Rainy Day Ramblings
The wind and rain doesn't seem to stop the many visitors who gear up and brace themselves for the 4+ mile journey from Kilronan to the islands main attraction, Dun Aenghus Fort. However, I did wonder this day how many of them would've boarded the ferry in Galway headed to Inis Mor had it already been lashing. But the rain started late morning and they had already arrived. So while cyclists buzzed by our garden during yesterday's wonderfully wicked weather, I was welcoming a day off from the hotel and garden to stay inside the house.
Johnny even lucked out by having the rain begin just after the morning milking and ending before the evening one. You'd never hear him complain, but many days of the six months or so that we have fresh milk, I'm happy that it's not my daily responsibility. Bella seems well over her loss by now and is giving us plenty of milk twice a day. With over four fresh litres in the fridge, I thought it would be a good day to make cheese. The expiration date on my rennett disagreed with these plans, so instead my attention turned to stored vegetables from last years harvest.
It's unusual for us to have anything in storage this late in the year, but a few onions remain as well as two heads of cabbage-- the cabbage having been repeatedly ignored in favour of the kale that was pulled from the ground two weeks back now. With fresh whey in the fridge, fermented sauerkraut was the obvious choice. Simple enough to make taking well under an hour, it will be to our liking in about a weeks time.
The rest of the rainy indoor day was pretty uneventful. Working five days a week now at the local hotel and keeping up with the garden gave me an unneeded excuse to take a lie down and so I did. After an hour I awoke refreshed, just in time to get out for the end of day sunshine-- perfect for a bit of pottering about in the garden. My two girls and I sat aside one of our fields and talked about the tea garden we're hopeful to begin planting next year. Johnny snapped a lovely picture of us huddled together. You'd never know it had been such a dark day.
Busy days and nights are keeping me from the computer, but despite any consistent visits from the sun, photosynthesis is taking place and much is growing. Tomorrow I will write a bit about that. For now, slán agus oiche mhaith, goodbye and good night. Melissa Xx
