Unbelonging and rebelonging

This is going to be our new garden.

A bit rough at the moment but look at the view in the photo below. It's better in real life. That's Lough Derg and the Tipperary hills in the distance. I'll have to get a powerful telescope so I can keep an eye on passing lake traffic.

There's another view to the south (this is looking east) of Tountinna, the mountain our broadband comes from, and of the lake out from Mountshannon.

This vehicle is not, I hasten to add, our new house, or even our temporary accommodation. Neither is this:

Liam Flannery was in with his rig drilling for water. We finally got planning permission five weeks ago, and the four weeks to allow for objections was up last week - it takes forever for the drawing of plans and the putting in for it. It seemed a good idea to get the rig in while it was dry, and just as well we did, looking out of my kitchen window at the sodden garden and hearing the river roaring, even through double glazing.

Liam first came to the site a couple of weeks ago with his dousing rods and found the spot where the well should go. We had a pretty good idea all would be well (sorry) as the two houses above us have good water. And there it was, gushing out of the ground at about 1000 gallons an hour. Should do us.

 

Of course the way the property market is at the moment we assumed it would be a year or two before selling our present house, but no so. We had an offer we couldn't refuse last week. Cat among the pigeons or what. Could all go wrong, but in case it doesn't I'm busy working out how I'm going to move my garden to the new site when there's nowhere prepared to put anything. I've been propagating since the end of last winter, just in case, but I thought I'd be able to do it gradually once we had the site bought.

It'll be dreadful to move from our lovely house and garden. Sixteen years of sweat and joy has gone into it. But it's very remote, and time to move in closer. Exciting, too, having a new project. The stress and tears is all to come. In the meantime we'll be looking for somewhere to rent if it all goes ahead. Now were it summer, we'd have had the boat as an option...

It's being an eventful year. Second book came out. A bit much, I know. Far more decorous to have them decently spread over a few years, or one at the very least. I have to express my lack of control in the issue though, publishers being the way they are. Anyway, here's the author posing.

 

Similar colour schemes for both books. Pure chance. I did pick the one for the poetry - the second book is poems, Unbelonging, from Salmon Poetry. The cover is glorious - a photo Joe took of a piece of glass art made by Co Clare glass artist Kathryna Cuschieri. Kathryna makes beautiful pieces, as you'll see if you click either or both links.

It's out but not properly launched yet - that'll happen in Galway at the end of November.

Time to go and gather together some more beloved plants from my garden to take to the new acre.