Colette O'Neill, Innovator of Goddess Permaculture ~Writer ~ Teacher ~ Photographer
Bees are declining all over the world, for multiple reasons. The most serious one in my estimation is habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation…in other words… Homelessness! This is not a problem at Bealtaine Cottage, as Bee habitat and food source creation was implemented in the early years of the Bealtaine project. As a direct consequence […]
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I visited Knockvicar Organic Garden today in search of flowering plants for the new Garden…and here’s what I got…
Read MoreThere is a gigantic food festival happening all around Bealtaine Cottage. The partying has been going on around the clock for a few days now, with most of it taking place in and around this humble little, easy to grow plant…the Nasturtium! Bees and Caterpillars are stocking up on the end of season glut, before […]
Read More“Sanctuary” refers to a place set aside or designated as a protected spot. Under EU Agricultural Policy there is a “Set Aside” plan for farmers to fence off small, protected areas for biodiversity. However, this does not apply to Bealtaine Cottage, as the holding is too small to be significant! I plant and protect for […]
Read MoreThe new sign at Bealtaine Cottage, alongside a more important one…”No Fracking!” Time to advertise what it is we stand for! The power of advertising is immense. Corporations and governments allocate massive amounts of money each year to get their messages of suppression and control across to the public. However, we have the access to […]
Read MoreApril weather is always unpredictable. Snow fell this morning…in between rain and brilliant sunshine! It was like a convergence of all the seasons in one morning! This time last year we were swimming in the Atlantic Ocean down by Mullaghmore Pier. Legs and arms, uncovered for the first time in months, looked a sickly white […]
Read MoreI describe monoculture practice as creating “Famine Farms” for bees and wildlife…becoming places of slow starvation for all. I recall thinking this when first beginning to plant out the permaculture gardens here at Bealtaine Cottage. As you can see from the place as it looked then, it was bereft of food for anything! Walking around […]
Read MoreOne of the many apple trees at Bealtaine Cottage, laden with fruit on this glorious September day. As the nights draw in and the apple harvest swells, we realise Samhain is near. Autumn is making it’s progress through the beautiful Arigna Mountains and the valley where Keadue nestles near the Castle of Kilronan…a place swathed […]
Read MoreDespite the problems with weather and lack of sunshine, this is turning out to be one of the best years on record for the harvest at Bealtaine Cottage. Continual adaptation to climate change is paying off, as the Potager Beds have excelled themselves in little over ten weeks since construction and planting. Designed and built in […]
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