The first week of July and there’s a feint scent of Autumn in the air this morning.
The morning brings a quiet and gentle beginning to the day, untouched by the continuing perplexities of man.
“Man has drawn artificial lines on the chest of the Mother Earth, which have no significance, except for the sake of war and clashes between countries. The soil seems to be the same, the trees the same, the grass the same, and the fragrance of the air, the smell of the earth the same.”
~ Girdhar Joshi
Yes it is…all the same…at most times hard to believe when one watches the circus of life on MSM.
Bread and circuses, but we all know and recognise real life.
It has a colour and fragrance all of its own.
“The earth is a mosaic, and most fail to notice the gossamer tesserae floating down from the realm of the mind that form its images of beauty and horror.”
~ Lawren Leo
If you would like to support the work of Bealtaine Cottage, completely dependent on people who value what I do, here’s how…
The Book… https://bealtainecottage.com/a-cottage-and-three-acres-the-bealtaine-story/
I treasure them as the words therein inspire me to keep on this busy path of sharing Bealtaine and caring for the Earth. 
This evening I have taken more photographs to share with you, as I share the words penned by Christine, who visited Bealtaine some days ago.
“Thank you dear Colette for the wonderful time with you in Bealtaine Cottage yesterday. 
We felt so nourished and inspired, your inspirational company, wise words and delightful home so full of beauty, vitality, and a healing presence. 
Almost like a dream for me waking this morning and feeling – wow – I was actually sitting with you yesterday in your garden, stroking Jack, enjoying our conversation, my eyes feasting on the plants, flowers and trees, the sounds of the light rain, the chimes, the birds and your soothing voice…a real treat. (Of course eating your gorgeous vegan brownies too).
We all feel very grateful to you. 
It’s a total inspiration having you create and share Bealtaine Cottage and being not far from us here, a ‘wake-up’ and an eye opener! 
We each felt so comfortable, at ease and at home…of course many questions bubble this morn inspired from our visit. 
And also some grief…some of what you shared about deep sadness for how we are living as a civilisation, how we have lived with such lack of respect for the earth, the animals and plant kingdoms and also each other. 
Such disconnection…and some of that being reflected in the challenges we have to face…
We went up to the Queen Maeve Cairn at Knocknarea after leaving you…such breathtaking views…
I felt very grateful and blessed for good souls like yourself, living from the heart, soulfully, passionately, the warrior energy to follow one’s own heart-calling and live it, a real warrior path…takes courage tuning into one’s own heart, not that of the tribe or the need to be accepted and fit-in.
So thanks again dear Colette. Much love to you, to Jack and Sammy Bear and of course your beautiful space and it’s healing spirit. 
On this night of the first new moon of Lughnasadh, I am content to be compared to a warrior. 
For, in so many ways, my journey to this point has been a battle at times…not with Mother Earth, but over the twelve past years, on my own, when I have had to motivate myself to stay with the project. 
There have been times along the way, when I have felt nurtured by others, the kindness of strangers on the internet who have supported me when I have needed it most. 
Serendipity has played a huge part in the Bealtaine Project!
This year has witnessed a beautiful maturity in all I have planted and continue to love. I, in turn, feel nurtured by Mother Earth… There is a lot still to be done as we move into uncertain times. 
There are important messages to share that empower us to act in support of Mother Earth, such as I share on my Twitter and FaceBook accounts…
Digging Mother Earth releases 
Likewise…
We are putting out double the amount of 
Carbon is a gaseous food absorbed by plants…so let’s plant more! 
Social Media is a powerful tool and can be used for great good in getting simple messages like these out there!
And, like all old warriors, I’ll just keep on keeping on!
It was James Lovelock who first suggested that there would be a very few countries which would escape the worst vagaries of the oncoming Climate Change… 
Much of our media remains silent about the problem and there hangs an eerie silence in the air around centres of political machinations. 
Our extractive mentality and the demand for higher profits combine to destroy our very own habitat..this is the truth of what’s happening worldwide…we cannot escape our acquisitive nature! 
We appear to be caught in a vicious circle of greed versus need…and we know which one of those two is winning! 
This is another Bank Holiday weekend here in Ireland and the pubs, takeaway food shops and restaurants are doing a roaring trade! 
Over 56 billion farmed animals are killed every year by humans. 
These shocking figures do not even include fish and other sea creatures whose deaths are so great they are only measured in tonnes…has anyone else noticed the scarcity of fish like Cod and Haddock in our supermarket deep freeze and the sly introduction of Pollack? 
Yes, fish stocks are in decline, as evidenced in the supermarket offerings! 
We are gobbling up our habitat at an alarming rate! 
Throughout the world, about 900 million trees are cut down annually, as of 2014. 
But, hold on, I hear you say…what was that you said about James Lovelock and…? 
Yes, that’s right, ” a lifeboat for humanity!” 
According to scientist James Lovelock, we are on the cusp of a global catastrophe that will make the present recession look trivial.
Lovelock is a former NASA chief scientist. 
James Lovelock invented the electron capture device (ECD) whch alerted the world to the depletion of the ozone layer…remember the aerosol crisis?
However, he is most famous for the Gaia hypothesis, now a theory, that the world is itself a living organism…and one I know to be true! 
Though his predictions for the world are dire, his predictions for Ireland are of some small comfort. Because of our proximity to the sea, our relatively high latitude and our low population density, we may be spared the worst excesses of global warming.
Personally I think there will be many places that will make the transition successfully, but the criteria for these places will be different according to geographical regions. 
How do any of the generation that will meet this head on prepare for the crisis? 
Well we can begin by practicing living with less, using less, consuming less and growing more…and build a new way of living with Mother Earth from there!
It continues to be developed at Bealtaine Cottage…
This is not a blog about Climate Change or, even, extreme weather…enduring it is quite enough! 
This is about an extraordinary human being, who, 400 years before James Lovelock, set out the case for our Earth being alive…as I know her to be today! 
For this and other beliefs, Giordano was burned at the stake in the year 1600. 
Giordano Bruno, born Filippo Bruno, was an Italian 
He is remembered for his cosmological theories, which conceptually extended the then novel 
He proposed that the 
He also insisted that the universe is in fact 
Beginning in 1593, Bruno was tried for 
So, you can begin to see why I have warmed to this rather extraordinary and brave human being!
Not, as some would imagine, for having strong views…but for daring to question!
Bruno’s 
The Inquisition found him guilty, and he was 
In short, Giordano Bruno was burnt at the stake just over 400 years ago for maintaining that the Earth was alive!
After many years of isolation in the science community, James Lovelock was acknowledged as the bearer of truth, sometimes a painful burden to carry in a society fixated with staying well inside the box!
I know from my intimate work with Mother Earth, that she is indeed alive.
Her voice grows louder with each passing day…indeed, many of you hear or feel her communication.
The change in acceptance of James Lovelock’s Gaia theory was summed up in a declaration published by scientists from the four international research programmes in 2001 which said…
“The Earth system behaves as a single, self-regulating system,comprised of physical, chemical, biological and human components. The interactions and feedbacks between the component parts are complex and exhibit multi-scale temporal and spatial variability.” 
We need to make peace with Her…and to do that we need to listen!
You may remember that last week I visited the Atlantic shoreline to harvest some seaweed to use on the garden. 
The strands to the south of Sligo town have piles of loose seaweed here and there along the beaches.
Always only ever take the loose stuff…don’t pull seaweed from stones as these form habitats and are essential to the ecology of the seashore!
In the end I managed about three big bags of seaweed and headed home with my foraged booty!
The first thing I do is to spread it on the gravel around the cottage and allow the rain to wash out excess salt.
After about a week, I start to spread the seaweed around established plants in the garden and tunnel.
The seaweed acts as a wonderful feed and a weed-suppressing mulch!
One of the best things about growing food in the garden is the opportunity to use local and near resources that are free to be foraged or collected…seaweed is an organic fertiliser! 
Seaweed is washed in by the tide, so is easy to forage!
Only ever take what you need!
It’s packed with Potassium and Nitrogen, bot wonderful for the garden!
But, it’s not…instead it boasts food for all and more to come. 
These are the gardens of the goddess, Mother Earth in all her splendour and abundance! 
