INISHOWEN POETS

(Click on the title for a link to Inishowen Poets site)

Here is a site for all you budding poets in Inishowen. Below is the introduction, check out the site for more information.

Welcome to Inishowen Poets, this is a new website set up for poets within the Inishowen area. If you have any poems you would like to publish on this site please contact me. You can find my contact details by clicking here.

I have just published my first edition titled "Anonymous In A Town That Talks" and it is currently on sale in various shops around the Inishowen peninsula. Alternatively, you can contact me and I would be more than happy to post a copy out.

Over the past 4 years I have been struggling to come to terms with a condition I refused to accept that I had. These are a selection of poems written over the period of time I spent incarcerated in various psychiatric hospitals. I used poetry to vent my frustrations and maintain my focus. The condition I was fighting to come to terms with is known as Bi Polar.

I am, who I am, I’m a Bi Polar…Bear!

To everyone who helped to supported me….Sláinte!

Constantine O’Donnell August 2006

POND CARE

Now the weather is hot, ponds can get clogged up with weeds. The speed at which the whole surface of the water can be covered is startling. Twist blanket weed out of ponds with a long stick, that way you will not disturb the muck at the bottom of the pond. Leave the weed at the side of the pond overnight to let any insects run back into the water. If you have tadpoles in water, make sure there are places where they can crawl out once the legs have established. If they cannot get out of the water they will drown, and we do not want that now do we?

Horticultural.

FRUIT GARDEN

Cane fruits
Tie new canes of raspberries and blackberries on to support wires as they grow. Keep them separate from last year's shoots, which will flower, and fruit this summer.

BIRD CONTROL
Spread nets over soft fruit bushes, such as currants, and over strawberries growing in rows or in containers. Once blackbirds and other birds find fruits to their taste they will return again and again and will quickly strip plants of unprotected fruit.

ENCOURAGING BUDS
Sometimes buds on the stems of apple and pear trees remain dormant and don't develop. This isn't a problem unless you are trying to train the tree into a formal shape and need a shoot to grow from the exact position of the dormant bud. Notching is a technique you can use to try and force it into growth. Use a sharp knife to cut out a small piece of bark just above the bud. Do this during the growing season and the sap flowing along the stem will be directed towards the bud instead of by-passing it, and should encourage the bud to develop into a shoot.

Horticultural.

PRUNING SHRUBS

GENERAL CARE IN THE GARDEN


Many spring-flowering shrubs can be pruned as soon as their flowers have started to fade. Any shoots that have carried flowers can be cut back, shortening them to shape the shrub and control its size and vigour. Forsythia can grow large and ungainly if left to its own devices, so prune to give the shrub a definite shape and form. This and other shrubs, such as Berberis darwinii, are sometimes grown as hedges, so can be pruned to give a more formal structure. All the flowering stems of Prunus triloba can be pruned to their woody base, while selective pruning on philadelphus and weigela stops them getting large and woody. Make sure that there are no signs of birds nesting if the shrubs are large. If the signs are there then leave pruning until the birds have flown.

Horticultural.

A PRICELESS THING- POEM

I cannot buy it at the shop
Or purchase it on ebay.
You cannot wrap it up for me
And save it for my birthday.
This precious thing is priceless
And up there with the best
Of every special moment spent
At work or play or rest.
It’s hard to find the adjective
Or perfect turn of phrase
That best portrays the magic of
Endless summer days.
And moments snatched from stressful life
To mow the moss and rushes
That thrive on my beloved lawn,
That sweeps among the bushes.
The company of ancient rocks
While listening to the birds,
Or willing life for younger trees,
With tender coaxing words.
Just standing there and breathing in
The healing peace, the calm,
The joy that comes with feeling
That I know now who I am -
A lady with a passion and
I do not seek your pardon
For enjoying the simple pleasure
Of my Inishowen garden.

Thanks to Annette McNelis, Buncrana

Horticultural.

TREE LIFE

50 YEARS IN A TREE

An Indian octogenarian has reportedly spent half a century living in a tree after a tiff with his wife.

Gayadhar Parida took to staying in a mango tree after a quarrel over a 'tiny issue' with his wife 50 years ago. He moved trees when his first tree house was destroyed in a storm but he has never moved back into his home in Kuligaon, Orissa. Mr Parida, 83, said: "I had come to stay after disturbances with my wife. But after some days, I felt spiritualism had developed within my body. He apparently spends most of his time in the company of poisonous snakes and comes down only to drink water from a pool. Mr Parida accepts food offered to him by family members but no amount of coaxing has convinced him to leave his tree house. His son Babula, 55, said: "I have gone to the garden several times to woo him back but he vehemently refused to return. Hurt and dejected, I had to come back home."

Environmental.