Out in the Bog

Back in late May, my husband James had the opportunity to buy a few rows in a bog. The turf was already cut (now done by machines, unlike these early photos above) but he had to stack it, dry it and haul it out of there. No easy feat as it ended up being about three big trailer loads.

One beautiful Friday evening, I returned from work and was told to meet my husband and daughter out at our plot. They had been out there since she got out of school that day stacking our turf - which allows it to dry.

I find bogs quite beautiful and yet odd in their own way. These bogs are what are known as raised bogs unlike really boggy wetlands we might be familiar with both in the US and Ireland. The turf or peat is just decomposed plant materials- mostly mosses that contain a lot of water but when dried they become a great source of fuel for burning in the colder months. Believe it or not, we actually had a fire last night as it was a chilly rainy evening and we burned our first bit of our turf . It burned very well and gave off a good bit of heat.

Anyway, I headed out to the bog and in my usual fashion found the light that evening so inspiring and being still so open to new experiences in Ireland - I just wanted to capture this unique moment. I'm sure the locals were wondering what I was like....as I traipsed out into the bog in my dress and shoes from work snapping photos and generally acting like a total tourist!

Oh well, if you can relish and enjoy all these new experiences - what's the point?

Here are some rows that have been stacked on either side of rows cut cut waiting to be stacked.

There's Sophia way down our row, stacking her own little piles.

The team.

Sophia was covered in peat marks literally everywhere - she needed a major hosing down after I got her home. But she looks happy - big change from the city life in NYC.

As we left, my husband was deligently continuing in his duties - armed with knee pads to make the task a little less taxing.