Anam Saor

The BEST day foraging wild food at

I always treasure a day at An Ghrian Glas but this was truly spectacular. More and more I’m drawn to the earth and the benefits of plant medicine and wild food. We had such an interesting day with Olwyn as we foraged some goodies and ate some delicious wild food treats she pre prepared.

Days like this make me want to quit my job and live in the woods. I don’t think I’d mind that at all 🌱 💕

From the moment we got engaged and we (ahem I) started considering our suppliers, I knew I wanted to do my own wedding flowers 💐 it’s not something I’ve ever done but my heart ❤️ knew that it would bring me such joy to create these beautiful displays from seed. I knew I wanted dried wild flower bouquets. I think they are so elegant and beautiful 🤩 like myself of course 😂 and I wanted to go with dried because ain’t nobody got time for flower arranging the morning of their wedding! I want to have them dried and put together way in advance and the beauty of that being that they last as a stunning memory of the best day.

I love the sustainability of this. I’m creating a wildflower meadow in my garden which the bees 🐝 and wildlife 🦋 can feed on and I get to enjoy before I cut them. The mindfulness and creativeness that will go into putting them together and the bouquets that are preserved to enjoy forever!! Once they’re done I can scatter more seeds for a forever wildflower meadow - again the bees and me can enjoy 😉 and I never have to cut grass again woohoo 🥳

I have wildflower seeds, eucalyptus, lavender, pampas grass (although I’m not sure that will grow on time), cornflower, echinacea and dahlias 🌸💐

I’m so excited for this process but does anyone know a good florist just incase 🙈👰‍♀️💐

Is anyone else absolutely allergic to going inside when the sun is shining? ☀️

I don’t even care if it’s cold, any hint of that beautiful sun and I’m out out out.

I’ve taken up study recently with doing a foundation course in herbal medicine for home use. Also, as you’ve seen from the last few days, I’ve signed up for a few workshops with 🌱 I love learning, I do a new course every few years! I love when an interest in something takes hold and even more so when this interest encourages and calls me outside intro nature.

I don’t think I ever could have imaged how much work could go into a micro garden but it gives back so much joy. Let’s hope I can work towards lots of veggies and medicinal herbs too 🌿 🌱

Oh miss sun ☀️ please shine down on me 💗

Tiny rays of happiness 🌼 have a wonderful week!

What a wonderful day learning all about the no dig method of planting in An Ghrian Glas Farm

I first got to know the fabulous Kate and An Ghrian Glas Farm in 2019 when I bought my food directly from the farm. I learned to love organically grown fresh from the farm to my plate. It inspired me to start my own vegetable growing journey in my tiny back garden.

Going to An Ghrian Glas Farm inspires me. It makes me want my own farm but as the current housing situation stands, it makes me look closely at my own environment and what I can grow in the space I have.

Today was an incredibly informative day on how the no dig method works, on composting, growing organic and we got to take home a lucky bag of seeds.

I don’t think I’d ever have imagined I’d come home from an event wondering where I can source horse manure from and how I can make better use of my household food waste. But I know I’m all the better for it that I am in that mindset and I am grateful.

I love this place! My little escape! Only six minutes from my house and yet the beauty and tranquility makes me feel like I could be anywhere in the world. I’ll never forget the feeling I got when I first discovered it, like I just stumbled upon paradise. I like to go here to sit in the van, drink tea and ponder. It is a lovely place for a lake dip although in waters I’m not sure of I never go too far! Just a splash 💦 and chill by the shore. It’s a little secret spot that not too many people know about! Far enough away from the world that not too many bother with it and close enough for me that I’ve claimed it for my own. It’s amazing what you can find right on your doorstep. I’ve spent so long looking outwards and places I’d love to be! Constantly feeling like this rural Irish village I’ve ended up in was like a sentence! Once I started to explore, to get out of my own head, stop feeling stuck and start seeing what I could enjoy, then I found wonderful experiences in every corner. Now I’m looking forward to brighter days when I can cycle up with a picnic and my poetry book! 🧺 📖 🖊

Where is your special place?

Well here it is! My first scribbly pages of my very first book and a picture of the man it is dedicated to.

Anam Saor is a way of life. It is about reaching right into the very depths of your soul and setting it free. It is about no longer looking outward but finding what it is in you that thrills and excites you. Anam Saor invites you to look on your very doorstep for all the things you have spent your life searching for. It is about freedom, adventure and creating a life full of love.

My grandad Noel McGeeney was the biggest influence in my life. He taught me that life was one big game to play, full of laughter and adventure. He showed me that there is a whole world of possibility right at your front door step, literally in his case with his beloved Royal Canal. Grandad was always having fun and I am forever grateful for those memories.

2022 is an exciting year as my Anam Saor is finally unleashed. I hope you can follow along with me.

Wild winter swimming is quickly becoming my new favourite thing. For so long, I have admired people who swim in the winter; watching enviously from behind my screen (and under my blanket to be fair).

When I first moved back to Ireland in 2015, I started following The Happy Pear and I became obsessed with this idea of Sea Swimming daily. However, living in a land locked county I was a bit far from the sea to get in regularly.

Like everyone else in Ireland, I discovered wild swimming during the lockdowns. I may not have the sea but my oh my have I many MANY lakes and rivers all within 20 minutes of my house. So I embraced the wild waters and set my soul free.

2022 is the first time I've swam in winter. A quick dip and a dive in the freezing cold midlands lakes led me to be brave enough to jump into the Irish sea on a glorious January day. As you can see from my smile, I loved every second.

I'm so glad I came out from behind my screen and found real joy in embracing the things I want to do.

Such a beautiful day in Kilmichael Point, a hidden little cove just for me and my dog pal Dougal.

What an absolutely gorgeous idea 💡 from I just found this in little windflower seeds to nurture and grow. There’s such mindfulness in planting and without a doubt it’s one of the things that has helped me grow in the past 18 months. There’s such a quiet satisfaction in planting seeds in the darkness, nurturing them, watering them, caring for them and watching them bloom! I have a special love for wildflowers with all their wild beauty. Good for the bees 🐝 for the bugs 🕷 and for the soul.

Grateful to have found these today! I’ll plant them and watch them grow!

If you go down to the woods today... Bank Holiday Monday escaping to my favourite place in the world 🌍 Derrycassin Woods with my favourites my Mister and Billy Joe the dog.

There’s always been something about this place that calls me. When I’m here I always feel at home. No matter what is going on in my world it all pauses with a walk around this woods. I have spent hours walking around the woods and sitting at the lake. It’s so peaceful.

The woods offers a certain solitude like a giant leafy blanket covering you from the rest of the world. The woods offers a break from the noise. When I’m here I feel so calm as anything that was bothering me dissolves. I love that feeling of being lost in the wilderness.

Derrycassin Woods is the only place for me that fully gives me this peace. I know everyone has their own place... where’s yours?

Swipe for the before >>>

Wedding DIY and crafts is in full swing in our house and while I’m waaaaay early with doing the crafty bits I find it so therapeutic to have that focus.

I love finding bits in charity shops that I can upcycle and reuse and the wedding decor is no different!!

A few weeks back I found these really old fashioned unity candles in a charity shop (swipe to the last image) but for €5 what an absolute bargain! I was delighted to also nab this stand for €2!! What great finds at brilliant value considering personalised unity candles can cost between €35 - €50 plus another €15 or so for the stand!!

I found these with DIY in mind. So while the wedding is ages yet I had a reason for getting craft with these candles today and I had so much fun doing it!

I have a craft corner in my living room with so many odds and ends! Pulling out ribbon, pearls, dried wildflowers, double sided sticky tape and a scissors I got to work! I also had the idea 💡to get some guitar plectrums to write out initials on as my H2B is a musician! So fitting.

I’m really delighted with the result! This is one way I love being sustainable using what I already had to hand and a bargain find I created something unique to us.

I’d love to know anything you have DIYd or upcycled that you were delighted with?!

PS the top ribbons will of course come off before we light them 🕯🕯🕯

Rach in the wild. This image sums me up; the joy, in the wild. I’ve always loved the outdoors but like everyone a busy life sucked me up and swallowed me whole. For as long as I can remember I’ve been busy; it’s become a lifestyle, almost a badge of honour. Burnout took its hold quite a long time ago but the engine kept running no matter how out of steam.

Like a lot of people in 2020, when life slowed down so did I and I began to find real joy in being still. Stillness became my saviour and when I couldn’t run anymore I had to deal with all the s**t I had always run from. I embraced it. For the first time I loved myself so much. For the first time I began to look at what was around me and how much I had right on my doorstep. My tiny garden all of a sudden became this massive farm, my 5k all of a sudden became this massive adventure and my county became this big world of opportunity. No longer was I looking at what was “out there” but rather what I had right here, right at my fingertips.

“Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds still don’t know”...:

At 32 I am exploiting new, slower, more sustainable, holistic ways to live and I’m going to share this journey as I go. Follow me into the wild where we can truly be free.