pixiepod

GR131 Walk Vilaflor to Ifonche

2011-05-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

We set out on the Vilaflor to Ifonche route on Sunday, which is part of the GR131, a walking route that spans part of Tenerife, El Hierro, La Gomera and La Palma, designed for an island hopping walking experience. This route is also in Spain, France, Belgium and Holland.
We walked a very small part of it but it trully was magnificent. We walked 11km of the route, which was great.
We started from the marker as shown in the photo which is placed perfectly beside the Hotel El Nogal & Spa Villa Alba, Vilaflor http//:hotelnogal.com An excellent hotel and spa, in a very rural setting. From the hotel as a guest you can go on organised walks whilst staying there. It was the perfect place to end the route as hospitality in the hotel is second to none. We choose to begin here simply because we had seen the markers and thought it would one day be a good walk to do. It really was breathtaking. As you can see from the photos the scenery is ever changing and I can honestly say I have never seen a wild flower meadow in Tenerife looking so amazing. The flowers and the pine trees, the little bridges and all the wildlife, what a day out. The walk has been carefully crafted by the Cabildo to give the walker a real challenge but safely. We needed our sticks and we needed lots of water. At the end of the walk there is a restaurant/bar which was a welcome site. It is our best walk to date and although we felt a bit sore today (Monday) we are already planning the next one.

Lavender Lifts the Spirit

2011-04-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

Lavender is by far the most useful herb in the garden. It is loved by many people and is grown in many countries in the world. I am always amazed by its flower heads, each a cluster of mini purple powered flowers with fan like tail tips on top in a slightly lighter shade. The scent is so thought provoking and memories come flooding to our minds as we inhale the scent.
Relaxing yet uplifting in it´s ability to totally focus our minds on rest and rejuvination.
It is the colour of amethyst, a precious stone that allows the mystical thoughts to surface and the psychic abilities to throw forth.
Hope you enjoy the purple shades of our garden here, Pixiepod´s Garden, as I meander through our plants with my purple weed bucket in tow.

Island of La Gomera

2011-03-08T07:22:00.000-08:00

Been away for a few days on the beautiful island of La Gomera. It is only a 45 minute ferry ride away from Tenerife and when you get there you just immediately RELAX!! We have been before but we really explored the island this time, with the car.

We even did one of the many walks on offer. The amazing Garajonay National Park is a sight to behold.

We stayed at Tecina Jardin Hotel, it is very well located near to Playa Santiago and is set in beautiful tropical gardens. It has it all, very, very pleasant place to stay.

On my return my little seedlings had grown at least an inch. I have been potting on various plants such as Nasturshiums (this is clearly not spelt right but you know what I mean, don´t you), Cosmos, Tomato, Melon, Calendula and many more, it has been a busy but exciting time in Pixiepods Garden.

I have attached a photo of the woodlands in the Garajonay National Park, please feel free to use this photo, it is a gift from me to you, if however you wish to see more photos and perhaps would like to own one, please see my Etsy shop, www.pixiepod.etsy.com where there are a few on the shelves for sale, always feel free to check back now and again to the store as there is always something new to buy.

Hubby has been busy redoing the garden wall, he is cladding it and changing the coping stones. What a great job he is making, I am helping out where I can but most of the work is down to him. It looks great and hopefully will be maintenance free.

Please, please, please post comments, share your La Gomera experience perhaps?

The unveiling of the newbies

2011-02-23T04:23:00.000-08:00

In a previous post I took a photo of my plastic bottle clad new herbs. It helps to protect them from the harse winds and just lets them settle in a little first after the initial move out into the garden.
I unveiled them about a week ago and took this photo to share with you. Already the chamomile plants are producing flowers and the calendula is doing well. The thymes are not so bad either but time will tell.
It has been a bit unsettled in Pixiepods Garden over the last few days, the winds are changeable but when settled it has been really hot.

Planted out some more broccolli, cauliflower and lettuce into the vegetable beds and more potatoes. We are eating the last of the ready crop tonight. They have been great and I hope now that the earth is up to a reasonable standard we can continue to produce some tasty vegetables.

I have also been pruning and bundling. Herbs love to be tied into little bundles and recently I have posted onto my Etsy shop, a bundle of apple tree branches, prepared and bundled into a bundle of 8 perfect little sticks. The apple tree is very symbolic in the garden, it represents, garden magick (amongst other things) so they make good companions for herbs, even in little pots on the window sill. The blossom of the apple tree is well known for representing fertility.

Hubby and I went walking at the weekend, nearly our first of the season. We did Roque del Conde, which we have done before but just before the very top I took a bit of a panic attack. I am scared of heights to some degree but my legs just went like jelly and I really didn´t want to be up there. We came back down and I can honestly say I was glad to get back to a more normal height. It was an enjoyable day but by gum were we sore the next day! Walking in Tenerife is great fun and there are lots to choose from but be careful if you do venture out as some of them can get tricky and you must remember, you have to have the energy to get back.

Well must get on and do some gardening, feeling like more sitting in it today, but there is always something to be getting on with.

Making way for more herbs

2011-01-19T02:25:00.001-08:00

I was telling you in my last blog that I was pruning. Well I have also been clearing.
I cleared away, with a huge help from my hubby, a very large and invasive "curry" plant. It was the silvery leaf version and really not of much use other than a scent of an Indian takeaway. It took up nearly one whole corner of my protected and most sacred space in the pixiepod garden. It had to go and it didn´t put up a fight either, which is always good.

As you can see from the photo, it has been replaced with some new herbs and flowers, they are just looking a bit plastic ridden at the moment, this way of using plastic water bottles is a common practice here in Tenerife, as the winds can be harse at times and until the plants are settled I like to nurture and protect them a little first.

It is a great time here in the garden. Blackbirds tooing and frowing with bits of twigs for their nests, and they are singing away to each other, it is trully wonderful!

Busy times in the Pixiepod garden

2011-01-15T07:41:00.000-08:00

Hello and a big Happy New Year!! Sorry it is a bit late this year, I have been busy with one thing and another, personal unrelated business.

Now I am busy with gardening business. At this time of year the garden always starts to talk to me. She´s gone mad?! Well maybe a little but what I mean is that the garden always needs changes made and this time of year is the best time to really get a look at the garden before all the plants go mad.

We have been busy sorting out a new potting up room. It was always there but it has been given a window the length of it and a new shelf large enough for lots and lots of wee seedlings.

I have been washing my pots so they are ready to receive the new earth and the new plants of this year.

Prunings have had to be made aswell. It may seem early to prune but I find myself doing this job a few times a year with certain plants. Bouganvillea is a perfect example of a plant that just benefits so much from regular and frequent prunings. Encouraging lots of new flowers and it helps to keep it from going too leggy.

I have been harvesting herbs, mainly mints of various varieties. They are such a symbol for freshness and new beginnings, fitting for January.

I have laid a few slabs too, probably done my back in but it is worth it when you see the results. They are reclaimed for elsewhere in the garden and look perfect outside my hut and on the floor of my new potting up room.

Well I´ll leave you with the thought of me hard at work, although the picture I have chosen shows just how lovely the weather is just now and to be quite honest, I sit and have lots of tea and admire the beginnings of 2011 in Pixiepod´s garden, more than I let on.

Be joyful in nature, it will reward you with flowers! x

This is a great ideas emag!

2010-11-23T21:50:00.000-08:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More christmas

I sadly have nothing to do with this but I felt it was too amazing not to share. It has taken the team of crafters a long time to create and I think it is just wonderful!!

Herbs, Seeds, Great Gifts?

2010-11-22T00:31:00.000-08:00

If you are always struggling around this time of year to think of different or interesting gifts for your friends and family, I thought I would share an idea with you.

I am biased about the uses of herbs and I also have my little online store www.pixiepod.etsy.com where you can buy great quality herbs and seeds at very affordable costs, and be sure in the knowledge that they have been harvested from Pixiepod´s garden here in Tenerife where we use no chemicals and make and use our own compost. However,

Herbs and Seeds can make great gifts.

You can buy a few assorted herb seeds and tie them in a little bundle, or buy a few bags of dried herbs for cooking and tie in a bundle, maybe embellishing the bundle with a sprig of dried herb or a stick of lemongrass, being a cook myself I know I would be happy with this gift.

It matters how you package the herbs too, I make healing bundles, a few of which are listed on my online store www.pixiepod.etsy.com but I can also make them to order. If perhaps you have a friend or family member who needs a little healing around this time of year, a bundle could be made for their needs, tied of course with appropriate colours of threads and ribbons.

Gardeners love the chance to grow something different, so seeds that they may not have in their collection might take their interest. Look through the shelves of www.pixiepod.etsy.com for that rarer seed that they might just love.

Well I hope I have inspired you and I hope also that I have ensured you of the quality of my products. Seeds are not just seeds, herbs are not just herbs, just like today how the importance of where we buy our meat and our fruit and veg from, make the right choice when buying your seeds and herbs.

They do not come in foil packets for better storage, they come in brown paper envelopes for immediate use, they are packaged in small quantities as I don´t produce an abundance of herbs and seeds for sale and the packet can be composted after use. This is Pixiepod´s ethos, pick what you can use and buy what you will use, what is the point in having excess seeds or herbs, the fresher they are the better.

If you purchase seeds now they will be ready for use in the Spring. The imaginings of Spring that each little seed will conjure up in the mind of the recipient will see them through the Winter I am sure.

Buy Green Today! www.pixiepod.etsy.com

Is Winter on the way?

2010-11-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

Here in Tenerife it rarely gets cold much before October, but this year it hasn´t been cold much before November. This Sunday hubby and I decided to take to the hills where it is now a little cooler. It was amazing! What a fantastic island this is for walking. We had a super morning and returned to the sunnier coast for the afternoon.
Today I awoke to the most amazing sky of pinks, blues, purples,golds only to find that by 11am the rain had started and the sky was very grey in colour. The hills looked positively uninviting and the longing for cold days became less a priority.
I had a thought about home in the UK and thought how lucky we are to be here where the climate is a lot kinder to the body and how we see blue skies regularly for most of the year. This is not a blog to sicken those of you who don´t live here more of a reminder to us expats who often have longings for home, looking at home with the rose coloured glasses on, of course.
It is almost 40 days until Christmas and I am still in T shirts, so I am going to smile today for I am trully lucky to be here in paradise.

Foraging Feast

2010-10-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

Sunday was a great day! Hubby and I went up the hills for a wee walk. It was a lot cooler than it has been and we even got a bit cold, yeah!! It was a fruitful day out as we filled our foraging bags with chestnuts and figs. The figs were nearly all gone but the chestnuts are still to be got, for those of you that like to forage.

Here´s a recipe for my homemade Chestnut Butter, chestnuts have fantastic nutrional value, they contain B vitamins, Iron and some vitamin C, also lots of minerals, such as potassium. They are also very low in fat and that is why they are sometimes called grains rather than nuts, also because they are very rich in fibre.

CHESTNUT BUTTER

Roast or boil your picked chestnuts and peel
Mash up the peeled chestnuts, try to crush them as much as you can but I like to leave a few bigger pieces for extra crunch
Put the mashed chestnuts in a pan with enough soya milk (or cows if you really want to) to just cover them, sugar to sweeten (optional), nutmeg, and a good glug of brandy (optional)
Bring all the ingredients to the boil and keep stirring until it starts to thicken, you´ll know it is ready when you can see the bottom of the pan when you are stirring
Take it off the heat and pour into a sterilised jar, leave a little room at the top for an extra splash of brandy (optional), the brandy helps to preserve it for longer and if you shake well before using it, this helps to keep it runny enough to use easily
Keep in a dark, cool place and use at once or will keep for approx. 12 weeks, once it is opened though store in the fridge

Mmm ..... a great wee recipe using what nature has to offer ... a good Halloween spread for your pancakes

Gift Set for the Men Folks!!

2010-10-21T07:48:00.000-07:00

Check out my etsy shop

www.pixiepod.etsy.com

for the latest gift set with a set of three herbal products for the men!

Crimbo is not that far away!

2010-10-11T02:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry to mention the C word but it is not that far away. I just wanted to let everyone know I have justed listed my latest product "Oriental" onto my Etsy shop. I have created a Gift Set of two of the products in the range. Making it really easy for you to get someone who likes a bit of luxury a gift for their Birthday or dare I say it Christmas, okay that´s it out there!

Hope you like the product, wish you could smell it! If you want to check out any other typically Christmas gifts then go to my shop at www.pixiepod.etsy.com and in the search at the top put in Christmas, a few angel ideas.

Lots of love Margaret x

Halloweén

2010-10-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

It´s almost that time of year again - no not Christmas!! Halloween!!!
It has turned into a commercial headache of Americanised "Trick or Treating". Don´t get me wrong I don´t mind the neighbours children coming around, dressed up and clearly making the effort to get into the spirit of the event.
Halloween is the time when the two worlds can communicate with each other. Looking at this from my stand point it is the time for celebrating what our Elders have left behind, our gifts that we have are given to us from them and on this night we can give thanks for that. Also a celebration of the craft of Herbalism, we have been handed down this knowledge too, and as it seems increasingly likely that we will be banned from buying herbs from ungoverned places due to a law that has been passed. Which will result in only being able to purchase "proven" herbs and there uses defined by a small few. It is important more than ever to remember the herbal potions and lotions, remedies etc that we use, that were given to us from our Elders and pass them onto our next generation so that the Knowledge never ends.
I sell some herbs, flowers, seeds, etc in my Etsy shop. I give a little bit of info with each one. Anyone who is interested in herbs and would like more information please feel free to email me.
Another purpose of Halloween is the cleansing with fire. I have created my hearth in a small area of my garden, this is where I burn herbs and write little notes that I can burn. These notes consist of bad habits that I want to break or poems that I want to give to Mother Earth, they can be anything really.You can do this anytime but there are more powerful times of the year, Halloween being one of them.
So, Halloween has a lot going for it, don´t forget it and celebrate our Elders, celebrate the Knowledge of Herbs, and Use the fire to cleanse.
One more point for all the single people out there. Take an apple just before midnight of Halloween Eve and sit in front of a mirror, ask the reflection of yourself who your husband will be, three times say this to your reflection, whilst peeling the apple, try and take the skin off in one go, it is more powerful. Your future husband should appear or you will dream of him that night.

"Chakra Workout"

2010-07-18T01:05:00.000-07:00

If you have ever wanted to look deep inside yourself, with a view to healing all that you have been and are and want to become. The chakra system of energy centres that lie within us all are a great place to start.

I have launched "Chakra Workout" on my site http//:www.margaretkennedytully.com
it starts with the Root Chakra and works its way up through the chakra system.

It is FREE and it works, hope you take a look and let me know if you enjoyed the process.

Beach Combing

2010-06-19T01:14:00.000-07:00

Hi again, another blog about my walking days out. Hope your not bored with these but I just can´t get enough of walking at the moment. Hubby and I went walking along Los Cristianos the other week and I found some amazing shells, stones and sea glass which I have for sale in my shop on Etsy, I did keep some bits for me. The other day we went to El Medano beach and I found yet more interesting things on the beach there. I have made a few pieces of jewellery and charms which will see there way onto the shelves of Pixiepod in the coming days.
I had been feeling a bit sluggish in the morning but by the time I had reached the top of one of the volcanos there I felt great! We have done the Red Rock before but this was the other side towards the beach, sorry forgot the name must try to take notes of the finer details. Anyways took lots of photos and felt very inspired by my surroundings.

Up the Mountains

2010-06-13T08:28:00.001-07:00

Well hubby and me went for another walk up the mountains today here in Tenerife. It was superb. We had done part of it last week and this time parked the car a little nearer and done the second leg of it, which was approximately 7km. I managed as usual to find some amzing things, not to mention some great photos taken of nature at its best. I collected some more black tourmaline and some amber resin. It is always exciting when I find things. The wild chives were looking amazing, absolutely huge!!We were passed by three men all dressed the same in red t shirts with black lycra shorts, they were running down the mountain, one after the other. It was hilarious not just because they were running and we were panting but because they were triplets, they were identical and it was something really special and funny to see. Didn´t get a photo unfortunately but did get a photo of a rock climber, he looks fit! As far as Pixiepod the shop goes I am selling off some bead stock, need more room and new things but they are great please check them out.

Bee Aware!

2010-06-08T00:42:00.001-07:00

I would like to take this opportunity to raise awareness about the possible extinction of the bees from our world. If this was to happen it would be an absolute disaster. We rely on our bees to pollinate our crops so we can eat, not to mention trade goods.
We also must wonder why they are dying in their hundreds every day. The theories are endless and one which I feel very strongly about is the possibility that when the bees return to the hive with a high concentration of pesticides and other chemicals in the nectar on them to take back to the hive, the levels of toxins in the hive build and build to a very extreme level. The name given to this is SAD not seasonal affected disorder but stress affected disorder. I watched a TV programme set in California, USA and it showed how one bee was trying to clean the other dying bee with his legs, trying to remove something, it wasn´t visible to the human eye but there was clearly something on the other bee that neither was happy with.
I have been inspired to make a few items to sell in my Etsy shop to highlight the plight of the bees, this is one of them.
Please sow some wildflowers today, or just leave the weeds to grow in one area of your garden, encourage the bees to a clean place, don´t use chemicals in these areas.

Green Tourmaline

2010-05-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

I am very excited! On Sunday we went walking, unexpectedly in a place near Vilaflor, Tenerife. It was a magical place. As I stood waiting for hubby to get his things together I noticed a stone on the ground at my feet. I bent down and picked it up, it wasn´t in the ground, it was loose and ready to be picked. It was the most beautiful green stone, after extensive research I think it is a green tourmaline. It is the choice of crystal for the fairies and this totally makes sense to me right now. It symbolises a few other things that I can also relate to.
Then we went the walk and it was the most magical place, wish trees and vibrant wildflowers.
Ah, I love NATURE!!!

Chillies!!!

2010-05-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Well what can I say, yesterday I posted a new painting I had done called Solar Burst on my Tenerife Art blog and today I was making pickled beetroot with my homegrown produce, and then I thought I would make a chutney with the aubergines from the garden and all was going really well until I picked two red chillies and proceeded to rip them apart with my bare hands, I have no idea what I was thinking about. Needless to say I have spent the rest of what was a beautiful day here in Tenerife in the house with my hands submerged in ice. I washed them thoroughly with soap and rinsed with tepid water then I went outside and with great difficulty picked an aloe vera leaf and tried to squeeze the gel out, it did work for a minute or so but the burning was intense. Don´t forget whilst all this was going on I was still trying to make chutney, just holding the wooden spoon over the hot steaming pot was too hot for my poor hands. Eventually once the chutney was made I sat with my hands in a bowl of ice, ate ice cream and generaly felt very sorry for myself. However there is a silver lining, no dirty dishes could I do, oh no. Poor hubby will have to do them I can´t bear to touch my hot skin never mind submerging them in hot dish water.
SO PLEASE REMEMBER CHILLIES DO BURN AND I MEAN BURN!!!!

Windy!!!

2010-04-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

Well if ever I was in two minds whether a wind turbine would be a good investment, if this weeks wind was anything to go by, it was a definate Yes!
It is horrendous here with wind, all my little plants that I decided to plant out have been ravished by it and my latest potato crop has completely lost all it´s leaves.
However every cloud as they say, has a silver lining and it could be worse I could still be in Scotland, it is snowing there, yes snowing April 1st, it is no joke, no April fool joke.
The sun is shining here and my creativity levels are huge, my energy levels are waning with the moon but I think I am climbing again.
Will let you know how things progress with the wind turbine.
Just been visiting my dear friend Dorothy, she showed me all her photos from here days in the theatre and gave me some hankies (soft cotton) to upcycle, it was really weird because I had been needing some for an idea I had had and like the little angel she is, there they were.

A view of my garden

2010-03-26T08:28:00.001-07:00

Here´s a quick blog, meant to post these photos yesterday completely forgot. Hope you like my little garden, it is full of herbs, vegetables and flowers, laid out like a French Potager.

Spring Clean!

2010-03-20T03:12:00.000-07:00

Well I find myself constantly in the garden at the moment, Spring Cleaning as I like to call it. All the trees and shrubs need a hard cut back, this is not something that has come easy for me. Being from Scotland I found cutting back hard a real luxury, the plant needed a bit of a prune but here it is an attack of massive proportions. As the years have gone on I have got more ruthless.

Afterwards, everything looks so clinical and neat, it does look nice and only lasts for a short time, the plants obviously love it as they come back happier and brighter than ever.

I have been harvesting the goodies from the cuttings and have been frantically crafting and using my artistic thoughts to create objects mentally. The nature spirits are always around, giving me a helping hand and my sore back doesn´t even bother me until I stop and then it kicks in. Got lots of herbs to help and hopefully will also be posting these to my etsy shop soon.

Well must get on, we are in the middle of a calima type weather front and although today is calm, a warm wind is due to arrive tonight and last for a few days, the sky is pure white with a tinge of brown, looks eery for the first timer to the island but I am used to it now and love the calm before the storm.

Picking more flowers

2010-03-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year here in Tenerife! The flowers on the herbs are just marvellous, I know some people get all bothered about there plants flowering but I let some flower and some don´t it´s nature you have to let the process happen naturally.

Anyways I am harvesting the flowers to sell on my Etsy shop, not all of them of course as I use them to make things for myself and friends and family but I love to share with all and hope that people will want the quality products that I grow here in my little haven.

The First Fruits

2010-03-06T09:43:00.000-08:00

Hello again, it is fabulous news today for anyone who likes jam or jelly. I have made a lovely jar of nispero (loquat) and lavender jam/jelly and posted it on my Etsy shop for sale. The nispero is the first fruits of the year, not counting a few stray strawberries. I am very excited and wanted to share this with anyone who cares. I will hopefully have plenty more to make pies and jam and just to eat fresh with cream.

I have also made some Gluten free muffins, my own recipe - this time it was treacle, pineapple and cranberry muffins - very exotic and very tasty!

Rainbow Power

2010-03-04T04:33:00.000-08:00

Well I have had inspiration again from Mother Nature herself!! Last week there was the most amazing rainbow, just after a shower of rain the sun came out blazing bright and with it came the most massive rainbow, bright and colourful. This may seem run of the mill if you live in the UK but for here it is unusual as rain is not that often, apart from big downpours little showers with sun are unusual and rainbows are just not common. It inspired me to come home that day and work with the colour in the garden and the power and energy in a rainbow. With this I started making "Rainbow Power" Aura/Energy Sprays. I will be launching them on my Etsy shop in the next few days so I hope you will enjoy them and the power they hold.

The fragrance is just so lovely and it makes me feel so connected to nature and mother earth. For therapists of any kind and especially energy workers it would be useful tool for protection but my wise woman blend is especially good for menopausal beings and those going through this transcendance to the other phase of their life.

The photo is the one I am using for my labels, unfortunately I didn´t manage to capture the one here as my camera was at home and I wasn´t but that´s what rainbows are like, you see them and then they are gone, but they leave you with some impression.