Wind. More wind.
by ericavanhorn
28 March Saturday
There are fewer primroses in the boreen than usual. Each time I walk down I wonder and worry about it. At first I assumed that most of them had not blossomed yet, which is still partly true. There are a lot of leaves which have no flowers blooming yet, so there will be more. I thought that the final heavy cut back of the ditches in the autumn might have had an effect but that does not account for the many primroses which grow low down on the side of the banking and which were never touched by the cutting blades.
Fewer primroses but masses and masses of wild garlic. Johnnie Mackin’s orchard is a thick blanket of leaves of garlic. Every so often some daffodils appear but mainly there is not much else to see but wild garlic surrounding every apple tree and stretching as far as I can see. I detour into the orchard daily and walk around sort of dragging my feet just to make myself dizzy with the smell. Simon has gone a bit crazy with making varieties of pesto with the young leaves. His latest version uses buttermilk. His latest version of everything uses buttermilk. So far everything he does with the wild garlic is delicious.
Fewer primroses, loads of garlic and an unusual number of pheasants in the fields and the woods and on the road. This morning two unknown dogs spent a busy hour in the garden sniffing and exploring. One was a big Alsatian and the other a black dog of indeterminate breed. I do not know them by name but I recognize them as local.
29 March Sunday
Shift is a word used when people talk about a Snog. It took me ages to know what a Snog was. A Snog is what the English call kissing and cuddling. Neither a Shift nor a Snog is actually having sex. It is the anticipation and the pleasurable playing around with face and lips and body. It is what we would call Making Out, or Necking, or Parking (if there was a car involved). Shifting or Making the Shift is I guess just about the same in meaning. I cannot really find the connection between the word and the activity but probably I am missing something.
30 March Monday
We are being beaten hounded buffeted tormented and lashed by loud and wild winds. Day after day the winds do not stop. The sound is in my ears all day and all night. Even when we think we are not hearing it, we are hearing it. I suppose many people live in their hermetically sealed houses and do not notice it as much as we do. We have lots of drafts. We have doors which do not fit tight. Sometimes I envy those people their snug houses. I would like a bathroom that was less cold. I would love a bathroom which was less cold. Most of the time I like knowing that the weather is part of my every day life. Weather is never not part of my life. The moment I write this I am reminded that I just returned from the barn where I had to give up working with paper because my hands were too cold. I could not carry the paper up from the barn to finish the job in the house because it was too windy and too wet to even try.
31 March Tuesday
The young calves are moaning and bellowing up above in the field. Their voices join together in a booming chorus. As soon as one gets started, they all join in. I think they are shocked and thrilled by how much noise they can produce from their small bodies. Joe has several blue teat feeders hooked onto the sides of the gate. The formula to fatten them up is poured in twice a day, I think. The calves jostle and shove one another to get themselves a rubber teat and a good sucking spot. There are always one or two calves who stand quietly off to one side. Maybe they are waiting for something better to come along.
1 April Wednesday
The jackpot continues to grow. It is now 11,900 euro. This week’s draw included 4 winners of the Match 3 numbers and the usual one Lucky Number, Since Easter is coming there were 6 special Easter prizes of 5o euro each. And 6 other people won Easter eggs. I do not think anyone would be thrilled with an Easter egg when they were aiming to win 11, 750 euro. Still, there is always next week.