I’ve been spending much of this week catching up with a great many tasks that were backing up around me…cork-tiling the bathroom floor and part of the Lodge floor, clearing the tunnel for the winter crops and all the usual stuff such as clearing and mowing the paths in the gardens!
I have got a lot done because I made the decision last week to come off Facebook…and have shared my thoughts with you on this…
I posted a number of pics on FB this morning, as so many people delight in seeing Bealtaine Cottage!
It is, however, almost impossible to respond to comments left on FB as I simply do not have the time and am resolved not to negate my commitment to this blog and the second website at bealtainecottage.org
Those of you who have followed this blog for any amount of time will be aware of the enormous workload I carry and will, therefore, totally understand this.
Recently I came across this quote by Joseph Campbell and was deeply moved to meditate upon it for a while.Â
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come. –
Joseph Campbell
It has inspired me to “go with the flow” much more and to simply get on and do whatever tasks need doing, rather than planning and then becoming despondent at what I have not achieved…I can be my own hardest and most severe taskmaster!
I am determined to come away from this driven approach and relax into life more!
I could do with taking lessons from Sammy-bear, seen here by the Catnip in the tunnel, out of his mind!
Cats remind us all how we should relax…frequently and often!
On the other hand…looking at his spaced-out expression…maybe not!
There is another quote I wish to share with you. It is on a slightly different note, but one that you may find meaningful at this time…for I am aware of the events in our world recently…
This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don’t be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, because these responses arise from the depth of your caring and the truth of your interconnectedness with all beings.
Joanna Macy
I have found this to be comforting as I attempt to make sense of the chaos!
There is so much to rejoice in when out in Nature…
This is a bank holiday weekend here in Ireland, and also the great festival of Lughnasadh!
I will stride forth on Lughnasadh Eve to a high point on a nearby mountain to welcome in the new season and pay tribute to Mother Earth and in particular, Mother Ireland.
To celebrate the season is to turn one’s back on the machinations, arrogance and hubris of Man, seeking instead, the warmth and generosity of the Great Mother…Earth, in all her beauty!
Before I go, just to let you know, I am writing a blog on the Bealtaine Cottage Good Life website, all about using sheep wool in the tunnel as I prepare it for the Autumn/Winter sowing and planting.
I am still clearing, but once I begin using the wool I shall take lots of pics and post them in the blog, along with detailed explanations of how and why.
You can become a member of the site here…
https://bealtainecottage.com/bealtaine-cottage-good-life/
See you on the other site tomorrow!
Bealtaine Cottage Good Life membership is 12 euros per year and allows me a small income to continue to grow the Bealtaine Project both here in Ireland and in the hearts and minds of good people all over the world.
Please join…
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And as the seasons come and go, here’s something you might like to know. 
It is often in the early morn or at dusk that I find myself in a strange little corner of the gardens, which stretch to three acres and I attempt to capture the moment through the lens. 
For my part, I believe in the Sidhe and have often felt their presence. 
You may make of them what you will. 
Bealtaine Cottage is quite alive at all times and especially today, Midsummer, 20th day of June 2016. 
The veil is thin… 
This is of very special meaning to me and heralds the presence of my Mother, for this is her Angel sitting by a plant which was dedicated to her. 
The Realm of the Sidhe is a shadow land, carved out by the Tuatha de Danann following the defeat of the tribe in their last great battle. 
The Tuatha de Danann, the people of the Goddess Danu, were one of the great ancient tribes of Ireland. 
The word, “morality” comes from Latin, 
One would be forgiven for thinking that morality was invented therefore by the Romans…in my view a most immoral culture and empire! 
Following on from the collapse of the Roman Empire, morality became the foremost banner of the Abrahamic religions, as they prescribed the life to be adhered to for those in Europe and later North and South America, as well as large parts of Africa.
Failing to adhere could mean being cast out from society, which was governed in strict terms by the church, in almost every instance. 
And this has remained de rigeur until recently…in fact, my own lifetime. 
In fact, social acceptability and indeed family acceptance was predicated upon one’s adherence to religion…or apparent adherence!
This blog was preceded and inspired by a conversation I had a few days ago with a family member, a sibling.
We both recalled how dominant religion was in our childhood, education and subsequent life outside of Ireland. 
We shared many interesting conversations on many aspects of life…she felt the “lid was off the box!”
I have recently declared myself to be a pagan woman, in that I do not believe in any form of killing, for any reason, nor do I believe in a “creator” as in any sky god, including Zeus and I seek the Divine in all life. Mother Earth is both my home and “church,” feeding my deepest spiritual needs.
As I revealed this to my brother, we both realised that this would have been impossible to declare for any of our previous family over the course of the last 1500 years . 
Ireland is the richest source of Celtic  myths and legends. 
Down through the Ages, Ireland remained remote and cut off from mainland Europe, holding onto its rich folklore and spirituality. 
It’s peoples worshipped all aspects of the natural world in which they recognised the Divine, in much the same way as I do here at Bealtaine Cottage. 
The reason for the wealth of myth and legend that pervades Ireland, today and it’s people lies not just from its isolation from mainland Europe for much of its history.
Ireland remained free from pressures exerted by other cultures such as the Roman Empire. 
So much so, that the great writer, John B. Keane referred to his people as having only a “thin veneer of Christianity…” in that they merged their pre-Christian practices with their newly inducted Christianity.
And so I offer this up as a simple explanation for the gardens at Bealtaine Cottage having evolved through a similar understanding of the natural world and the supreme forces of Nature. 
This is no ordinary Permaculture garden as you can see, but one deeply nourished and inspired by the Goddess. 
For me there is a spiritual, otherworldly, ethereal force at work and play here.
This is the rational (for me) way of explaining the extraordinary growth and extreme revving-up of biodiversity that has happened at Bealtaine.
All beyond my control…not that I ever wanted to control this magnificent force! 
As I re-emerged through my journey with Mother Earth, I came to an intuitive understanding of the need to stop digging Her…to let Her be! 
So I mulch and cover Her with as much tenderness as befits the Great Mother. 
You will never see any of Her precious skin exposed. 
Her mantle remains in place. 
And so this brings me to the second part of this story… 
The wonderful success of No-Dig Gardening… 
And here is the first of over twenty photographs and the story of growing success at Bealtaine Cottage, Ireland…continued over at Bealtaine Cottage Good Life… bealtainecottage.org
For millennia, ancient peoples have harnessed the power of crystals, using this power to release mental, physical and spiritual blockages. 
You will have seen crystals whirling from trees across the gardens and hanging in windows around the cottage. 
On a cellular level, our bodies and quartz crystal are both made up of mineral silicon-dioxide. 
When crystals are placed directly on your body, they have a powerful vibratory effect that surges from the crystal to you. 
Those who are aware of the changes taking place, will seek to develop their consciousness, realizing that much of what we are is related to energy. 
The importance of energy is now being revealed to us, as we move away from the strictures that bind.
I use crystal energy pieces to serve as a tool to help the thoughts of my own consciousness connect with the environment I have sought to create here at Bealtaine Cottage. Many refer to this as manifestation. 
Each one will be wrapped in fresh Sphagnum Moss taken from the land here, as a unique way of preserving the integrity of the crystal. 
