The essence of an Irish rainforest is best appreciated in ... the rain.

Join myself and John Ross MacMathuna @ceanncait.bsky.social in a rainy rainforest.

Volume up for the captivating sound of raindrops.

Saw my first frog orchids today at killard Point in Co down

Early purple orchid, butterfly orchids and possible marsh orchid? At local site today!

Exactly. The meadow is in great shape at the moment. I've four different areas with different histories and management regimes

I am interested

Sin a bhfuil ann sílim.

Bhí mé ag coinneáil súil ar.. Tá dhá chinn eile cóngarach go leor

A purple orchid growing among mossy rocks

The flower head of an orchid with vegetation behind

@ceanncait.bsky.social

An magairlín meidhreach - bit early but can confirm they are still there along the Moygannon Path. Only this one nearly in flower

Visited the beautiful killard Point today! Stunning and special place

Spring in the woodland. No garden can compete with this

Thank you! I'm trying to collect and grow seed from all the local populations. They are becoming extremely scarce in south down. Hopefully I can put the equipment and skill to good conservation use

Common spotted orchid protocorns I've grown from seed. Not easy to photograph. I have two other species growing. Growing native orchids from seed is something I've wanted to do for a long time

@dmac00.bsky.social

Meadow season has begun! Yellow rattle starting to grow 😊

There is something timeless about collecting a basket of sticks for the fire

Tá!

Storm eowin felled hundreds of non native western hemlock that were planted in this oak wood nearly a century ago but thankfully left the remaining oaks unscathed

Looking over the bridge near hilltown at the very headwaters of the river bann, northern irelands longest river flowing through lough neagh. A mess of burnt and dumped tyres

Tá Gaeilge agam.

There are only two reasons our mountains are treeless. Grazing and burning.

Nollaig shona duit a Eoghan! Hopefully this will be the year I get down at some point!

The early purple orchid in the jar on the left was sown a month after the jar on the right. The only difference is that on the right I sterilised the seed with 10% bleach, the left with 70% alcohol.

All growing from a stone wall under drooping branches

Bheadh sin go hiontach.

Thank you! If these are successful I'll try pyramidal, butterfly, and possibly one or two others next year. I'll be giving away any excess to good homes. I think I need the permission of the niea to collect autumn ladies tresses and green winged orchid seed

Yes. I did 5 jars of early purple orchid and 5 jars of bee orchid last month. Of those one epo and 2 bo were contaminated and were disguarded. But the rest have developed into protocorms. I will have to reflask them in two months or so depending on growth.

Final orchid sowing of the season today. Some early purple orchids, common spotted orchids and bee orchids. Hoping to try some new species next year

I planted this wood in the year 2000. Hard to believe it is only 24 years old.

Great to see @calfraser.bsky.social on Bluesky!

She's the author of 'Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution' (2009), the first book I ever read on the subject, and one that I often refer back to.

Please give her a follow!

The three types of bread I made yesterday.. Sourdough, multi grain and wheaten