DIARY FROM A FAMILY FARM IN ULSTER
MORROWS WORLD
DIARY FROM A FAMILY FARM IN ULSTER
Ive been blackberrying this week and it is one of those seasonal occupations which brings back all sorts of childhood memories. I lived in Belfast as a child and getting out to the countryside was a big treat at any time of the year – add to that the promise of bramble jelly on plain loaf and I was very happy to help pick fruit. We all had different ways of gathering. My dad was awful – he would only choose what he called "luscious" berries and so his contribution would hardly cover the bottom of a bucket. Mum was a demon picker and with no concern for the scrapes and tears on her hands, would plough into nettle patches if she thought there would be a pound or two to pick. My dad died 11 years ago this month and my mum has Alzheimers Disease, so I now do my picking alone, but I remember with great pleasure those times we worked at our own mini harvest.
We are doing a lot of tidying up jobs outside now getting ready for the winter. Weeding still continues with the fruit and then we will start on the pruning and the tying up of the raspberry canes. All the little maintenance jobs which cant be done with people around are caught up with now when the weather is still good but the visitors are few. The Open Farm has not closed completely yet, and in many ways it is a very pleasant time, as most of the groups are small special needs schools and they bring a whole new perspective with them. The pace at which we have to guide the children around slows down and we can really enjoy taking time with individuals, watching them respond to the animals and helping them become confident at handling them.
At this time of the year I spend a lot more time inside – making the bramble jelly for a start – and mostly in the kitchen. This room is the centre of the home. It is very big with yards of worktops and a massive pine table in the centre, yet there is not a square inch of clear space anywhere! Theres computers and school books, laundry and hi-fi equipment, magazines, boxes of eggs, cats, plants and dear knows what else sitting all over the place and I am convinced it would all disappear if I had a utility room. People with utility rooms never have untidy kitchens. You can always sit at their table without having to make a space amongst the ironing or talk over the noise – they would never be a problem again, because they would be pitched into the utility room where only close family members would be allowed. The cat would be able to sit on the worktop in a utility room, which in itself would greatly reduce the trauma of our everyday life, as we are a divided family when it comes to cats, indeed animals of any kind, in the house. My husband Johnston has the traditional farmers view that animals have a job to do and that they do not live in the house. Jenny and Amy take after him, while Helen and I are quite happy to share our living space with furry friends. So there is a different set of reactions when we walk into the kitchen and see our cat Sunny lying curled up beside the mug tree. Helen and I think thats quite a nice, comfortable space to sleep. Jenny and Amy consider it simply disgusting, while Johnston can hardly stop himself drop-kicking the cat out the back door. So you can see how pleasant life would be if we had a utility room, all our problems solved at once.