wwoof woot!

In the spirit of being "infectiously joyful", and to respond to some earlier posts, I thought I'd venture a word or two. Firstly, I am uber excited to be a part of the GreenHouse. woot woot! Although I must say that every time I log onto this blog, I get the heebie jeebies because I think of how unworthy I am to post among such dedicated and knowledgable fellow GreenHousers. Oh well, here goes.

Here's a brief account of what I'm up to and what I want to share: I am WWOOFing on a small island called Sherkin off the southwest coast of Ireland. I've been here 2 weeks and I'll be here a few more before moving north. I think. My tasks consist of gardening and general household stuff, and the gardening has me very very excited about continuing at Sewanee in the fall. (Thanks for the Sewanee garden update, Carson!) There are 3 raised beds of veggies and a small greenhouse with tomotes and strawberries and cucumbers--because it ain't so hot here. The couple I am staying with is planning the installation of solar panels so that they can be off the grid one day.

Apart from that, I've had a little time to explore the island, which is really beautiful. There are about 90 residents and--I'm not sure if they're more intriguing but they're certainly fun to watch--lots of interesting wildlife. So far I've seen a minke whale, grey seals, gannets, and lots of other great birds. I also caught a mackerel for dinner one night and sometimes get to eat a seaweed dish called carrageen.

If you ever get the urge to write, I'll be here until the end of June:

Laura Candler, Horeshoe Cottage, Sherkin Island, Co. Cork, Ireland.

I don't get too much internet time, so I'll have to keep this short, but I hope to post again soon and I have immensely enjoyed reading the other posts.

Some photos of Sherkin: