Thursday 25 November 2010

Mt. Fuji Japanese Cherry

The leaves of the Mt. Fuji Japanese Cherry burnished in the twilight of a Thanksgiving Day in November 2010.

Afternoon light from the west found us doing a bit of autumn gardening while the turkey roasted.

Something to be thankful for:  A day with sunshine.

Monday 1 November 2010

Things Fall Apart in Kiltumper



TURNING and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
- from The Second Coming by W.B.Yeats







Autumn in Kiltumper.  Peaceful, right?  Idyllic? Yes, certainly. Will it last? Ah... that is the big question facing us now.  An Bord Plenala, Ireland's Planning Board, has rejected our appeal asking that it overturn Clare County Council's decision to allow a man from the village of Kilmihil to erect two giant wind turbines 500 metres from our bedroom. (The man does not live near the site of the planned wind farm. Nor does the developer.)

The turbines measure 280 feet tall with a wing span of 100 ft.  The nearest turbine will be on top of the hill behind our house which is situated at the furthest corner of our smallholding in west Clare.  The nearest corner of the field behind our house will likely be within 100 metres of the wind turbine.  No longer will be walking in the back meadow of our home -- the birthplace of my grandfather and his before him. 

Imagine our disappointment and disillusionment.  Why the Irish government had decided to uphold the planning permission for 2 turbines so close to our home of 25 years seems careless and negligent. It indicates the government does not protect its citizens.  The most recent findings by European and American authorities advocate that such giant wind turbines should be erected at least 1 km away from homes and households.


Here's a photo by Ian Mynard which illustrates just how close and large the Kiltumper Wind Farm will be from Kiltumper Cottage.

Recently, we received a phone call from Clare Tourism asking if we would participate in a forum to encourage tourism in County Clare. Yes, come see the wind farms that are popping up like poisonous mushrooms all over west Clare.  Yes, by all means come listen to them at night when you can't fall asleep because of the blades swishing.  It might lull you into a stupor of disbelief.  It may even turn you into a cynic.

Monday 11 October 2010

Homeopathy Treatment for Holistic Wellness

Homeopathy has been the subject of much debate, especially in the UK where it is funded by the National Health Service.  Although skeptics get very energetic in their criticism of it as a healing modality, the NHS has decided to continue to fund it saying, “We believe in patients being able to make informed choices about their treatments, and in a clinician being able to prescribe the treatment they feel most appropriate in particular circumstances,” said a spokesman.  Read more about the positive aspects of homeopathy in helping people here at All Things Healing.

Friday 14 May 2010

May Garden

In the May garden, wet with rain.  Japanese Cherry in the background.  Clematis Montana climbing the stone cabin and over the roof. Berginia, Spanish Bluebells, and Anchusa about to come into bloom.

Friday 26 March 2010

New Website

Homeopathy at
All Things Healing



Just in time for Spring TwentyTen, a new website has been officially launched – allthingshealing – visit and see what you think.  There are dozen of articles on subjects from dream medicine to sacred living, from herbal medicine to homeopathy and forums for discussions and even videos.  My page is the homeopathy page and from time to time I'll post my own articles on homeopathy but the bulk of the material I hope will come from submissions from practitioners or from people who've had a positive experience with homeopathy.

Here's an article I wrote on Breast Cancer and Homeopathy

Sunday 10 January 2010

Snow in Kiltumper


The Snow Falls
in Kiltumper

We're snowed in.
Iced in.
Nowhere to go.
Nothing to do but enjoy.
Reminds me of Robert Frost's



A Dust Of Snow
The way a crow
Shook down on me
The dust of snow
From a hemlock tree
Has given my heart
A change of mood
And saved some part
Of a day I had rued.