Colette O'Neill… Author, Publisher, photographer. Creator of Goddess Permaculture.
Reality only exists when it is observed… These are images I photographed yesterday…what I observed here in the woodland gardens and food forest that is now Bealtaine Cottage. Reality can only be observed by consciousness. Is this why we are here? Are we part of the consciousness of Mother Earth? I believe we shape the […]
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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 […]
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There was a full moon last night. Sammy-Bear couldn’t make up his mind whether he wanted in or out. Previous to this photo I had opened the back door for him twice to go out, whereupon he ran around to the front of the cottage and jumped up on the window sill, as you can […]
Read MoreThe old tin bath has been taken down from the wall of the barn. Used wine bottles are left to steep for a few hours in rainwater. Washed and clean, ready to be filled with home-made Blackcurrant wine. There is always at least one day during the Summer, when one feels enthusiastic enough to overcome […]
Read MoreSix hens have come to live at Bealtaine Cottage. They arrived on Saturday, looking rather bedraggled and grungy. With their new lifestyle, here at the permaculture gardens, an overall improvement in their appearance and well-being is guaranteed. It was lovely to take my cup of tea outside and simply watch the hens as they explored […]
Read MoreThere are many flowers that are great for attracting and keeping bees in your garden. Most of the berry bearing shrubs and trees are essential for the welfare of the bees. What is a garden without bees? Just four years… That’s how long Albert Einstein reportedly said the human race would last in a world […]
Read MoreBuddleia are in full, heavy, nectar perfumed bloom all over the gardens at Bealtaine Cottage. This is one just opposite the front door. The purple coloured blossoms droop expectantly, waiting for the seasonal Butterflies, but there are none… What has happened is the fault of humankind, weather, pesticides, corporate greed and ecocide happening all around […]
Read MoreThose who follow this blog will know that I grow grapes in the polytunnel, very successfully. This recent experiment is about growing a fruitful grapevine outside, in Ireland. The first thing is to try to emulate the conditions most favourable for grapes and a recent visitor to Bealtaine cottage spent some time giving me lots […]
Read MoreHarvests are looking good despite the lack of sunshine. Today, Sunday, is overcast and still. If the weather is fine tomorrow I shall begin to harvest the Blackcurrants. It looks to be a mighty harvest…certainly in excess of last year, when over 100lbs were picked…and the birds had their feast along the way! Redcurrants are […]
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