Extreme weather conditions have struck once again here in Ireland.
Planting over eleven hundred trees over fourteen years has meant resilience for Bealtaine Cottage.
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!
This should be a wake-up call to plant…trees!
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:
“Plant like your life depends upon it, for it does!” ~ Bealtaine Cottage
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!
There is a video on this subject uploaded today over on the Bealtaine Cottage YouTube channel…subscribe for further notifications.
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“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
It was some time coming…but those of you who have followed the Bealtaine Cottage Magical Gardens site on Facebook are aware of the proliferation of material I posted on there. 
I was so passionate about spreading a message of optimism and love for Mother Earth, that I ended up with little or no time for the work I need to do here at Bealtaine Cottage! 
I write and photograph for two blogs, upload to FB and Twitter, make a video and upload that as often as possible…the most recent one was almost an hour long! 
I haven’t been able to find time for Soundcloud, and, as for enjoying the occasional day out or weekend away…not possible with such a busy schedule. 
Something had to give! 
So I decided to take a break from FaceBook and Twitter and have left a small statement on both sites informing my followers.
My page on FB quickly built up to almost 14,000 Likes, so I do feel a sense of abandoning so many good people, but do hope that they remember where I am and that I have not gone away! 
Yesterday and this morning, following my decision, I have felt a lovely calm descend here…a sort of ability to breath deeper and exhale longer! 
The story of Bealtaine Cottage began 12 years ago. 
No-one in this part of Ireland was much interested in what I was trying to do…so I began writing and blogging about the generosity and energy of Mother Earth, in fact I felt compelled to do so.
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come.” 
So, life at Bealtaine has come back in a circle, as I find myself happily snapping pics., eager to share them with all of you through this website. 
“I remember feeling that pieces of me were scattered around the world; I belonged to her, Mother Earth.”
I know that the best way I can be of service in these troubled times is to share Bealtaine Cottage with those who seek to reconnect with Mother Earth and develop a deeper understanding of the real world…not the one hurled at us by the mainstream media. 
“The human body resonates at the same frequency as Mother Earth. So instead of only focusing on trying to save the earth, which operates in congruence to our vibrations, I think it is more important to be one with each other. If you really want to remedy the earth, we have to mend mankind. And to unite mankind, we heal the Earth. That is the only way. Mother Earth will exist with or without us. Yet if she is sick, it is because mankind is sick and separated. And if our vibrations are bad, she reacts to it, as do all living creatures.”
