Here in Ireland the everyday greeting usually has something to do with the weather. Partly that’s because of the rural population and the importance of agriculture in culture, but also because of the extraordinary variability of daily weather. It is not unusual to hear a weather forecast of “sun, with rain” and temperature fluctuations of 10 degrees, and we’ve often been caught out by frost or hail in May and June. But as May draws to a close the summer is full on and the heat along the river and woods brings back memories of Hong Kong’s sub-tropical climate. Its not as hot as Hong Kong but every now and then a pocket of humid air and the smell of soil and vegetation gives me a felling that I could be in the jungle of China.
The recent heat and humidity has brought on the crops … and of course the grass and weeds. I’ve been battling with the 2-wheel tractor to keep it alive. If it conks out, I fall too far behind and patches of the garden have to be left till next year. Everything seems to be doing OK, though for the first time the chickens have invaded the legumes and attacked my peas and beans decimating over 100 plants. I had to resow half the plot and will have to be more vigilant. On the subject of chickens, if anyone would like a cockerel to add to their flock, please let me know. I can spare one.
The summer yoga sessions have finished now. The next group classes are in September.
Pam will be running in the Flora marathon for PestalozziWorld. It should be lots of fun.
There’s been increasing debate about the Lisbon Treaty, which Ireland will vote on in a couple of weeks. Its not very clear what the consequences of it might be for Ireland, though it does seem to be a bit of a disingenuous relabelling of the EU Constitution, which was declined recently. That in itself should be reason to demand a different approach than asking us to pass a complicated and unclear piece of binding legislation. This YouTube video of a German independent politician shows some of the anger that it is being proposed at all.
Apparently the EU is also planning to regulate the prescription of basic supplements, like vitamin C. That seems to be totally ridiculous but its got a good chance of happening because we are so far removed from the bureaucracy that implements law. Wouldn’t it be strange if yo needed a prescription to obtain vitamin C tablets?
But maybe its not as bad as taxing a cow’s emissions as this report from the Times shows: Post-Soviet states are progressing gleefully towards Western standards of living. But in Estonia, the cows at least must get used to the idea that there is an environmental consequence to every pleasure. Even belching. Even flatulence. Farmers there have received tax notices for cows’ emissions. While it is true that cows produce 350 litres of methane and 1,500 litres of carbon dioxide daily, farmers have pointed out that no such levy exists elsewhere in the EU. One can see their point. Even the most eloquent environmentalist will struggle to persuade a cow to stop doing what comes naturally.
Well, hoping lovely weather and the breath of nature is relieving the stress of a sometimes crazy human world!
Tom
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