Goddess Permaculture 39…Exposed!

Thirty nine photographs of the Goddess at her best, as we rise towards Midsummer…a mere twenty four days away!

An abundance of fruit, flowers and vegetables, captured this morning on film, images from a small part of the three acres of Bealtaine Cottage, in the west of Ireland…all growing on this “poor” agricultural land.

I won’t take up too much of your time with words, for I would rather you simply enjoy the images, as I have done whilst drinking my morning coffee and walking the land.

Many thanks to Majella and Derek who brought me the beautiful little Oak saplings yesterday…that’s the pic at the top of this post!

I wish you all a Happy Sunday with blessings for the week ahead, from all here at Bealtaine Cottage…May you embrace the joy from Mother Earth XXX Colette XXX

The book “A Cottage and Three Acres,” is now available to purchase…with 71 colour photographs!

The cost of the book is 21.00 euros, plus 5.50 P&P for addresses in Ireland, 6.50 P&P the rest of the world.

Thus books posted to Ireland, total cost 26.50 euros

All other countries worldwide, total cost 27.50 euros

Once through to Paypal, currency conversion is worked out for you. I will acknowledge your order ASAP.

To order and pay, use this button…

You can also pay by cheque, made out to Colette O’Neill and posted to:

Bealtaine Cottage

Ballyfermoyle

Keadue

Boyle

County Roscommon

Ireland

(Don’t forget to include your name, inscription if wanted and full address.)

For a taste of the book…click on this link…

https://bealtainecottage.com/a-cottage-and-three-acres-the-bealtaine-story/

Returning Thanks

Posted December 7, 2014

Filed under charity, Frugal Living, Mother earth, Permaculture

Saint Vincent de Paul is a charity that helps people here in Ireland cope with poverty.

It does fantastic work, helping those in need pay bills, buy clothes and food and even keeping a roof over the heads of many.

I decided to have a good clear out of things…clothes, books, trinkets, ornaments…all boxed up and off to the SVdP Charity shop.

I am delighted that the cottage is lighter and the Charity has a little more to give. In turn,

I often visit the same shop and buy clothes and occasional trinkets.

It’s a great way of recycling, all round!

This is my favourite form of recycling, because it underpins the fact that everything has a value.

Also, by clearing out lots of stuff I no longer need or even want, I am making room for Mother Nature, for I love to bring bouquets of greenery in from the land and spend time adorning the cottage.

This beautiful Iroquois prayer encapsulates it all…

We return thanks to our mother, the Earth,
which sustains us.
We return thanks to the rivers and streams,
which supply us with water.
We return thanks to all herbs,
which furnish medicines for the cure of our diseases.
We return thanks to the moon and stars,
which have given to us their light when the sun was gone.
We return thanks to the sun,
that has looked upon the earth with a beneficent eye.
Lastly, we return thanks to the Great Spirit,
in Whom is embodied all goodness,
and Who directs all things for the good of Her children.

~ Iroquois ~

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Thanks for your continued support in sustaining and developing this site.

A Day of Sustainable Living at Bealtaine Cottage

Posted September 3, 2014

Filed under Abundance, Bealtaine Cottage, Cottage, Country Living, Edible Gardens, Food, Frugal Living, Garden, Permaculture, Sustainable Living, Thoughts, Thrift, Trees

Sewing patchwork today…finishing a bedspread…with the back-door open and the birds singing!

Producing and using surplus is an integral part of living sustainably.

Upcycling our waste in a wasteful society is a way to create growth.

If there is going to be a future, then our past cannot be used as a template.

We have lived in a state of excess at the cost of the future.

Making soup today has allowed me to harvest and use vegetables from the garden, especially Spinach.

…mmm!

I love Spinach!

With lots planted in the tunnel and heaps of seedlings coming on in pots, this is one winter green of plenty this year!

There are lots of windfall apples at the moment and this is the time to get out and collect them up for pies and juice.

Stew down the apples ready for a tart and store in the freezer or even can it…that means jar really!

Having the stove fired up for cooking the soup and baking, means drying clothes in a very natural and cost-free way.

Cleaned out the hen house and run…now there’s lots of poopy straw to spread on the vegetable beds before I mulch them with cardboard…great, organic and free vegetables for next year!

The girls are happy! This deep litter allows a good amount of fertile straw to be used in the vegetable gardens and as a fertile mulch…for free…eggs are a sideline!

Rosehips from the Rosa Rugosa are ripening…these make the very best Vitamin C syrup!

Beautiful colouring on the Amalanchier trees today.

A feast for the soul!

Blackberries continue to ripen…free fruit that not enough people bother to pick and use…though more are enjoying the fruits of foraging!

Cleared the space beneath this Ash tree to make a little sitting and meditation space.

Made a green juice to start the day, using Apples, Lemon Balm, Mint, Kale and Wheatgrass from the garden. Now that’s what fired me up for a day of sustainable living!

A Permaculture Day Out

Posted August 18, 2014

Filed under Autumn, Bealtaine Cottage, Cottage, Country Living, Ecology, Frugal Living, Garden, Lifestyle, Permaculture, Sustainable Living, Trees

As we begin to embrace the beauty of early Autumn, I am getting requests about the availability of B&B at Bealtaine Cottage over the coming cooler months.

Lots of you want to visit Bealtaine Cottage Permaculture Gardens and they will remain open all the way through the year!

For those who want a little bit more than just a visit, I am offering a Full Day Experience which includes Lunch and Dinner.

This affords the opportunity to spend a full day here, asking all the questions about permaculture and Sustainable Living you ever wanted to!

See how it all works first hand!

The cost remains the same as before.

Lunch…15 euros.

Dinner…20 euros

Garden Visit…10 euros.

So a full day is only 45 euros, with all the food you can eat!

Oh, and that includes lashings of tea and home-made cake!

If you’d like to book a day, that will change how you see the world and your own life, contact coletteoneill2010@hotmail.com

For more details and booking.

Days are limited to a maximum of 4 people only per day…this is a cottage after all!

I look forward to hearing from you!

A Simple Life

Posted August 17, 2014

Filed under Abundance, Bealtaine Cottage, Frugal Living, Garden, Inspiration, Ireland, Life, Lifestyle, Permaculture, Thoughts, Thrift

“A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with—that’s poverty—but how efficiently we can put first things first. . . . When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it’s clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar.”

― Victoria Moran

Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. ~Elise Boulding

Yesterday, I found myself with two juicers.

Through fortune and kindness, my life had become too full, and so I gave one away, to a friend who needs to take good care of her health.

She was delighted and my cupboard was, once more, roomy and ready to receive.

To live in a state of abundance, it is necessary to practice frugality.

One cannot work without the other.

Abundance needs space to grow!

Clinging onto what one does not need creates clutter, confusion and chaos.

Is it any wonder the world is in such a state?

We don’t need to increase our goods nearly as much as we need to scale down our wants. Not wanting something is as good as possessing it. ~Donald Horban

The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed — it is a process of elimination. ~Elbert Hubbard

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I have two websites… Bealtaine Cottage and Bealtaine Cottage Good Life.

This site, Bealtaine Cottage, is free and has over 850 blogs, as well as over 3,500 photographs.

Bealtaine Cottage Good Life costs 12 euros per year and allows me a small income, to keep doing what I love doing most…writing about Mother Earth and photographing her.

Making this small donation adds your name to the subscriber list.

You will then have access to the website and full blog as published twice each week.

This amounts to 104 publications per year, at a cost of 12 cents each!

Click on button below to join the website…

Bottling Summer

Posted June 27, 2014

Filed under Abundance, Bealtaine Cottage, Bloom, Cottage, Country Living, Earth, Edible Gardens, Fairies, Frugal Living, Garden, Home Made Wine, Inspiration, Life, Lifestyle, Nature, Permaculture, Self-Sufficiency, Summer, Uncategorized, Wine

The 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 the reluctance to get stuck into bottling wine…today, all the right chords were struck and the work began!

Cork stoppers were duly washed and left to soak and soften, till, finally…

the wine was securely bottled! All that remains to be done is labelling…Chateau Bealtaine!

Outside the back door, Summer continues in layers of sheer abundance…Feverfew splurges on masses of tiny, daisy-like flowers.

Midsummer has only just crossed over and the garlic is ready to pull, with the first batch of Garlic and Oregano Olive Oil infusing.

Summer just keeps on getting bottled!

There is so much food and flowers, it’s sheer Heaven!

Walking around the cottage is a feast for the senses!

Even the ancient Polygonum is covered with bright red flowers…one of the very few plants here that has nothing for the Bees…but a delight for me!

Yellow Loosestrife stands tall in the casual cottage borders.

Roses fall over in a drunken Summer stupor, heavy with scent and bees.

Petals cascade onto stone steps, ivory wraps for blushing fairies.

Valerian falls onto the gravel path, dropping seeds and heavy flower-heads onto the visitor’s shoe.

And the Summer that was bottled today, will be brought out amidst smiles and raised glasses in the depths of Midwinter.

A New Way of Living

Posted May 8, 2014

Filed under Abundance, biodiversity, compost, Country Living, Edible Gardens, Food, Frugal Living, Garden, Growing Food, Inspiration, Life, Permaculture, Seeds, Self-Sufficiency, Summer, Sustainable Living, Uncategorized, Vegan, Vegetarian

Food production can be a problem for many people who have little or no access to land.

There are many who live in conditions where even a balcony is a precious space.

I have spoken before about the ways in which access to growing space can be achieved, through allotments, community gardens and the like, but here is something which may prove to be an inspiration, a new way of looking at food, both growing it and eating!

As an aspiring Vegan, (sometimes I miss the mark!) and dedicated grower and lover of all life, I have recently been converted to “Micro Greens.”

The concept is extraordinarily simple!

Seeds such as lettuce, peas, beets, etc., are sown and grown for about two weeks or less, before being harvested and added to dishes.

These Micro-Greens, it is said, contain up to 40% more nutrients than older, traditionally grown and harvested vegetables.

I can believe it!

Yesterday evening, I had a dish of cooked brown rice, mixed with Micro Greens, seasoned and drenched with the juice of half a fresh lime and this morning I feel a surge of energy!

Micro Greens can be grown on a window ledge, balcony, hanging basket…anywhere they can get a decent dose of light!

Growing Organic is easy to manage in small areas too!

Little or no problem with slugs and availability all the year around!

For me, the days of packaged salad of any kind are over and the tiresome task of cooking greens are almost over…adding raw makes more sense in every aspect of preparing and eating food!

All you need is a tray, or pot of compost, seeds and water!

So, there you have it…a new way of living…simple, easy and kind to Mother Earth!

And the fun part? Now you can enjoy seeing some of your vegetables run to seed, like this Mizuna in the Potager Bed!

Here are just some of the seeds you can grow Micro Salads from…

Arugula

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Kale

Mustard greens

Radish

Red cabbage

Turnips

Watercress

Basil

Chervil

Chives

Coriander

Fennel

Lemon Balm

Mizuna

Rocket

Sage

Chard

and many more…

(Both the Light Catcher and the Bird Box were gifts, made by Nick O’Neill…aren’t they lovely?)

Happy growing!

Blessings from Bealtaine Cottage XXX

An Evening with Mr D’Arcy

Posted February 11, 2014

Filed under Baking, Bealtaine Cottage, Books, Culture, Dogs, Frugal Living, Personal, Spring, Uncategorized

Snow is falling this evening.

It has fallen in small flurries all day, only to melt and try again.

This evening the snow is sticking.

A near full moon rose in the afternoon sky.

Spring has scurried back under a blanket of white.

The oven is very hot as the stove has been kept topped up with wood, so I have slid a tray of vegetables onto the top shelf to roast…always a healthy, tasty meal.

What remains will be blended into a soup, with stock and red lentils…tomorrows lunch!

I visited the library in town today and borrowed books and DVDs, always good value, as the yearly membership of less than ten euros covers all loans, unlimited throughout the year.

Tonight will be a cosy time watching Pride and Prejudice, (The BBC version) on DVD in the lodge, wood-burning stove hot and kettle boiling for tea atop!

It will be cosy enough to enjoy the thought of snow all around the cottage.

It is a dreadful thing to be cold.

If I relied on Electric, Gas or Oil, I would be huddled in blankets for sure, as all are prohibitively expensive.

The advantage of the wood stove is that I can even burn old pallet wood in it and be assured of heat.

The skips in cities are filled with waste wood and many people are cold…this is nonsensical!

Earlier today, as the sun shone into the cottage, Jack spread himself across the floor, enjoying the day that was.

It was lovely to watch him lapping up the Spring sunshine.

There has been a small lapse back into winter, but Spring is here!

Why It Matters!

Posted February 7, 2014

Filed under Bealtaine Cottage, Climate, Cottage, Current Affairs, Earth, Frugal Living, Garden, Growing Food, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Permaculture, Spring, Thoughts, Uncategorized

Extreme weather is fast becoming normal.

Another storm is on the way.

This storm, according to the radio, will unleash a massive amount of water in the form of heavy rain.

This morning was beautiful, as the photographs testify, today is one of extremes…or is that normal too?

Apart from the predictably unpredictable weather, there is a lot of work getting done here at Bealtaine.

I have been moving around the gardens with my secateurs, nipping and cutting here and there, followed by sticking and stamping in other places…inserting cuttings straight into the earth!

Most of the shrubs I cut from are serious proliferators, given half a chance!

Ribes, Spirea, Senecio, Willow, Fuschia, Rubus…the list goes on.

I was totting up all the energy saving so far in slowly divesting myself of electrical items…it’s substantial indeed.

Many say that one person cannot make a difference.

My acquired wisdom says the opposite…one person can make a difference.

The mindset of mindfulness and care for our great Mother, Earth, is a growing consciousness.

Each one person adds to that.

A hero of mine, David Holmgren, co-founder of the Permaculture movement, urges us all reduce consumption and be domestically responsible.

I heartily agree with David, in that if enough of us scale down our impact on the planet, then one becomes many and a real shift starts to take place.

Over the past few decades humanity has committed acts of great violence against its home, Earth. Now we see acts of great violence being reciprocated in extreme weather.

If we love our home, we will do all we can to protect it and all life therein.

This, I believe, is what connects us to the Divine, in life and after.

Love is all.

Love for all Creation, every last nano particle of it.

To switch off a light is to love and appreciate the environment that has to produce that power.

Love is all.

It’s time we really loved and appreciated this incredible home.

It is the only one we have.

Bealtaine Cottage Calendar 2020

This calendar celebrates the magic of Bealtaine and the evolution to a Sanctuary for Life. The Hare was viewed by the ancient Celts as being the link between this world and the Otherworld-a supernatural world which is directly linked to nature. The Hare is known for being able to run between our world and the 'Otherworld'. Shapeshifters are widely known in Ireland to take on the form of the Hare. This is told in the famous story of the Celtic warrior Oisín. The Hare guards both the entrance to and exit from, the Fairy Wood at Bealtaine. The Calendar, which features over 50 photographs and all the Celtic festivals, includes Postage and packing WORLDWIDE and can be posted on your behalf as a gift, from Bealtaine Cottage, Ireland. (Pre-orders now accepted)

€16.50

Bealtaine Cottage, Ireland

Colette O'Neill… Environmentalist, Author, Publisher, Photographer. Creator of Goddess Permaculture.

Category Archives: Frugal Living

Goddess Permaculture 39…Exposed!

Returning Thanks

Saint Vincent de Paul is a charity that helps people here in Ireland cope with poverty.

It does fantastic work, helping those in need pay bills, buy clothes and food and even keeping a roof over the heads of many.

I decided to have a good clear out of things…clothes, books, trinkets, ornaments…all boxed up and off to the SVdP Charity shop.

I am delighted that the cottage is lighter and the Charity has a little more to give. In turn,

I often visit the same shop and buy clothes and occasional trinkets.

It’s a great way of recycling, all round!

This is my favourite form of recycling, because it underpins the fact that everything has a value.

Also, by clearing out lots of stuff I no longer need or even want, I am making room for Mother Nature, for I love to bring bouquets of greenery in from the land and spend time adorning the cottage.

This beautiful Iroquois prayer encapsulates it all…

~ Iroquois ~

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A Day of Sustainable Living at Bealtaine Cottage

A Permaculture Day Out

A Simple Life

Bottling Summer

A New Way of Living

An Evening with Mr D’Arcy

Why It Matters!

November 2019
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Oct
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4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30

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Saint Vincent de Paul is a charity that helps people here in Ireland cope with poverty.

It does fantastic work, helping those in need pay bills, buy clothes and food and even keeping a roof over the heads of many.

I decided to have a good clear out of things…clothes, books, trinkets, ornaments…all boxed up and off to the SVdP Charity shop.

I am delighted that the cottage is lighter and the Charity has a little more to give. In turn,

I often visit the same shop and buy clothes and occasional trinkets.

It’s a great way of recycling, all round!

This is my favourite form of recycling, because it underpins the fact that everything has a value.

Also, by clearing out lots of stuff I no longer need or even want, I am making room for Mother Nature, for I love to bring bouquets of greenery in from the land and spend time adorning the cottage.

This beautiful Iroquois prayer encapsulates it all…

~ Iroquois ~

*************

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