2017 is drawing to a close and it is time to sum up the past twelve months in pictures. Sometimes you lose track of time and it is difficult to remember all that has happened so we find this practice highly rewarding. We have so much to be thankful for and at the end of one year it is enjoyable to look back, but also to look forward and think about options and opportunities for the year ahead. We found it suitable to write this post today, at the darkest time of the year, as the wheel is turning towards brighter and warmer days ahead. We have put in links to posts about the various projects, for easy access if you see something you like.
In January we worked a lot in our conservatory. It was an enjoyable task, despite the cold weather. As always we used recyclables and reclaimed materials to keep costs down and to reduce waste.
In February we spent a couple of weeks painting a welcome wall for the mainly Syrian refugees, soon to move into Ballaghaderreen. It was a great day when locals added messages filled with love and compassion to it. You can read about that here and here.
In March the garden started to wake up from its winter slumber and we spent time creating a stumpery and preparing for the warmer weather ahead.
April was an explosion of colour as always and the bluebells inspired us to create a magical landscape for the little people at the base of the old ash tree.
Four of us made a quick visit to Italy in May and spent a few unforgettable days in the north of the country.
June was filled with roses and we created a herb spiral close to the front door.
In July we had lots of help from our new Syrian friends, as well as family and other friends, preparing for our Amnesty International Open day.
In August we all visited friends and family in Sweden and met up with a very clever bird.
September saw the start of some renovations and alterations in the house as we needed to make two bedrooms into three.
In October we spent quite a lot of time in the new Ballaghaderreen Community Garden. It is probably the thing we are most excited about this year. A project with endless possibilities, that we are lucky to be a part of.
November saw the completion of Finley’s forge and we are very excited about everything being created in there since then.
This brings us up to December and today, when we are still working on the renovations and alterations in the house. We had hoped to be finished by now, but as we sum up the year we see that it does not matter in the least that we still have work to do on the new rooms. We are thankful that we have health, a warm place to live, food on our plates, creative things to do and that we have spent time with family and friends, new and old, in the past year. That is all that really matters to us. We wish you all the best for the New Year ahead, whatever are you thankful for and whatever you look forward to.
thegreenerdream 