinner and headed of to bed a bit early after a glass of wine. Wednesday was calling for a cool but clear day, and would be a full day of work getting the vegetable beds ready to plant.

March 5th

 This Morning went as smooth as it could have, considering the circumstances. I woke up around eight in the morning from a good nights sleep of some of the strangest dreams and got ready quickly as I made a bowl of poariage and packed my computer up. I swept the pace out and did a decent wipedown of everything and headed down to The Meetings for my last time to check my email and make final plans for the travel day. I got word from James, my nest host, that he would meet me in Laragh around noon to head to Burtown House in time for lunch. I agreed and headed back up to ask Frances for a life and get my bags. We got into Laragh and I waited at a cafe to meet James, who was picking up some garden furniature from his Sister who lived near by. The drive though Gendolough to Kildare was astounding as we dropped through the mountains into the valleys and long pastures. I enjoyed talking with James about the plans for what we will be doing over the next two months, what hes done so far, and where he would lik to be in a few years time. We discussed some of the current available crops that have made it through the cold season or are developing now, including several types of lettuce, brussels sprouts, raddishes, kale and leeks. We got to the house in time for lunch when I was immidiately set aback by the size and elegance of the property. The first meal was a simple yet delicious plate of rice with a spiced meat sauce with fresh picked greens that me and James had picked just as we arrived. I met the other male Wwoofer as well who is another American from Minnesota. We chatted over lunch while introducing and getting to know a bit about each other. We washed up and I was shown the rest of the main house and where I would be staying on the the top floor past several interesting portraits and paintings. My head was spinning from awe and I i was in utter shock as I took in the place I would be staying for two months. We spent a few hours working outside in the large vegetable garden after I unpacked my bags and got set up. James showed me the rotovator and tools first as we got to work clearing an row of brussels sprouts and dead cabbage stalks. James went over the area lightly with the rotovator to break the surface and free clumps off weeds, which I followed him and picked up in a large bin. The materials were gathered in a large compost pile behind the garden wall. At five we packed the tools away, talked about what we would need to be doing the next day and headed towards the house to clean up for the day. I went off for a walk around the property to see the gardens and trails wich led around the boarder with my camera at a perfect time to see the sun setting above the trees behind the house. There were a series of creeks and pastures which surrounded the main yard area as well as several gardens full of many reconizable plants. I noticed a number of hyacinths and hellebores as well as gallanthus and the traditional beds of daphodils. The place is ovewhelming and very peaceful. The family is very interesting and as nice as could be, especially to be so wecoming and ethusiastic to a student from a different place. I had a good meal of fresh green vegetables, potatoes and pasta with a piece of chicken, then spent the evening getting to know Shaun, the other woofer who has been here a while before me. He has helped clearing areas, bringing in loads of gravel to fill the drives and painting the walls and windows of the main house. James is opening the garden to public April 12 so He want the three of us working working hard together to tackle a series of different tasks through out the vegetable garden and the surrounding areas that need cleared and planted with nice scenery Until that date. Im very excited and look forward to each day that I'll get to work and live in this place, likely getting many chances to travel this area and see some other amazing Irish gardens.