I went for just a three mile walk in the countryside next to the sea yesterday Thursday.
It was a nice day and I did not see a soul apart from two tractor drivers drawing newly made silage bales.
I stood into the verge and a ditch and we gave each other the customary wave whilst they passed by. Tractor drivers wave and so do car drivers in the West of Ireland.
Here's some photos of the wild flora and some cattle on my saunter in the countryside:
Bog cotton.
This is traditional to Ireland 🇮🇪 and it was often used to stuff pillows long ago.
Any gardener or farmer who knows the land they walk and work.
They will tell you the wild flowers that grow in a certain area are an indicator of what the ground is like. Rather ike the Buttercup family which likes very damp ground. Or:
"Where nettles grow. Anything will grow".
Iris is another plant that was used for its medicinal purposes. The leaves were burnt in a stone hut and people would ingest the smoke and it is said to have been a cure for Rheumatism. It was also used for tooth ache.
I forget to say in yesterday's post. St Patrick's Cabbage was used to treat skin and stomach conditions.
This is a wild plant and also there are garden cultivars. I once had a white one in my garden. But it never left any new plants or seedlings.
It is said to be highly toxic but is used to treat heart complaints. I like it for it's Spring colour at this time of year.
"Was it to beat them with it?"
Enquired an inquisitive Simmental cow.
I explained it was to help me climb the hills and to stop me falling on any slippy paths.
"We have four legs for that and a tail to flick away the flies".
"Good luck".
We all said and I carried along my way the boreens and back home.
I will take you on a longer blog walk soon. I have the photos. I just need to edit them and wax lyrical about the beautiful Emerald isle.
It's interesting to hear the medicinal uses of the flowers. So many wild flowers are, or were, used as medicine here too but not many know about them now
ReplyDeleteYou're so right Linda. There are so many wild plants that we have forgotten or don't know their uses for. The monks and nuns all had medicinal plants in their gardens to treat qeary travellers and pilgrims.
DeleteWalking is good..you notice things
ReplyDeleteYou don't see them in a car do you GZ?
DeleteI enjoyed coming along with you on your walk. No rain!!!
ReplyDeleteDoctor Dolittle could talk to the animals too!
ReplyDeleteIf we could talk to the animals, just imagine it
Chatting to a chimp in chimpanzee
Imagine talking to a tiger, chatting to a cheetah
What a neat achievement that would be.
He's very lazy that doctor do little.
DeleteMaybe but he must have worked hard to achieve his medical degree from The University of Accrington.
DeleteHe's a brick. A red brick University.
DeleteThanks JayCee . No rain until tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteNice observations on what the plants tell you about the soil. I wonder if the effect of nettles it to enrich soil wherever they grow - we all use them as fertilizer.
ReplyDeleteThank you Tigger's Mum. Nettles are full of iron and goodness. I wouldn't be surprised if they are related to the peas and beans and legumes family. Their fibrous roots make wonderful friable soil and indeed anything grows where they have resided. There are at least twenty uses for nettles from soup to fertilizer to army uniform material to rope.
ReplyDeleteSlightly off-topic, but arguably health related, just came across this about one of your favourite tipples:
ReplyDeleteNewcastle Brown Ale
“It’s not a health drink, but some of these ales will contain more of these useful chemicals as well as yeast strains left in the beer,” says Federica Amati, a medical scientist at Imperial College London. “They’re probably not going to be alive, but there’s a vein of thought that they still have some sort of beneficial impact on our immune system when they reach the gut.”
I second that one Will. I am having a break at the moment. See tomorrows post. Thanks for posting the piece about Newcastle Brown Ale.
ReplyDeleteLovely views. I remember gorse from family travels by car in Britain back in my youth (1970s), I associate it mainly with Wales (in the month of June).
ReplyDeleteThanks Dawn. Gorse flowers most of the year here in Ireland.
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