Poignant memories, but brightened and lightened by the glorious sunshine of the morning, as I drove alongside Upper and Lower Lough Erne and across Boa Island…do check them out on Google maps if you get the chance for the scenery is simply stunning!
I am in Derry for the Vegan Festival and will be happy to report all to you on my return home. As you can see from the photos, home is very much in full bloom!
Driving into Northern Ireland from the west of Ireland brings back memories of my youth, much of which involved “the troubles,” as they are referred to…bombings, killings and the constant uncertainty of war.
My father was a Civil Rights leader and our tiny home was a hub for much social and political activity.
I learned over the course of my growing up in Omagh that the world was not fair and equality did not exist in social terms…it had to occupy one’s being instead, like an essential component of one’s own integrity.
My moral backbone grew strong in this respect, as I ventured into the world.
My love of Nature stemmed from this time also. Born at home, delivered by my father into a tiny room where he had himself been born, was a singular honour. I was named Frances after my father, whose name was Phelim Francis O’Neill. The tiny terraced house had only a small concrete yard enclosed by a tall brick wall…there was no garden, or indeed gardens in the area. The grey streets made up a larger area known as “Gallows Hill,” …you can guess what used to happen there in days of old!
So, driving into this part of Northern Ireland brings back memories, none of which are particularly sad. That said, this journey allows me the space and small time to look back over my shoulder and understand why I am this woman and what evolved in me to bring me to where I now find myself. The past is indeed a foreign country, as L.P. Hartley wrote:
“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.” So runs the famous first line of L.P. Hartley’s novel, “The Go-Between.”
“But men still shoot each other, don’t they?”
Lyra Catherine McKee was a journalist from Northern Ireland who wrote for several publications about the consequences of the Troubles.
She also served as an editor for Mediagazer, a news aggregator website.
On 18 April 2019, McKee was fatally shot during rioting in the Creggan area of Derry.
My journey today has helped me understand who I am…and why I plant trees and tend Mother Earth.
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In a time of destruction, create something: a poem, a parade, a community, a school, a vow, a moral principle; one peaceful moment.
When I return home to Bealtaine Cottage, I will plant a tree in honour of Lyra, in hope the tragedy of her death will be the last of so, so many acts of senseless violence and destruction.
It was delightful to see the first catkins on the willow.
Heavy rain fell last night, so the pond was gushing!
Back up to the cottage to write this blog and upload some of the photographs. I have heaps more that I may put on a slideshow on YouTube.
Fourteen years ago at the beginning of the Bealtaine Project, I had no contact with anyone in the US.
My perception of American people was very much decided by all things Hollywood and the news broadcasts that informed me of all that was negative.
As the years here at Bealtaine Cottage have passed and the great work of planting so many hundreds of trees has changed the land and fortified the future, I have blogged and vlogged the journey to anyone who was interested.
It is difficult to keep up at times!
I have come to value the sincerity and genuine kindness of people, many of whom live in the United States.
I am amazed at the spirit of the real American women I have got to know, so hardworking and stoic, so resilient and kind…a force to be admired!
This morning I have stepped out to take these photographs for you as a sharing gift on your Thanksgiving Day.
The men of America who have found their way to Bealtaine Cottage proved surprisingly wonderful too…unlike the Hollywood macho nonsense so often portrayed as representative and so, so wrong!
From my perspective it takes a fully formed human being to show kindness, compassion and respect…qualities displayed again and again in those men who have made the journey.
I’m rambling, I know, but this little blog is simply to say, “I feel honoured to have met so many of you here and on YouTube, for you have opened my world and my mind!”
Blessings to each one of you for your love and support.
May your Thanksgiving be filled with love and laughter.
May the days to follow be filled with hope, for your optimism in the face of hardship is the true Spirit of America!
Blessings to you all XXX
Colette and Jack and all the life-force that is Bealtaine Cottage XXX
Hawthorn is also known as the fairy tree for it is believed, especially a solo tree in a field, that it is a place that fairies would stop to rest (or party!) as they traversed across the land.
Myself and Jack set off for a morning stroll in the woodland gardens.
Dandelion, another exceptional wild herb growing abundantly here, with Its young leaves that can be used to make a tea with potassium-saving diuretic properties, so very useful for treating people suffering from high blood pressure.
Consumption of the bitter leaves will also aid digestion and act as a general laxative, while eating the ground root helps detoxify the liver.
It’s good to remember that the sticky, milky- white latex contained within its stalks can be used externally to kill warts and veruccas.
There are many wild and naturalised herbs growing in this semi-wild area, such as Comfrey, Nettle and Wild Garlic. Sweet Bay is planted to the right of the path in this picture. The Potager Bed is filled with many other cultivated herbs, growing happily alongside their wild cousins!
Wild Angelica was eaten in past times as a vegetable and used for dyeing cloth.
Traditionally it was used to treat rheumatism, gout and indigestion or to flavour liqueurs.
It really is amazing the vast quantities of wild herbs that are growing all around us. We have forgotten many of them and know very little of the edibility and uses of many of the recognisable plants. You can see some of the Chives spilling out from one of the Potager beds here by the Sedum.
Morning at Bealtaine, infused with tasks and rituals as the hands on the clock move towards midday on this last Thursday of September.
This was the true Mabon or Equinox moon, casting light through the trees that surround the cottage, illuminating the landscape, lighting the way.
The air remains still and warm, much the same as when I walked through the woodland gardens at twilight last night, making a video as I went.
The cottage is immersed in quiet contemplation as I write…yes, these walls are alive and incubate the vibrations of life within, so reflecting my mood.
In recent years we have rediscovered that truth as Quantum Physics has advanced in understanding our relationship with our world and universe.
Many of us seek endlessly for a meaning in life, a spiritual awakening.
The evening has drawn in without my noticing, a sure sign of Autumn quickening towards Samhain.
I have walked the woodland gardens this evening and made a video.
It’s so much easier to upload videos with my new laptop now that both phone and laptop are compatible.
I have missed the regular writing I do here on the website and was pondering on what to do in order to make the time for this?
This website was my very first and enduring foray into the world outside of Bealtaine Cottage.
I have decided to make this website a priority above FaceBook and Twitter…those who want to will find and subscribe here.
I may even get back to a daily journal of sorts…we shall see!
There are stories to be told and pictures to share…
This continual onslaught of extreme weather is fast establishing itself as the new normal!
From the normally mild summers of Ireland and the UK, numerous locations in the Northern Hemisphere have witnessed their hottest weather ever recorded over the past two weeks!
Only three months ago the country ground to a halt with severe snow storms and massive fall of snow in 48 hours!
Now we are experiencing a heatwave and severe drought which we haven’t had since 1976!
There was a hurricane here in Ireland last year and a massive six hour thunderstorm that did incredible damage.
The Irish Meteorological service, Met Éireann says there will be ‘practically nothing’ in terms of rainfall for the next ten days!
And so it continues unabated!
There has been less than 20mm of rain since May 1st with twelve days of sweltering heat and temps approaching 32c (90F) with no end in sight.
This is the third major record breaking weather story in just nine months – from autumn hurricanes to winter snow storms and now a summer drought!
Have you noticed the effect of this heatwave and drought here at Bealtaine Cottage? Many of you are familiar with the Bealtaine Project motto:
There has been some leaf drop, but overall the land is in good condition and is surviving the extreme conditions well!
As I write this I am aware of extreme rainfall and flooding in Japan.
It appears that the entire world is experiencing extreme weather.
However, what is happening is a taste of what lies ahead, for whatever we do there are consequences.
Did we not all learn that simple rule as children?
If we fail to look after, respect and maintain our home, then it will fall down around us. 
The earth is our home.
We have treated Mother Earth with disdainful arrogance!
