Summer solstice

So I’m finally getting around to writing this latest update… I meant to do it when I left Donegal, but didn’t have time between moving farms, so here it is, mid-June already. Where does the time go?? I’m going to write about the farms in County Cork in my next mail, for space and symmetry’s sake:)

I had a fantastic time and experience at Green Hill Farms in Donegal, which is owned and run by John and Mary Reilly. They have two kids – Sean (17) and Shannon (12). I feel very lucky and blessed to have found the Reilly’s on their little corner of the gorgeous Inishowen Peninsula (the most northerly point of the country). They were so generous and welcoming, and included me in practically everything; I felt like I was one of the family – they squabbled and bickered and joked and were generally very much themselves around me. It’s been a very long time since I’ve lived with or been part of a family unit, and aside from a few uncomfortable dinners when things got a little tense, it was tons of fun. I stayed in a mobile home in the back of the house while I was at the farm. It was a cozy little place – very comfortable. For the second half of the month I shared it with another wwoofer, Daniel, from the states, and it was nice to have company.

I spent most of my days with John, as he kind of manages the day-to-day operations on the farm. He told me what to do and how to do it, always offering advice on how to do it in a way that would make it easier on my back, hands, whatever. I totally loved John – he’s a brilliant, natural-born teacher, and is very patient and helpful. He also has about twelve different ways of rolling his eyes, and cracked me up on a regular basis – though sometimes unintentionally. He’s one of those men who has a really gruff exterior, but underneath is really lovely, and does and says little thoughtful things all the time. I spent a lot of time in one field, preparing all the beds and planting the vegetables, and the day before I left we were up there and he said “I’m going to call this Tessa’s field, because you’ve done all the work up here.” He really gets that it’s nice to have a sense of ownership of the work you’ve done.

Mary is doing her Masters in organic farming, but she was so generous with her time, offering to drive us to Malin Head on our day off (which was her day off too), bringing us along to historical walks and visits to other farms, and she brought me with her and Shannon on a day trip to a country house estate outside Belfast. She took me down to the site where they gather the peat that they cut and dry and then collect for fuel over the winter, which was a really cool thing to see. We collected several loads and took most of it to her parent’s place, which is just over the field from Green Hill, and her dad came down later that evening and slipped me a tenner, which was just the sweetest thing.

Sean and Shannon are awesome kids, lots of fun to be around. They both seem very used to having these random strangers hanging about the house. Sean said Daniel and I were the only two wwoofers he’s ever liked, which just may be the biggest compliment I’ve ever received!

John and Mary grow organic vegetables, so I spent most of my days doing typical gardening things – preparing beds, sowing seeds, planting seedlings...whatever needed doing. It's very satisfying work, especially when you see the fruits of your labours…whether it’s watching the seeds you sowed come up as seedlings, or getting to transform a field of weeds and rocks into rows of beans and peas. Being on a vegetable farm has given me an entirely new insight into how hard my dad must have worked in his garden to produce the delicious vegetables that the rest of us just got to sit down and enjoy at the dinner table. I must thank him for that, though it’s a bit after the fact.

Sometimes the work was physically tough – mostly it just highlighted what parts of my body are weak (my back!) – but the days weren’t long. I usually came into the house around 9 for tea, then we headed out to the fields until someone called us in for tea around 11. Lunch was usually at 1, which of course included tea, and John usually wouldn’t let us work past 3. I’ve never drunk so many cups of tea in my life:)

In the evenings there always seemed to be something going on. One night I went to a silk screening workshop with Shannon; a few nights John and Mary ran courses at the farm for people wanting to learn how to start their own garden so we hung about for that; one night we cycled out to the most gorgeous beach ever, 5 Finger Strand, and then checked out the local pubs in town; one evening we broke out the Wii Fit and spent the next few hours laughing hysterically at each other’s attempts to do bizarre balancing games. Sometimes, if I was feeling lazy, I’d go lie on the trampoline and read. Occasionally Daniel and I retreated to the mobile to read or write or watch a movie, or to just have some down time. One night Sean lent us his Iron Maiden behind-the-scenes documentary, and I must say I quite enjoyed it, much to my surprise.

Daniel and I did a little day trip down to Derry, a city that sits right on the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic. It’s a walled city and was the site of a lot of strife during the times of “the troubles,” and was the town where “Bloody Sunday” happened. We referred to that day as “the day of bad luck” though, as basically nothing we tried to do worked out… Daniel wanted to get up to the Giant’s Causeway but the bus wasn’t running till the following week. We walked for a half hour to an Indian restaurant for lunch only to find it had closed 5 minutes before we got there. We got on the wrong bus on the way back home and ended up having to hitchhike back to the farm, which was fine except that it took almost an hour to get a ride and we got caught in a rain shower when we were ten minutes away from the house. So all in all, it was a bit of a washout.

While I was in Donegal, Robin’s parents were visiting – we met them on our trip to Barcelona – and they drove up the whole west coast of Ireland, all the way up to where I was, so I got to see them and was lucky enough to tag along when they went over to Northern Ireland to see the Giant’s Causeway, a geological phenomenon that formed 60 million years ago from molten lava that contracted to form these crazy hexagonal patterns (see photos, can’t really describe it). It was
something that’s been on my list since I first got here, so it was great to finally see it. Would’ve been better without the rain, but then again, this is Ireland!

In the end, I totally fell in love with Donegal, and I actually feel more connected to it than I do to Dublin... Being away from Dublin has made me realize I'm not particularly attached to it. Really the best thing about Dublin, for me, is the travel opportunities it affords. Not that it's not a cool city, but I guess I never did fall in love with it...

Being on the farm was totally inspiring. I loved the way of life and now I want my own garden…just a little patch of earth…doesn’t have to be much. And I loved being back in the country. It’s really the first time since I left Kimberley that I’ve lived in the country, and I didn’t really expect to love it so much, but I did. I loved the peace and quiet and the more natural rhythm of the days. I can actually see myself living in the country now, which is not something I ever
thought I’d say. Maybe 15 years of city living is enough?

Anyway, this has gone on long enough, so I’ll stop now. I’ve added a County Donegal set to my Flickr site and I’ve also finally put up my photos from Barcelona. I also added a set for Northern Ireland that includes a few shots of Belfast, some of Derry, a couple of Bushmills (where the whiskey is made!), and probably too many of the Giant’s Causeway.

Ciao for now,
Love me