Autumn assaulting the senses

Tall lemon-yellow sunflowers reach for the sun

My self-indulgent morning routine is to check the email, catch up on the blogs I follow, spend a little time in quiet reflection, and take a leisurely stroll in the garden in my dressingown. Only then is it time for the business of the day. A couple of times a week this is punctuated by a breakfast shared with Suzanna - this morning it was apple pancakes with butter and gooseberry jam: no wonder I am overweight!

Out in the garden, Autumn assaults the senses in these golden October days, brought by a stationary anticyclone centred over Ireland. The Autumn colours startle the eyes: wine-red Cornus sibirica, Euonymus and Prunus 'Kojo-no-mai', the orange berries of Cotoneaster, and the yellows and russets of the hedgerow ash and the trees of Kilteelagh.

Wine-red Cornus sibirica

Spindle (Euonymus sp.) in the Drive Border

Kilteelagh trees from the front gate

We have had no significant frosts yet, and the tender autumn flowers sparkle in the sunshine: bright hoors of Dahlias, pink and white Nicotiana, and sky blue Salvia uliginosa - the latter reputed to be tender, but it has survived the last two winters outdoors here.

Bright hoors of Dahlias

Salvia uliginosa

Scuffing fallen leaves in the Lime Alley reminds me of childhood. A leaf falls vertically in the still air and I catch it for luck. From the corner of my eye I catch a flicker of white as a Cole Tit races to the sunflowers. The first heads have ripened - I do not cut them down until all have been stripped, and I hope to get some volunteers next year, as I did this.

As I pass the soft-fruit bed I spot a few late Autumn raspberries. Too few for a dish for two with cream, I say guiltily to myself, so I might as well eat them! They are very ripe, almost black in colour, but oh, the flavour! Sweet and acid at the same time, delicious. But the pips stick in the gaps of my teeth and red juice stains my fingers.

A strange rhythmic noise claims my attention. I look up to see a skein of geese, two dozen or so, flying in a classic 'V' south east, honking as they go. Where have they come from, and where are they going to? Perhaps they are Greenland White-fronted geese (Anser albifrons flavirostris), an exciting thought. Ten thousand of them, one third of the world's total, fly each autumn from far-away Greenland to spend the winter on the Wexford Slobs. But I'm not up to identifying them in flight.

From my study window, I see two Magpies chasing each other, one with something red in its beak. I go out to investigate and find a dead rat, half eaten, in the Labyrinth bed. Magpies are scavengers, doing the job of cleaning up which Nature has designed them for. But I can't imagine that they killed the rat, but perhaps a visiting cat did. Should I put out bait for the rats and risk poisoning the Magpies?

I've been trimming the hedge of Eleageanus ebbingeii at the back of the drive border, a big job. I want to keep it at about 7 foot, and like it to have a flat top to show off the shrubs and trees behind It is now in full bloom with rather insignificant white flowers, but their scent is magnificent. Close up it is almost overpowering and has been making me sneeze. It is a good hedging plant with grey-green laurel-like leaves, but can make several feet in a season. I had thought it thornless, but discovered to my cost that some plants have a few sharp little prickles, which drew blood painfully.

So I have been assaulted in my garden by all five senses!

Nenagh Day of Prayer for Climate Change

The joint day of prayer for climate change held in Nenagh on Saturday 3rd October, St Francis’ Eve, was a great success, I think. As people came and went over the four hours, an average of a dozen or so were present at any one time to pray together, to listen to music, readings and reflections, and to share time in silence. On arrival all were welcomed and given a sheet to introduce the day of prayer, with background information about climate change and ideas for how individuals may respond, echoed by posters on the walls.

The focus of the prayer room was a simple table with a green cloth, symbolising God’s creation, upon which were placed symbols of the faith we share: a plain wooden cross, a lighted candle, and a Bible on a stand.

Prayers were led by Dean Langley of the Nenagh Baptist Group, Rev Brian Griffin and James Armitage of the Methodist circuit, Rev Marie Rowley-Brooke and Joc Sanders of the Church of Ireland, and from the Catholic parish, Sr Patricia Greene and Sr Rita Corry with a host of laity of all ages. It was wonderful to experience and share in the variety of voices and styles of witness coming from our separate traditions, joined together in common purpose to pray for the future of God’s planet.

Christian Hope is a gift we bring to others
For many people the enormity of the climate change crisis is so great that they feel hopeless. Like rabbits caught in the headlights of a car, they feel unable to do anything about it - even unable to think about it. But we Christians are not like that – we root our lives in Christian hope. Christian hope is a great gift that we have to offer our brothers and sisters of other faiths and none, to inspire them to take action. In that light, these were our closing prayers and readings.

Words from a letter from Taizé written in 2003:

• Christian hope does not mean living in the clouds, dreaming of a better life. It is not merely a projection of what we would like to be or do. It leads us to discover seeds of a new world already present today, because of the identity of our God, because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This hope is, in addition, a source of energy to live differently, not according to the values of a society based on the thirst for possession and competition.
• In the Bible, the divine promise does not ask us to sit down and wait passively for it to come about, as if by magic. Before speaking to Abraham about the fullness of life offered to him, God says, "Leave your country and your home for the land I will show you" (Genesis 12:1). To enter into God’s promise, Abraham is called to make of his life a pilgrimage, to undergo a new beginning.
• Similarly, the good news of the resurrection is not a way of taking our minds off the tasks of life here and now, but a call to set out on the road. "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? … Go into the entire world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation… You will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:11; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8).
• Impelled by the Spirit of Christ, believers live in deep solidarity with humanity cut off from its roots in God. Writing to the Christians of Rome, Saint Paul speaks of the longing of creation and compares this suffering to the pangs of childbirth. Then he continues, "We ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly" (Romans 8:18-23). Our faith is not a privilege that takes us out of the world; we "groan" with the world, sharing its pain, but we live this situation in hope, knowing that, in Christ, "the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining" (1 John 2:8).
• Hoping, then, means first of all discovering in the depths of the present a Life that leads forward and that nothing is able to stop. It also means welcoming this Life by a yes spoken by our whole being. As we embark on this Life, we are led to create signs of a different future here and now, in the midst of the difficulties of the world, seeds of renewal that will bear fruit when the time comes.
  

A prayer from Put People First
Lord, you make all things new- you are the God of the exiled - in times of darkness, uncertainty and fear we can only cling to you. Though we may walk through the valley of shadows, we will fear no evil for you are with us.

Lord, you are the God of the resurrection. In you lies our hope for transformation. You have shown us a glimpse of the mountain top, and we will keep walking that path with you. Give us the vision to see how things can be, and help us work together to achieve this.

Clothe our leaders with humility and grace to put actions before words, and bring greater justice and sustainability in this world.

A reading from Isaiah 55:6-13
"Turn to the LORD and pray to him, now that he is near. Let the wicked leave their way of life and change their way of thinking. Let them turn to the LORD, our God; he is merciful
and quick to forgive. "My thoughts," says the LORD, "are not like yours, and my ways are different from yours. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways and
thoughts above yours.

"My word is like the snow and the rain that come down from the sky to water the earth. They make the crops grow and provide seed for planting and food to eat. So also will be the word that I speak — it will not fail to do what I plan for it; it will do everything I send it to do.

"You will leave Babylon with joy; you will be led out of the city in peace. The mountains and hills will burst into singing, and the trees will shout for joy. Cypress trees will grow where now there are briars; myrtle trees will come up in place of thorns. This will be a sign that will last forever, a reminder of what I, the LORD, have done."

Alastair McIntosh, Professor of Human Ecology at the University of Strathclyde, and a Quaker, has this to say about climate change:
"Technical fixes are certainly part of the solution. But I’d put it to you that the deep work must be this:
to learn to live more abundantly with less, to rekindle community, and to serve fundamental human need instead of worshiping at the altars of greed.
The crisis of these times is therefore spiritual. It calls for reconnecting our inner lives with the outer world - an expansion of consciousness.”

A prayer of St Teresa of Avila
Christ has no body on earth but yours,
no hands but yours, no feet but yours;
yours are the eyes through which to look with Christ’s compassion on the world,
yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good,
and yours are his hands with which to bless us now.

A prayer from the Community of Longchamp
Come light, light of God, give light to creation, enlighten our hearts and remain with your world.
We beseech you, bless every effort and every search,
Every struggle and every pain that seek to restore the harmony and beauty of your Creation.
Renew the face of the earth, so that every human being may live in peace and justice, fruits of your Spirit of love.
Blow your Spirit of life on your creation and all humanity.
Come light, light of God, give light to creation, enlighten our hearts and remain with your world.
We beseech you, Lord, bless the fruits of the earth and the work of our hands and teach us to share the abundance of your goods.
Send rain to the dry soil, sun and fair weather where harvest is endangered by storms.
Blow your Spirit of life on your creation and all humanity.
Come light, light of God, give light to creation, enlighten our hearts and remain with your world.

We finished by saying together this Franciscan prayer
May God bless us with discomfort
At easy answers, half truths, and indifferent relationships,
So that we may live deep within our hearts.

May God bless us with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that we may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless us with tears
For those who face pain, hunger and war,
So that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and to change their pain into joy.

May God bless us with enough foolishness
To believe that we can make a difference in the world,
So that we can do what others claim cannot be done.

View from the pew - The glass is more than half full!

View from the Pew is a regular column I write for Newslink, the magazine for the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe - this article appeared in the October 2009 issue.

NAMA, Lisbon, the Budget – and Copenhagen

“NAMA, Lisbon, and the Budget – these are the three immense and immediate challenges facing Ireland”– so said An Taoiseach Brian Cowen to the business luminaries of the Irish diaspora assembled at Farmleigh for the Global Irish Economic Forum.

Brian Cowan addresses the Global Economic Irish Forum

These are important issues, as we all know. Political and media attention is constant and shrill - and focussed on these three almost to the exclusion of everything else. The decisions to be taken are important – they will shape our country for many years to come - so let us pray that they will be the right ones.

But in all the hubbub, could there be a danger that we lose sight of other things? Climate change is by far the biggest challenge we all face in the 21st Century (for the facts see Two Degrees, One Chance). Within a very few years, every single one of us - in every country - must change the way we live and work, in order to protect our fragile planet for our children and grandchildren and the rest of creation. World governments have promised to agree workable and comprehensive action at the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen this December. It may be the last chance to do so before the planet passes a point of no return and suffers catastrophic run-away heating. So let us also pray for an effective and just agreement in Copenhagen.

This is what Nenagh Union will be doing on Saturday 3rd October in Teach an Leinn in the centre of Nenagh from 11am to 3pm, together with our brothers and sisters in Christ from local Roman Catholic, Methodist and (we hope) other independent congregations, in a joint day of prayer for climate change. Passers-by of all faiths and none will be invited to drop in for as long or short as they wish, to hear prayers and readings, share quiet time in reflection, and find out more about climate change.

So many crises, so many important and difficult decisions to be made! I would be spoilt for choice if I wanted to write about such grave matters – and looking back over the archive perhaps I do so too often. Are we in danger of losing sight of joyful things too? Forget all the dismal crisis talk – let’s be cheerful, it is a Christian virtue! Let’s think instead of how much we have to be thankful for – our faithful God has blessed us with so much.

Harvest Time
We have been blessed by September’s Indian Summer, haven’t we? It’s amazing how the spirits rise with a bit of dry, sunny weather - mine certainly do. Last Saturday I spent a glorious day in Cloughjordan at the Eco-Village open day and energy fair. I was much too hot in my tweed jacket and woolly jumper – I had to strip them off. In the balmy weather it was hard to remember that creation is in crisis!

2009 has been difficult for those who are farmers, the third bad summer in a row. Many will be disappointed with the return they have got from all their planning and hard work. But the settled September has allowed tillage farmers to salvage something from the difficult season. Yields may be down here in Ireland, but elsewhere in Europe they have been higher than expected, and the total world crop looks set to be a record. Prices will likely be low, but this will be a boon to those short of fodder because of the weather - Teagasc advises not to buy in expensive silage this winter, but to feed cereals.

Many more of us will be anxious about the economic recession and market collapse. Worries bubble up: Is my job safe? What about my savings and my pension? How can I stretch my income to pay the bills?

But let us see the glass as half full, not half empty! Just reflect for a moment on the breadth and variety of our harvest. We have the staples: we have wheat for bread and butter to spread on it, oats for porridge and milk to pour over it, barley for beer, hay, silage and meal for cattle. But there is so much more than staples for us to enjoy, isn’t there! There’s meat and eggs, cheese and yoghurt, fruit and nuts, vegetables and mushrooms, and gardens full of flowers! Many of us keep animals, and there are this year’s foals, and calves and lambs and chicks. But there’s also the fruit of our own bodies - our children and grandchildren born this year - thank God for them too!

Cause for celebration

Some of the produce from Joakim's Garden

My own harvest is as a gardener. In the picture you can see some of what my wife and I are enjoying at the moment: runner beans, beetroot, carrots, onions, potatoes, parsley, garlic, French beans, spinach beet, tomatoes, autumn raspberries, apples, pears, and wildlings from the hedgerow, blackberries and damsons or bullaces, as my mother used to call them. I forgot to include the frisé lettuce (plants a gift from a neighbour) and courgettes. And coming on there are romanesco broccoli, brussels sprouts, leeks and purple sprouting broccoli for the spring. We are freezing pounds of beans to enjoy over winter. Nothing tastes so good as what you have grown or picked yourself. And it is just as enjoyable to be able to give away the surplus. If this sounds like boasting, I can’t help it - God has been very good to us this year!

Above all perhaps we should thank God for our health and strength, and also for our intellects, our God-given cleverness. As every farmer knows, this bountiful harvest does not appear from heaven as if by magic: it takes hard graft and intelligent planning!

In this rich corner of the world today, we will not starve, as our forefathers so often did after a bad harvest. With the gift of cleverness we have invented ways to store food and to transport it, and economic and social systems to distribute it to where it is needed. If we consume a little less, it will probably be good for our health; and perhaps the whole planet will benefit. So let us be cheerful and follow the good advice of Deuteronomy: ‘You shall set the first of the fruit of the ground down before the Lord your God … Then you shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you.’

Let us all celebrate and enjoy our harvest!

Nenagh churches day of prayer for climate change

If you are anywhere near Nenagh, Co Tipperary, on Saturday 3rd October, why don't you pop in to join us? You can also take in the Farmers' Market, and Nenagh's excellent shops and cafes!


A joint Day of Prayer
Nenagh Christians, including Catholic, Methodist and Church of Ireland, will join together on Saturday 3rd October in a day of prayer for climate change, to be held 11am – 3pm in Teach an Leinn, Kenyon St, Nenagh. They are inviting passers-by of all faiths and none to pop in for a few minutes, as long or short as they please, to hear prayers and readings, to share quiet time in reflection and meditation, and to find out more about the climate change crisis.

An unholy mess…
Church of Ireland lay reader Joc Sanders explains the background. "We are making an unholy mess of our planet, which we share with so many others of God’s creatures. The facts of global warming are clear and human beings are the main culprits. People have been putting excess greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, largely by burning coal, oil and gas, but also by cutting down forests and intensifying agriculture. Global temperatures are rising inexorably. As a result, sea levels are rising, extreme weather – storms, floods and droughts – are becoming more frequent, eco-systems world wide are being disrupted, and species extinction is accelerating.

"The poorest of the poor in the 3rd World are worst affected for now, but we will all suffer if global warming is not halted. People all around the world must urgently change the way they live and work to protect our fragile planet for our children and grandchildren. World governments have promised to agree to implement a workable and comprehensive package of measures at the UN Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen this December. This may be the last chance to do so before the planet passes a point of no return and suffers run-away heating.

"News headlines may be dominated by financial meltdown and economic crash, but we must not lose sight of climate change as the most complex and serious problem we face in the 21st century. We are responding to a call by Churches Together in Britain and Ireland to pray that God’s will be done at this critical time for the planet. For churches to come together is a prayer in itself, and what better day for it than St Francis’ Eve?"

What the churches will pray for
So just what exactly will the Churches be praying for together on 3rd October?

• Church of Ireland Rector Rev Marie Rowley-Brooke says, "We will pray that God’s Holy Spirit will lead the Governments of the world to agree at Copenhagen to take action on climate change which is both effective and just."
  
• Cloughjordan Methodist lay minister John Armitage adds, "We will pray too for Awareness and Awakening – all of us need to become more aware of our carbon footprint and our personal responsibility in this gathering crisis, and each one of us must wake up and start to walk more lightly on God’s good earth."
  
• Agreeing with them, Sister Patricia Green of the Sisters of Mercy says, "We will also pray for God to forgive our human greed and selfishness that is driving global warming, and for God’s mercy on those who are suffering already."

Day of prayer team, left to right: John Armitage, Sr Patricia Greene,

Joc Sanders, Rev Marie Rowley-Brooke and James Armitage

View from the Pew - Swine Flu is not the end of the world!

View from the Pew is a regular column I write for Newslink, the diocesan magazine for the Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe. This article was published in the September 2009 edition.

We are in the early stages of an influenza pandemic, the first of the 21st century. Health professionals call it Pandemic (H1N1) 2009, but the rest of us call it Swine Flu. It is timely to review the situation and what we should do about it.


The science
The flu virus is very cunning. No more than a tiny bit of DNA hidden inside a protein coat, when it infects a cell in our nose, throat or lungs, it takes over the cell’s machinery and reproduces countless copies of itself. These infect other cells, making us seriously ill, until we develop immunity. And by making us cough and sneeze, the flu spreads itself from person to person in tiny liquid droplets in the air or on surfaces.

Our bodies are also cunning – our immune system has evolved to protect us from viruses, so that once we recover we can’t catch the same virus again – we become immune. But the flu virus is tricky – from time to time it changes its coat proteins so that our immune defences cannot recognise and eliminate it before it makes us ill.

In this pandemic, scientists believe, the new virus picked up some DNA from a form of pig flu – which is why we call it Swine Flu. Most people in the world have no immunity to it, so Swine Flu has spread rapidly world wide since first detected in Mexico in April – this is what is meant by a ‘pandemic’. Hundreds of thousands have already caught it in North and South America, the Far East, and in parts of Europe, particularly Britain. Now it is spreading in Ireland, with our rate of infection being about four weeks behind that in Britain.

We have had flu pandemics before - there were three in the 20th century: Spanish Flu in 1918, Asian Flu in 1957 and Hong Kong Flu in 1968. Flu is always a serious disease, but some kinds are much more severe than others. Asian Flu and Hong Kong Flu were quite mild, but Spanish Flu probably killed more people than the 1st World War.

Thank God, it seems that Swine Flu is a mild one - at least for the present: some are concerned that the virus could change again to become more lethal later on, as seems to have happened with the Spanish Flu. Most people recover fully at home in a week or so with no special treatment. 1 or 2 percent may develop complications needing hospital care, and a few die. The very old, the very young and those with certain pre-existing conditions are most at risk. As of late August, we have had just three deaths in the island of Ireland. Around three-quarters of Swine Flu cases are in children and young adults under 30 – older age groups who have had flu in previous pandemics may have some immunity.

Unlike previous pandemics, doctors can now treat patients with anti-viral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza, but they are ineffective unless given within a couple of days of symptoms appearing. Anti-virals are not a cure but they help recovery by relieving symptoms, they reduce the length of illness by around one day, and they reduce incidence of serious complications such as pneumonia. If used too widely the virus may become resistant to them. Bio-technologists are also working to make Swine Flu vaccines to give recipients immunity. The first supplies may be ready in October and Ireland has ordered enough for the whole population.

Once children go back to school and we spend more time indoors in the colder weather, we will see a big increase in infections. The Department of Health has warned that 1 million people – a quarter of us – are likely to get Swine Flu this year, but I suspect this is no more than a guess and nobody really knows.

How should we respond?
Whatever we do we should keep a sense of proportion – for most people Swine Flu, however nasty, will not be life-threatening. The real issue for all of us is what we ought to do to reduce the impact on those at most risk.

Those of us who have had flu before, as I have, will know the symptoms: fever over 38°C and a cough, often with sore throat, muscle or joint pain, headache, chills, fatigue and runny nose. They come on quite suddenly and are much more severe than the heavy cold which we sometimes colloquially call the flu.

If you think you have Swine Flu, you should do everything you can to avoid passing it to others. If the rate of transmission can be slowed, there will be less strain on health services and fewer people in high risk groups will catch it before they can be protected by the vaccine. Vaccines will be offered first to those at most risk as well as health care and other essential workers, which is as it should be – it would be unchristian to try to jump the queue.

The HSE web site (http://www.hse.ie/eng/swineflu) and information line (1800 94 11 00) provide good advice. In summary, if you contract it:

1. Phone your GP – do not visit the surgery or A&E, where you may infect others. Your doctor will advise whether you need any additional treatment or monitoring.


2. If your symptoms are severe or if you or household members are in a higher risk group, your doctor may prescribe anti-viral drugs, which are available free of charge. Ireland has stockpiled enough anti-virals to treat 55% of the population. It would be unchristian to demand anti-virals if you don’t need them.


3. Stay at home for up to seven days or until well again, take paracetamol or ibuprofen to reduce the symptoms, take plenty of liquids, and discourage visitors.


4. Women who are pregnant can take anti-virals safely, and paracetamol, but not ibuprofen.


5. Contact your doctor again if you begin to have difficulty breathing or other unexpected symptoms, or you start to relapse after improving – you may need emergency care.

The HSE also advise that whether sick or not we should all follow hygiene and cough etiquette guidelines (see separate box). Face masks may do more harm than good except for health professionals.

Implications for parishes
It is good to see that the house of Bishops have issued interim advice about Swine Flu on the Church of Ireland website, but most parishioners will not see this. I feel clergy should also give clear advice to their congregations.

First, as a matter of common sense, people who feel unwell and may be developing Swine Flu should be discouraged from coming to church until they are better.

Second, there are liturgical implications. The Bishops advise that we can continue to shake hands at the Peace provided hands have been washed, since Swine Flu is transmitted primarily by droplets in the air. The Bishops also suggest that if infection levels rise it may be advisable for communicants to receive the bread only and not the common cup. They discourage intinction except for sick communions, as it is no safer than sharing the cup. And it is always open to those particularly concerned to share the peace with a smile and a wave and to take communion in one kind only.

Third, it is likely that ministers will fall sick at short notice. Parishes should review the availability of lay people to lead services should the need arise, and neighbouring clergy should perhaps discuss arrangements to cover for one another.

Lastly, the Swine Flu pandemic has created a great deal of fear as well as significant sickness among the community, and at this time it is our duty as Christians to remember those who are affected in our prayers.

Poetry

I've just been devouring Top of the Pile, an anthology of stories and poems written by members of the Nenagh Writers Group. I heartily recommend it (see here for details). My favourite piece is the very first, a short poem by my good friend and neighbour Duncan Bain, who has gone before us into the presence of his maker, to the great sadness of all his family and friends and his widow, Aggie. Here it is:

Communion

© Duncan Bain

The verdant woodland is my church serene

Where hymns the sighing zephyr in the trees;

I worship where the leaves are broadly green,

And list the droning prayers of humble bees.

Fragrance, as a fir-cone censer spills

Incense from a lofty soaring pine.

The tintinnabulating streamlet rills,

Thought, Prayer and Harmony are mine.

Soft Doves are Angels in the air,

Deep, warm, my hassock is the sod,

Here, with no other soul to share,

Sounds clear the voice of God.

The voice of this sensitive man with a deep love of nature speaks still through these beautiful words. Thank you, Aggie, for permission to share them here.

And my distant cousin Jocelyn Mertens has just sent me this lovely tribute to her own fellow gardener:

Mr. Eastlake In Late Summer

© Jocelyn Mertens, August 2009

That sound

As the moon glides up

That pause in the night

Between bird and bat

That vibration of

An opening bloom

That is the peace you give me.

This too speaks to me. I love to take a glass of wine out into the garden as dusk falls, to wait in the Lime Alley during that pause between the swallows and the bats.

An empty garden

Joakim’s garden feels empty again – the four grandsons and three daughters have all gone back to their own homes, variously in Kilkenny, Wales and England, leaving behind them very happy memories, many photos, and a large pale patch in the lawn where the tent was pitched. The big boys – Cal, Finn and Gabe - came for a week’s sailing tuition on Lough Derg (with Shannon Sailing - I can heartily recommend them). They had a super time I think, and certainly plenty of wind! Little Jonah came with his parents to be shown off and run charmingly around the garden. I felt sad to see them go, reminded of so many goodbyes said, but very grateful indeed that they should have come so far to visit Dad or Grandfather/Grandpa/Oompapa on his own turf. The jury is still out on what Jonah will call me: I prefer Grandfather, because that was what I called my mother’s father and I value the sense of continuity, but there are those who feel that sounds too Victorian and cold – I can’t think why, because though older than I am now, my Grandfather certainly wasn’t.

Flower-fairies - Jonah and Grandfather in Susanna's Labyrinth

Happy Jonah!

Boys make a sandwich (t-b Cal, Gabe, Finn)

The Tent

I've not been good at blogging the garden this month (mea culpa!), but here are some pictures of the garden in August:

Susanna is the sweet-pea queen of North Tipp!

Day-lilies and white Agapanthus

Blue Agapanthus

Coppery Sunflower

Salvia patens - a gorgeous gentian blue!

Salvia cacalifolia - I have a bit of a thing about Salvias!

I have managed the vegetable garden better this year - here we have leeks, brassicas (Brussels Sprouts and Purple Sprouting) with asparagus, potatoes, climbing beans and artichokes behind. Susanna's peas were most disappointing, but we are now dining on our own potatoes, French beans and spinach-beet, and freezing for the winter.