February 2025 - cold!
...but Spring is on the way!
We finished January with a city break in Berlin- all 4 of us - and came back energised. We were there for 4 days - we did lots of walking around and sightseeing - the usual stuff - Brandenburg gate, the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, the Jewish museum, the wall, the museum of East German life.. Thinking about how Germany and Berlin was divided up after the war, and the impact that had on the people living there - and the gulf that developed during the Cold War - it all made history very real. Weather was grey, but a lot warmer than here.
We went out to Grunewald forest. There’s a hill in the mostly flat forest that was created by rubble removed from Berlin after WW2 as part of the rebuilding. The Allies built a listening station on top. Climbing up the hill you can still see bricks and construction materials poking through the soil. Some of that structure is still there along with very scary fortifications - a lot of razor wire. That space is now a gallery for urban art.
Also in the forest there’s some kind of housing estate - or maybe allotments with houses built on them - we walked around the edge but you can’t go in. See the circled area in the map below. I couldn’t find out anything about it online - it looked like a lovely place to live though! Can any of my readers enlighten me?
On the last day Brian and Leo went to a car museum (yawn). So I went to the Modern Art Museum. It was very well curated, although I was very confused by the workings of the restaurant, so I just ate a banana that I had in my backpack.
In particular, I enjoyed the movie detailing the work of Agnes Denes - Wheatfield- a confrontation. Made in 1982, it highlighted a lot of issues around food production. Sadly things have not improved since then, at all. She’s still making large scale conceptual art.
A different kind of art - we headed to Longford for the Longford Lights festival. Lots of beautiful sculptures made of paper and wire, or in some cases paper and willow. Community projects, international artists, and a multimedia show in front of the barracks were all most entertaining.
Seasonal Activities
I was home from Berlin in time to run a last minute Brigid’s cross workshop in the Refill Mill on Feb 1st. Short notice, so not a huge crowd. But skills transmitted and lots of crosses gone out into the world.
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Large quantities of marmalade with cranberries were made later in the month. While the homecook tins work really well and are a lot more convenient, it’s good to buy Seville oranges in January and make marmalade the traditional way. Though there are no marmalade eaters in the house apart from myself. So I’ll probably have to give some away to my marmalade loving friends….
Chilli and aubergines seedlings are germinating and growing with supplementary heat and light. We have our first and second early potatoes chitting, in anticipation of a St Patricks day planting.
Some potatoes started in styrofoam boxes in the tunnel - first and second earlies. Including my favourite Purple Rain. Looking at some old photos, we were harvesting from the tunnel last year around the end of May.
Next up for planting will be the tomatoes - I’ll have to pick a subset of the 20+varieties that I have seeds for, and I’ll start with the bush varieties - they can go into hanging baskets in the tunnel earlier as they are up high. Roma did very well last year, just in case you’re wondering what to plant yourself. And there will be some free Roma tomato seeds (and others) saved by me, (so they have been selected for Westmeath success) at the Mullingar Gathers Seed Swap in the Refill Mill on Saturday afternoon, 1st March.
Coole Meadow
We had prepared a place for tree planting at the end of January, and then Storm Éowyn hit. Lots of the cardboard disappeared, and our lovely white seats in the green and white garden are no more. While we were away, Angela and John recovered the blown cardboard, and made a new bed for willow planting.
On Valentines day, in spite of heavy rain and wind, we planted 70 trees and inserted about 100 willow sticks into the ground.
It all looks pretty messy and bare, but first photo is the Miyawaki planting, and next are the willow sticks, which we just stuck through the cardboard. It will be impossible to scythe between these, so we will plan to mulch regularly. We will plant some curly willow in the Miyawaki planting, to fill up the bed, and fingers crossed that we will see lots of growth soon!
Workshops
The Material world workshop in Moate library on Feb 5th went very well - and we have some beautiful dolls to show for it. If you’d like to see what we made, please come to our exhibition on March 6th in Moate library at 6:30pm.
On March 1st, we will revisit ‘Flower Power’ - looking at the global flower industry with a critical eye, and then creating an upcycled flower vase. This workshop was really popular the last time around, so book your place soon, there are only a few space left.
Flower Farming
I really enjoyed going to Claregalway castle and hanging out with other flower farmers in Early February. I missed the Sabine Darral training on the Saturday, but looking forward looking forward to the video. (Made it in time for dinner and lots of chat) The FFOI AGM on the Sunday went smoothly, and lots of plants and other useful materials and knowledge were exchanged.
The castle itself is a gorgeous place to stay - beautifully restored , huge rooms, beautiful beds, lovely facilities, and delicious food.
My older son came home for a bit and helped me finish the tunnel project - the heavy work at least. Great to have willing muscles to command. He also emptied a compost bin into crates for me, which is now great for planting things.
A few flowers blooming right now - I was able to create 2 small arrangements for a dinner party. the small vases that I’m making in my ceramics class are perfect for this time of year.
Aine from Flos Flowers in Spiddal dropped by when she was visiting Mullingar - lovely to host another flower farmer and exchange ideas and make plans for the future! Galway friends, check her out!
My flower subscriptions will be kicking in soon - and in anticipation of that, I have change the payment method - I have moved from Paypal to Stripe, no point in doing anything further to benefit the broligarchy. If you’d like to be first in line for a Spring Subscription, click here!
Learning
So yes, I’m back practicing ceramics in Athlone - making some soap dishes and spoons and little vases. There’s a bit more structure this term, which is very enjoyable, really looking forward to making a geometric teapot - templates are in progress!
Upcoming events
‘Flower Power’ on March 1st in Moate library still has a few places left - all materials will be provided.
Mullingar Gathers - is hosting a seed swap on March 1st in the Refill Mill (1-4pm)- the perfect time of the year to assess your seeds, see if you have extras and distribute the excess - and pick up a few new to you varieties. It’s always a pleasure to meet like minded people and talk plants for an afternoon too!
Also - Mullingar Gathers is flat out this weekend with a games night on Friday the 28th, click here for details.
And finally, a song. I saw the Talking Heads movie ‘Stop Making Sense’ in San Francisco in the spring of 1985. It was released the previous October. We danced in the aisles (and that wasn’t a health and safety issue). Thinking back to that time, MTV was a thing, but I didn’t have a TV. So unless I went to see bands live there wasn't the visual aspect of performers to consider - no internet, no YouTube, no instagram. No where to see music except live - and this! It blew my mind.