November is well and truly here now, the days are getting much shorter and starting to get colder as the weeks pass. Do you like November? The beuatiful colours of the leaves layered like a golden carpet on our rolling country landscape, the dark evenings closing in on us all too suddenly, the sense of warmth in our homes at the fire with a big hot mug of tea- Yes in ways it is really nice, a secure sense of warmth in our homes and time for our families and friends to come visit us prior to the Christmas rush. Here are a few images of my walk around the farm, you can notice the darkness setting in.

I have had a touch of writer's block lately and haven't posted very much on my wee blog. Above are a few new items around my home. The owl has taken residence in my sunroom while the bird house is on my kitchen dresser. It is that time of year when we are spending more and more time indoors, the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting much colder. I am looking forward to Christmas this year as it will be our first Christmas in our new home and our first Christmas married. I need to buy Christmas decorations too which I am looking forward too.

The evenings are getting shorter but I still try to get out for an evening walk. Above are some images from my walk around the farm. The colours of Autumn are so beautiful. Unfortunately you cannot see much colour in these photographs as it was getting dark. I'm off work for a few days so will be relaxing and enjoying our long weekend here in Ireland.

As most of you may not be aware, my background is in urban and regional development, I have also worked in heritage related posts and in rural development. I am a qualified planner and did some teaching too. I am also a farmers wife, may I add. So today I would like to introduce to you, The Urban Nexus Initiative. This initiative was initiated by two of my  friends whom I met when we pursued a Masters Degree in University College Dublin. While we have gone our own ways career wise since, we are still in contact and enjoy meeting up every so often.

For those of you who are not from Ireland or are not aware of the Initiative, it is a design and research based programme developed in 2010. It's main aim is to explore cities using alternative techniques and methods in order to inspire creativity and originality in the city design. It is all about more holistic approaches to how the urban realm is designed in the modern day city.

In order to put this into practice, they have developed the XXI Century Liffey Project (The Liffey being the main river which flows through Dublin City). This is an urban design project to re-vision and re-imagine the Liffey Quays for the XXI Century. It is basically about the River Liffey and its quays- an iconic space in Dublin City, but a space that seems to have been left behind. Through the project they aim to re-imagine the role the quays play in the XXI Century Dublin by considering design as the vital element in the creation of dynamic and interconnected spaces. They have began to stimulate discussions and debates through various methods including a number of exhibitions, lunch time talks and seminars prior to any proposed plans for the area. Ultimately they hope to initiate new ways of thinking which can be applied to the wider urban areas of Dublin and other cities alike.

{All images from Urban Nexus Initiative}

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Here is an image of my new home... hopefully we will get the outside completed within the next year. Do you have an image of your home?