February 2026
Getting back into the swing of things....
As part of Brigits week, the Talamh Beo women organised an event in IMMA - it went really well, and a great turn out in spite of some terrible weather the previous day. If you missed the day and you’d like to catch up - here’s a video and an article in The Irish Times by Sylvia Thompson
I’m enjoying the flash of white that is the drift of snow drops, lovely grown under trees. If you’d like to have similar next year, now’s the time to act - snowdrops are best moved just after flowering. There’s also Hellebore, wallflowers, crocus and primroses. Driving to Dublin earlier this week, I was enjoying seeing cherry blossom and dandelions - we are a few weeks behind here in the midlands.
I had an organic pork and bacon delivery from Siobhan, a fellow Talamh Beo member Newbard - most delicious. We have been reducing our meat eating, so buying quality meat and eating a small amount is what works for us. A large pot of beans with a small amount of bacon, or a lentil stew with some sausages; batch cooked, eaten for dinner and more in the freezer for a day when we don’t have much time.
I have my fingers crossed for the Creative Westmeath announcements in March - I applied for a residency, and am a collaborator for a few other applicants - if I’m running public Westmeath workshops you’l hear about them here.
We are back to outdoor picnics - Coole on Feb 1st for our Brigid’s day fruit tree planting, and a Valentines day picnic at the tree farm in Kilteel.
I had a busy Valentines weekend , which included two trips to Dublin - once for lunch at Dion and a second to see Voices of Irish Farmers- a love story - a performance which put some women farmers front and centre. A very moving events for those of us who grew up on farmers, especially with mothers who were left to run the farm solo.
Coole Meadow
Well we got the new fruit trees planted at the start of the month. It was a bit too wet for much else, except for the 120 willows that needed to be planted. We moved onto that this week. We planted a large tranche of willow this time last year, and there was sufficient growth to make wreath bases. The new batch of willow is multi-coloured, so it’s going to be interesting to see what we have to work with later this year.
I worked hard and for a long time that day with no ill effects, so I feel like I’m getting back to my pre-op self - without the hip pain and the limp, and the exhaustion that came with it. Great to have a dry day to test myself against the work.
Workshops
I had 2 well attended and lively sourdough making workshops at Red Roots. I’ve been delighted to see some of the student makes, and have heard from friends who have met some of the students that bread making continues!
I was back a the Womens Community Project making soap and talking rituals and all things self care. It's a big group so it can get a bit chaotic at times, but the ladies are all very patient with me and appreciate of the sensual nature of what they are experiencing. If you’re free on a Monday morning, it’s worth checking out what’s on offer, though there is a waiting list now. There’s lots of other offerings too, and it’s low cost or free, so it’s a great resource for us here in Mullingar.
Flower Farming
Still not a lot going on, on the flower front. I had some lovely pink pussy willow in a vase at the start of the month - which are now rooting in some grit, so I’ll have more next year. There’s a black pussy willow in bloom now, so that’s in a large vase along with some yellow willow and the normal white pussy willow.
There’s a bit of growth in the tunnel - not as much from the ranunculus as the volunteer poppies and the weeds, but you can feel that they ground is warming up and anemones are beginning to think about a few blossoms. I’ve started a few more seedlings - snapdragons, statice, snapdragons. the feverfew that I started previously is slowly emerging. But I’m afraid that my larkspur seedlings are being nibbled by slugs, even though they are high up on a shelf.
Learning
I finished up January with an interesting session in Cuige , organised by Mariia, a Ukrainian artist who is putting on lots of interesting workshops . The documentary that I was in - BOOBS- was available to view, and Maria guided a life drawing session (with me as the model!) as part of the event. A great experience! Being a (nude) model wasn’t something that I ever anticipated, but they seem to be in short supply and the only requirement is willingness, here I am! And here are some of the drawings from the night.
Andrea Cullen- founder of Cuige and all round renaissance woman - is running a series of creativity focussed workshops - I attended the first one - it was great fun and I left buzzing. If you’re feeling a bit stuck, or think your’re not creative, or even just want a nice social event, I’d highly recommend spending your Thursday evening with her.
Another Ink Night with Mariia, and some cool pattern. A fun way to spend a Friday evening. And I understand that her second life drawing class went brilliantly.
My beloved pottery class is finished, and my assignment is turned in. This lamp was the main piece turned in, I’m quite delighted with how it turned out, and thanks to Brian for working on the electrics for me.
I spoke on behalf of Talamh Beo at Climate Justice Universities Union All-Ireland Spring Meeting . I was on a panel, and had to introduce myself - as a forest owner/flower farmer, so I went back to my parents and how their lives and choices had shaped me - I was overwhelmed with the positive feedback, and the interesting questions that my introduction generated.
It was great to chat there with Lisa Singleton about her Brilliant Ballybunion work - worth checking out the learning briefs - useful for other community groups trying to galvanise around food.
Upcoming events
There’s another sourdough worksop in the calendar for March 22nd, starting at 11am - phone Tom (087 905 2686) to book your place - quite a few places booked already, so if you’re interested, don’t delay. That will probably be it for this years sourdough classes in Westmeath.
I’m teaching two workshops in Womens Community projects in March, but we keep those a secret, so I’ll tell you about them next month! Also, I’ll be helping Emma Noonan with her first workshop for that group, I’m really looking forward to doing a bit of making myself.
Mullingar Gathers has a few fun events coming up - click here for details - looking forward to the potluck on the 7th. I’m thinking to make some bean enchiladas, and to make a tomatillo sauce for them - I have bags of tomatillos in the freezer. And maybe a Basque cheesecake. What do you think?
Links
The Talamh Beo position on the Bord Bia scandal - worth a read. https://talamhbeo.ie/bord-bia-why-so-surprised/
With Valentines day in the rear view, and Mothers day approaching, some more reporting on the evils of the global flower industry. Good floral presents for Mothers Day - a rose plant, a subscription to a local flower grower, or a workshop. I have fond memories of a very happy Mothers Day in my brother allotments with my mother, we got very dirty and tired, it was a perfectly lovely day. So rather than a crowded garden centre or hotel, maybe volunteer for a few hours of work in YOUR mother’s garden, if you are lucky enough to have her close by.
An interesting event happening in Belfast:https://imaginebelfast.com/event/be-prepared-civil-food-resilience/
Food Sovereignty is in my mind a lot this year - here’s a proclamation from some years ago, but valid still. https://www.leitrimorganic.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Food-Sov-Ireland-Proclamation.pdf
And worth signing this petition to enshrine the right to food in EU law. https://emmaus-europe.org/language/en/food-is-a-human-right-campaign/#:~:text=Food%20is%20a%20Human%20Right,Commission%20to%20propose%20new%20legislation.
I was delighted to be part of the ECCO project run by the Rediscovery centre, helping people to set up worm farms with stuff that might otherwise end up in landfill. This video was made at the end of the project, and I was delighted to see that worms got a mention. And watch out for our own Westmeath libraries star, Dearbhla!
Music
Well, I can’t get enough of multi-award winning and multi talented Irish artist, Jessie Buckley. So here you go!
Great read as always Anna! Thanks for the shoutouts, Basque Cheesecake sounds delicious 😋
Wow Anna - you certainly are getting back into the swing of it. Lovely read and love all your creativity - inspiring !