Mother Earth is thriving.
Her abundance is nothing less than magnificent.
Everywhere on this land She thrives.
I have found a great many Cherry Trees She has seeded and grown over the past two years, but have remained hidden in the general mayhem of Spring and Summer, only to be discovered this year as Spring seemed to struggle and lag behind, so allowing me to see.
It is simply delightful to behold. The mother tree was planted by me a mere 13 yrs ago and already she has brought forth abundance.
This Field Maple is bearing fruit this year and the Bees are soaring around its topmost branches.
I know that I have posted this quote before, but it speaks loudly and will not be quietened…
“Wherever forests have not been mowed down, wherever the animal is recessed in their quiet protection, wherever the earth is not bereft of four-footed life – that to the white man is an ‘unbroken wilderness.’ 
But for us there was no wilderness, nature was not dangerous but hospitable, not forbidding but friendly. Our faith sought the harmony of man with his surroundings; the other sought the dominance of surroundings.
For us, the world was full of beauty; for the other, it was a place to be endured until he went to another world.
But we were wise. We knew that man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard.”
― Chief Luther Standing Bear
“Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky, and water was a real and active principle.
In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept us safe among them…
The animals had rights – the right of man’s protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man’s indebtedness.
This concept of life and its relations filled us with the joy and mystery of living; it gave us reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all.”
― Chief Luther Standing Bear
And so wherever we allow Her, enable Her and protect Her, abundance flows…
It’s humbling to witness…
My Goddess helps me to keep in mind the great Life Force of the Great Mother, for I, as a human need symbols to ground me and remember that She is not just a life-force, but an intelligent sentient being.
Symbols have always resonated with us.
We possess an innate ability to read and understand symbols, for they transcend language and culture.
Yet even as I walk back along the veranda towards the door of the cottage, I see the abundance.
This time in a recently re-potted tree…lots of tiny Parsley seedlings. I have no idea where they have come from, except to add that I used home made compost and these are from the seed-heads of last Summer.
“A Cottage and Three Acres,” by Colette O’Neill
Please email Colette if you would like a particular inscription in your book. From a desolate cottage set in 3 acres of monoculture sadness, to a vibrant, thriving food forest of life…the journey back to Eden over 13 years… Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€25.00
In Search of The Goddess Rising
This is the second book in the Goddess Permaculture series from Colette O’Neill at Bealtaine Cottage, Ireland. In this book I explore the ancient landscape, mythology, literature and life around Bealtaine Cottage… in search of the Great Goddess. The price of the book includes all postage and packing to wherever you live in the world! Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€19.00
Bealtaine Cottage Guide to the Deep Midwinter
A little Yuletide book filled with colour photographs, recipes, reflections, lore, poetry and mirth to guide you through the wonderful days ahead. Fifty pages of sheer delight from Bealtaine Cottage to you. The book is fully bound and can be posted direct as a gift. Price includes P&P worldwide. Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€13.00
Special Offer
In Search of the Goddess Rising and The Bealtaine Cottage Guide to the Deep Midwinter…both books normally cost €32.00 but can be purchased together for for €28.00 which includes P&P Worldwide. Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€28.00
Magical Mythical Map of Bealtaine Cottage and Gardens
Beautiful map created by the artist David Gascoigne, especially for Bealtaine Cottage. The picture shows one side of the map…it is printed on both sides, see the photos on this page. The price includes all Postage and Packing to wherever you live in the world! Bealtaine Books and Maps are printed in Ireland and posted from Ireland to support the people of Ireland.
€10.00
As many of you know, I am in the final stages of completing my first manuscript and so have been busy since early December in preparing this book for the printers in Dublin…no tax-dodging Amazon corporation for me!
As I began this final incubation, I was reluctant to venture into the world of news, website or indeed have my attention diverted.
The communications have come mainly from the U.S. and have been most concerning to read!
I am not interested in politicians, nor do I have any respect for them or what they peddle, so there is no need for me to use the T word more than in the title of this blog, nor do I want a comment list oozing the “T” word…no thank you!
Have you not noticed the endless war on a noun?
I googled the word “Fear” and it came up with 547 million results!
For as long as power-seeking individuals have existed, their energy has fed of fear, each one of them a version of Nosferatu, be them less or more acceptable! 
We must, each of us, decide how we come to terms, if any, with a most disagreeable and at times, painful system that appears to control our lives. Fear and loathing changes little.
“I don’t think that anything happens by coincidence… No one is here by accident… Everyone who crosses our path has a message for us. Otherwise they would have taken another path, or left earlier or later. The fact that these people are here means that they are here for some reason”…”
The wisdom in what James Redfield had to say, translates to me in this way:
It sounds like “Soul Less,” and indeed many people comment on aspects of our society that are indeed soul-less! 
Television programmes are more and more appealing to a lower denominator within audiences, especially reality shows that can be likened to much of the entertainment provided for the masses, referred to as “the Plebs, (short for Plebians), in Ancient Rome.
Many of these programmes are nothing but a reflection of the very worst in society!
Jung described the unhappiness referred to as loss of soul, a concept borrowed from anthropology, referring psychologically to a state of general malaise. 
Many feel in today’s world that there is something missing from their lives, a sort of glue that holds everything together! 
Insomnia, depression and escapism through drugs or alcohol are all signs of Soul Loss. 
One can feel vulnerable, fatigued or simply not worthy! 
All of us have experienced some of these symptoms at some point in our lives and often refer back to them as low points. 
And it’s true indeed, for the soul feels as if it is dragged down. 
Much of commercial society today uses images, music and indeed brain-attack, to subjugate our beings into enslavement to the corporate will. 
So how do we overcome this dark malaise?
Well, it is often written and spoken about here at Bealtaine Cottage…reconnect with Nature! 
Taking one’s sadness, vulnerability, confusion, low self-esteem into the heart of Nature and communing with Mother Earth in all her wondrous life can be the best medicine…healing gently and cumulatively. 
Spend less time being undermined and insulted by media and more time recovering your soul.
Ten O’Clock rings out as I take up my camera and head out into the warm evening. 
I have enjoyed visitors for much of the day, so stepping out into the evening allows me time to be quiet and absorb the ending of the day. 
“Be calm…calm as a calm lagoon, then you will look beautiful as a beautiful calm lagoon crowned by the Moon and sheltered by the brilliance of the stars reclaiming your royalty of regal life…”
The light lends an ethereal touch to everything. 
“When one tunes in into nature’s frequency, life becomes change, change becomes hope!”
The birds continue to fly to and fro their nestlings in a frenzy to keep them fed. 
Fortunately, Bealtaine Cottage can now support dozens of pairs…
Just published over at Bealtaine Cottage Good Life…
Navigating Through The Darkness
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!
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!
