It’s been a long and lovely day, filled with wonderful garden visitors, followed by some serious cutting back and clearing over near the tunnel.
However, before I begin, I must say that I’ve been reading the comments on the Bealtaine Cottage Magical Gardens site on FaceBook and feel compelled to make a very important comment, for all to read…
The lovely Bridget Birkner had this to say about her garden…
“Colette, my dear sweet friend. You know I started this year as my first year with Goddess-Inspired Permacultre Gardening and Food Forest since moving here some months ago, but being now in August, having only 1 cucumber, 6 cherry tomatoes that only turned orange and one sweet banana pepper, I wanted to sit down and cry at the lack of harvest. My soil is so insanely poor, and it looks like I need to do some more tending and research. My Willows, everything you sent me, the moment I transplanted it, it withered. I’m crushed to say the least, but I promised myself at least 10 years before I can say “goal!” It truly is hard but amazing work, but right now I feel so defeated because Mum Gaia seems so sad at the state she is in my area. I look to you with such hope and KNOW She WILL prevail! Why? Because SHE can live without us, we however, cannot live without Her. And for that, I humbly bow before her in grace and humility, that she give me another chance in helping me tend to the area where she is so sad right now in the United States”
So in response… and for this valuable knowledge to reach the wider world…
Especially for Bridget…and those who are struggling with restoring fertility to soil…here’s a little secret…and what I have done and continue to do to restore health to the soil…
I pee in a bucket and mix it 10:1 with rainwater…it is marvellous liquid fertiliser and helps to get good bacteria developing in the soil. 
However if you are on serious medication it’s best not to use it!
Fresh urine is high in nitrogen, moderate in phosphorus and low in potassium and can act as an excellent high-nitrogen liquid fertiliser
Urine is great as an activator for compost heaps and, in highly concentrated form, as a weed-killer.Dilute fresh urine at a 20:1 ratio and water in to the root zone of seedlings and new transplants.
So, there you have it folks! No more supporting chemical fertilisers or paying extraordinary amounts of money for organic fertiliser…get yourself a bucket and a watering can and help Mother Earth the natural way! 
Now that’s out of the way, here’s an update on garden work today…this has involved an immense amount of cutting back. I have stacked all the cuttings and wood into various big piles to biodegrade naturally, whilst at the same time providing essential habitat for hibernators and small mammals. 
You can see from the followings pics the difference this has made in terms of light and space for the woodland floor to regenerate.
Please join…
A simple life is not impoverished…it’s knowing what is enough! 
Here I made a board for jigsaws…something I love to do. 
It’s simple…look closely and see how it was made…wood, glue and edging strip to keep the bits from falling off the board. 
All these photographs were snapped today, the first day of July….a few last night!
A little record of a simple life… Enjoy!
I have seen it too! 
It is a Universal force of such incredible energy that at times, I feel overwhelmed by it. 
This force has made governments tremble and grown men cry. 
It is unstoppable, all-consuming and, at times, can appear very frightening indeed. 
Mankind has tried to tame it, harness it, even destroy it. 
All to no avail. 
She abides… Have you heard her call? 
Are you listening? 
Her name is Earth. 
She is our Mother, our home, our future. 
Humankind’s greatest priority is to reintegrate with the natural world. ~ Jonathon Porritt 
If we are to use our tools in the service of fitting in on Earth, our basic relationship to nature–even the story we tell ourselves about who we are in the universe–has to change. ~ Janine M. Benyus
Our little Spaceship Earth is only eight thousand miles in diameter, which is almost a negligible dimension in the great vastness of space. ~ R. Buckminster Fuller
The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction. ~ Rachel Carson
The world of life, of spontaneity, the world of dawn and sunset and starlight, the world of soil and sunshine, of meadow and woodland, of hickory and oak and maple and hemlock and pineland forests, of wildlife dwelling around us, of the river and its wellbeing–all of this [is] the integral community in which we live. ~ Thomas Berry
We can do nothing and keep revolving, remaining perfect fodder for governments, corporations and empires, or…
we can connect with Her and begin to evolve into what we are meant to be…part of Her.
I am led to infuse it into my daily life, as in the tie-dyed sheet that hangs as a curtain on the old doorway. 
Sometimes it’s all too easy to go to the shops and buy what is deemed suitable for covering a doorway…usually a door! 
But, as always, a cottage can be very forgiving and accommodating to whatever furniture or resources one has. 
A cottage is never in competition with the big, new house down the road! 
It’s more of a “make do and mend” kind of home, where anything goes, be it period or modern, or just recycled, as is the case here at Bealtaine. 
As I snapped these photos this morning, my gaze was being continually led outside…and so it should be, for that connectivity is immensely important. 
I recall living in an old house in Muswell Hill in London and how I loved tending the window boxes beyond the old sash windows. 
How just the simple act of pushing them up and the outside coming in provided a kind of release of energy both ways! 
The connectivity of life!
Most of the energy we use at home comes from burning fossil fuels. 
Using less energy means burning fewer fossil fuels and putting less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 
When first planting the forest gardens it was important to keep the paths open, so mowing once a week during the growing season was a huge task! 
That issue is now almost resolves as the trees have shaded the paths…
and dropped lots of leaves to create quite a dense mulch. 
I am now tackling the long grass area that is the frontage of the gardens onto the road. 
Planting is diverse and from my own Nursery where I grow trees, flowers, shrubs, herbs and vegetables. 
It has always been important to me to keep this neat and attractive as it is an encouragement to passers-by to consider Goddess-Inspired Permaculture in a positive light! 
This is the stage I am at today. I simply strip back some grass and turn the sod upside down behind the strip…then plant! 
The end result will be that there is about half the amount of grass to mow…so half the amount of fossil fuel used! 
That’s what I call a result!
For the past year or so it’s been utterly frustrating not being able to share on this website.
Restrictions were placed upon me in relation to upload space for photographs, as I had used up virtually all of the allocated space of 13GB, which is that allowed on the Premium Plan from WordPress.
Well, today I paid for an upgrade which allows me unlimited upload space…a treat for myself and, I’m hoping one for you too!
As I type there is a lovely soft rain falling outside, refreshing and renewing the earth.
The same has happened here for me on the website…I feel a sense of renewal and excitement!
To be honest, writing and photographing Bealtaine Cottage and Mother Earth constitutes my first love!
Much as I love the interaction on social media, it can be very time-consuming and ultimately takes away from the work I do here!
The payment of an extra 200 Euros was necessary for the extended plan, but this liberates me from the strictures of what I can put out there for everyone to enjoy.
And so the story of Bealtaine Cottage continues, moving onwards and upwards!
“Country things are the necessary root of our life – and that remains true even of a rootless and tragically urban civilization. To live permanently away from the country is a form of slow death.”
And so I hope to continue bringing the country to you!
Sharing this little sacred space in the west of Ireland, with the world…
The seasonal changes, garden, wildlife and Mother Earth…
The song of the Goddess and her inspired Permaculture…
Thanks for staying with Bealtaine Cottage…
