I made this video this evening so you can enjoy a walk through the gardens and see what’s growing and coming to blossom.
Tag: full moon
The Walls are Alive, The Cottage Breathes…
Lunar Eclipse in Pisces Full Moon
Under A Full Moon in the Magical Gardens
Scorpio Moon
This month marks the tenth anniversary of Bealtaine Cottage.
Today, the 14th of May 2014, is the full moon of Bealtaine.
This marks the actual Bealtaine celebration, as many of you know.
The full moon is in Scorpio, my star sign.
All I can say is that I am exhausted and feeling like I have reached rock bottom.
According to what I have read on many of the Astrology sites, this is to be expected!
Apparently, all the ups and downs I have been experiencing are almost at an end.
Even as I write this, my photographs are refusing to upload!
This Full Moon in Scorpio illuminates the last of negative issues, though tonight feels very intense indeed!
I have been advised to gather my courage and take action that will enable me to  move forward.
Yes, that just about sums up how I see it!
It is rare that I feel exhausted, but I have to conclude that tomorrow I shall stay in bed…well, as much as I can, between walking Jack, feeding the pets, lighting the stove, seeing to the hens…
Approaching Equinox
Mist and frost in the early mornings are a feature of March and the approaching Equinox.
Buds have opened on the Ribes to reveal scented pink flowers that serve as an early breakfast for Bees making their way out of hibernation and in desperate search of a nectar shot or two!
Work has been ratcheted up a few notches, as the rain has ceased and everything, including the woodwork, has begun to dry out…time to paint fences and sheds with preservative!
This is the new blue fence, courtesy of three rather rusted looking tins of blue wood preservative I have had donated to me from a friend, who had them in her shed for quite a few years!
The colour of the sky on a clear day!
Daffodils have really come into their own this week, with splashes of yellow all over the gardens.
The flooded ponds remain delightfully brimming and filled with frogs spawn.
…a decoy duck, I have to add!
And a rarely seen view, looking past the Willow Fedge, into the undergrowth of trees.
May 2014 marks the tenth anniversary of Bealtaine Cottage, from rushy grass monoculture to this little Eden.
The gardens will be open for one day each month through Spring, Summer and Autumn this year…check out the link at the top of this page!
After painting this little bench with some of the preservative, I moved it…
…down to this newly cleared dry spot by a Great Western Cedar, planted eight years ago and now affording wonderful shelter in which to sit and enjoy the sun.
The last full moon before Equinox rises over Bealtaine.
*************************
Bealtaine Cottage has built up a Permaculture Seed Bank.
If you want to see a list of available, Not-For-Profit seeds, this link will take you there…http://bealtainecottage.com/seeds-from-bealtaine-cottage/
Seeds from Bealtaine Cottage in Ireland are posted all over the world, the donation is the same wherever you live!
Bealtaine Cottage is also on YouTube…with over 110 videos about Permaculture, planting, growing and living.
There are over 600 blogs in the archives on this site.
As an Ark for Nature, trees and wildlife, the smallholding of Bealtaine Cottage receives no grant aid from the EU, as only farm animals, monoculture and set-aside are grant-aided!
Your donation helps remedy that…
Permaculture Gardens
The growing season has begun, with Rhubarb sending forth strong pink stems despite the storms of recent weeks.
Meanwhile, down in the Fairy Wood, ferns have kept their green in the shelter of the dell. Mosses grow bright in the sunlight and ivy twists and twirls around the Goat Willow.
Lots of Goat Willow has been coppiced over recent months, and although it takes a year or so to season, it makes excellent logs for the stove, giving out masses of heat for free!
Further down the gardens, Pine, laurel and Great Western Cedar all grow happily together and appear healthy in the spring sunshine.
Daffodils are on their way to opening under the shelter of the Beech hedge. This is down beside the pond by the driveway.
And as I turn around from the Daffodils, the Ivy that hangs from some of the mature Goat Willow, swings about in the wind and sunshine…this is turning into a lovely walk around the gardens!
I amble around the lower pond, snapping as I go…Jack moves ahead of me, tugging on his lead for he has picked up the scent of a fox or badger!
I put my camera away and let Jack pull me along, hot on the scent of other life…we finally stop as we come up to the east side of the cottage.
We move around towards the polytunnel and one of the orchards. Pyracantha and Cotoneaster are now devoid of berries. This can be a hungry time for the birds as they mate and nest…there is a big bag of Oats I can scatter around in handfuls for the hungry birds and will do this later.
Back to the cottage and the shelter of the veranda…it’s very stormy, despite the sunshine!
With a full moon over Bealtaine Cottage tonight and a hard frost to come, the evening will be cold for sure.
The coppicing continues and the woodpile grows…
Fennel is beginning to send forth lots of new growth in the shelter of the veranda and the back of the cottage. These new shoots are delicious added to salad!
And just across from the Fennel…
And a reminder for anyone wanting 100% Bealtaine seeds from Bealtaine Cottage…there is a link at the top of this page where you can choose what you want.
Don’t Wait For The Cavalry!
Sammy-Bear is filthy.
From head to paw, disgusting in the extreme!
Last night, as the moon came towards its fullest, Sammy refused to come in.
As I walked Jack in the full light of a post storm moon, I could see Sammy on the hill behind the cottage darting here and there as he chased something.
Hours later he slunk home in this disgraceful state!
He refuses to clean himself, ignoring my chastisements and sits in full state, on the executive chair, in front of the stove!
I may as well talk to the wall!
There is a full moon tonight and the air is still.
Over recent days the storms have been intense, with rain, snow, wind and tornado!
The extremes of weather are being felt all across the world.
The British Isles have been hit quite badly with floods and high winds all over.
The effects of this extreme weather in terms of financial cost has not been talked about too much in the media.
There appears to be an Ostrich reaction to it all, as economies are talked up and realities are ignored.
I don’t feel I need to write about the cost to our environments, as I do so all the time really, but the financial cost to countries will be immense and will certainly slow any hoped-for economic recovery.
So it is well worth mentioning once more the power we all have, to grow food and make plans for our own home economies as best we can!
I might add here, that our worst, can only really equal the best that our own governments appear to be doing in the face of environmental disaster.
By applying common sense and with a little foresight and planning, we will ensure some security of tenure on this battered planet.
For my part, planting trees for coppicing and energy needs will ensure a warm home next winter.
Storing and familiarising myself with the use of dried pulses, growing and successfully storing home-grown produce, as well as becoming well-versed in the very best home-made soups and potage dishes, continues to occupy my spare time.
My advice, for what it’s worth…Don’t Wait For The Cavalry!
An Evening with Mr D’Arcy
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!
Carbon Taxes Won’t Save Us!
Today, I was feeling just a teensy bit down.
It’s a rare experience for me.
Life is so full on here at Bealtaine, that positivity fills the day, running from one task to the next and looking forward to a brief sit down and a cup of tea.
But today, something caught up with me…a growing feeling of fragility that I had suppressed for a long time.
Weakness in the face of disaster.
Fear.
I have spent much of my life suppressing fear.
To be honest, most people have too.
Carrying life, caring for life, creates a deep fear…of birth and death, and one that we know we must resist.
Not just resist, but train ourselves to regard this feral fear in as dispassionate a way as we can muster.
We as adults cannot display fear to our young or those in our charge or care…we must be brave, pretend, laugh in the face of fear.
Today I was desperate for water to ensure the plants in the potager beds did not die.
The well had stopped flowing.
The heat of the day was oppressive, as the cloudless sky framed a burning hot sun that evaporated what little moisture was left in the soil.
I drove the car to an ancient spring, lower down the valley, and spent the morning bucketing water back up to the cottage.
It was exhausting, but successful…the plants are still alive tonight, as I write this blog in the cool of a full moon.
The fear has hung over me all day, as I realise how terribly vulnerable we all are, in the face of these persistent, extreme, weather events.
In this state of vulnerability lies a growing awareness of the fragility of life.
We have to do everything we can to protect that life.
Carbon taxes won’t do that…only we can…each and every one of us!
*******************************************
A Magical Midsummer Morning…
Happy Solstice everyone…
In this special year of the return of the Divine Feminine…
There will be a full moon on Sunday, June 23…
And it’s a rather special one…
The biggest moon at Midsummer
It will not only be the largest full moon of the year…
It will also be the moon’s closest encounter with Earth for all of 2013.
The moon will be at it’s peak on Sunday…
Celebrate this Solstice…it’s a rare one!
I’m heading to the ocean for a long walk along the Atlantic shoreline…
My Midsummer Treat!
Happy Solstice Everyone!
Bealtaine Cottage is also on YouTube…with over 110 videos about Permaculture, planting, growing and living.
Over 550 blogs from Bealtaine Cottage in the archives here.
Thank you for supporting this blog
Permaculture Gardens of Bealtaine Cottage in February
The strength of the sun shining on the stone circle is quite powerful.
No need to wear a coat today as I work in the permaculture gardens.
Frost that had settled on the roof of the cottage during the night dissipated early as the sun rose and illuminated the trees.
At this time of year the change in the seasons can be quite dramatic as the sun warms the interior of the cottage, making the need for a fire to be set in the stove unnecessary.
Near the back of the cottage, Euphorbia begins to make a show.
The yellow and lime green aliens will be making an appearance very soon!
This is the time to sow seeds and chit early potatoes, so there’s lots of work in the tunnel.
There’s heaps of Willow still to be cut.
I’m busy indoors knitting finger-less gloves for sale in my Etsy shop.
To order only…already knitting a pair for a friend who has coveted these…they are immensely warm!
As well as that I am sorting through my extensive library…books are taking over the cottage, so it may be time to offer some for sale in the Etsy shop.
Rhubarb is making progress and a crumble looks to be fixed on the March horizon!
I made a willow wigwam the other day and put up a short video about it on YouTube.
This one will be used to support beans in one of the potager beds this summer.
Now is the time to plant willow in your garden!
Last night was a full moon and it was very cold…a reminder for me to close the doors of the tunnel before it gets dark!
And looking forward to another beautiful morning in this special time before the Equinox.
Thank you for supporting this blog