The days of Summer are upon us, bringing an abundance of flowers and insects, birds and bats, all adding to the chaotic show of colour, movement and sound.
Small trees and saplings put forth new growth bursting with colour and form…nothing is ordinary!
The cottage is shaded with climbing plants and trees, allowing the interior a beautiful coolness even on the hottest day.
Cotoneaster flowers and fruits as the bees flit from one tiny bloom to another…the birds will enjoy the fruits later in the year!
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James
The fragile flowers of the Ground Elder shake their heads in the breeze, moving in a ghostly fashion in the late twilight.
“All in all, it was a never-to-be-forgotten summer — one of those summers which come seldom into any life, but leave a rich heritage of beautiful memories in their going — one of those summers which, in a fortunate combination of delightful weather, delightful friends and delightful doing, come as near to perfection as anything can come in this world.”- L.M. Montgomery
Blessings from Bealtaine Cottage XXX and, below, a reading from “A Cottage and Three Acres,” Chapter 1. Books can be ordered from this website…links on the right column and through the menu at the top of the page.
Here we are at the start of another year, relishing the thought of Spring and the return of the light as we rise towards Imbolc, the first of the seasonal celebrations in the the Celtic calendar. 
Moving from East and Central Europe, the Celts first arrived in Ireland about 500 BC.
The story of their arrival is intermingled with that of the coming of the Tuatha de Danaan, a mythical tribe of the Goddess Danu.
With the arrival of Christianity in the fifth century AD, written records then observe that the Celtic language was being spoken all over the island of Ireland.
However, the Celtic Ogham script was used in Ireland from the fourth century AD to the eighth century AD.
The script consisted of strokes or notches cut along the edge of a standing stone. 
Therefore, Ogham is seen as being the first written records of life in Ancient Ireland.
The written word was not, however, much required in Celtic life, as the hierarchy placed the storyteller high in importance within the tribe.
Within this is also placed the Druid, whose powers of recall, knowledge and tribal history, as well as poetry and lore, was central to the wellbeing and social standing of the tribe or clan.
The Celts built large earthen banks or stone walls around their farms to protect themselves and their animals.
These walls were called raths or duns.
Many place names in Ireland include the word rath or dun. 
Examples such as Rathcormac and Dunloe come to mind…try looking at a map of Ireland and see how many you can pick out!
Many of the fortified homes were enlarged to become know as Hillforts, offering more protection and domination of the landscape. Oftentimes these sites were used later to build castles and larger settlements.
