Saturday, July 20, 2013

lughnasadh giveaway!


I am currently hosting a giveaway for Lughnasadh over at the Unfettered Wood blog.  Up for grabs is:
  • One $20 Cyber Gift Certificate
  • 1/2 oz Fertile Fields Incense
  • Abundance Herbal Beeswax Candle
  • Vintage J & G Meakin Studio "Poppies" Sugar Bowl
  • "Country Remedies" by Karen Thesen
  • Prosperity Herb Bottle Charm
  • 10 Wee Baggies of Herbs
To find out more information and to enter head on over to the Unfettered Wood blog.

Sláinte!

Laurel

Saturday, June 29, 2013

early summer goings-on

It's been just over a month since I started school, which has been taking up most of my time. It is really odd to have such a fixed schedule when I am so used to doing things more on my own time, and the last few years I think I have really taken for granted all of the time I had to do the things that need to be done at a more leisurely pace. 

Any free time that I do have is coveted now, and most of that time has been spent in the garden, which has been going on pretty much the same way as if I was in it all day, everyday. It is a nice thing to have a garden full of hardy plants, and I am really happy that I have always tended to be pretty laid back when it comes to weeds and critters in the garden. It is probably saving me from high blood pressure at this point. ;)

double pink columbine
Something I don't reacall ever seeing before: two different coloured foxgloves growing from the same plant.

Just like to the past few Midsummers, I have set up a shrine to Airmid and to my honeybee friends to leave offerings of thanks on and to do some healing rituals.

a vessel made for healing.
I also have finally gotten around to do my "bigger" early summer herb harvest.



Last weekend I went with a few folks to see a RCMP musical ride over at Knowlton Ridge Equestrian Centre, to get a horsey fix. The event was held to raise funds for two young local equestrians to have a shot to represent Canada in international show rings.

One of the equestrians the fundraiser was for along with her lovely mount {people blurred for privacy}.
This is Africa, one of the horses that performed in the musical ride {people's faces blurred for privacy}.
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While I did enjoy watching the musical ride, I was even happier to go around and "meet" some of the horses at the Knowlton Ride facility. There was one mare that I was particularly smitten by {the lovely chestnut below} who was so friendly I wish I could have stuck her in my purse and brought her home with me. Her companion is a lovely mare too.

It turns out that my friendly chestnut is for sale and her name is Ginger. She is a 5 year old Hanoverian mare bred by the RCMP.  If I had the money, time and space, she would be coming home with me! But since I don't, interested folks can find more info at the Knowlton Ridge "for sale" page.

Sláinte! 

Laurel


Sunday, June 16, 2013

spring flowers

May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day.
May songbirds serenade you every step along the way.
May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that's always blue.
And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.
 
~ An Irish Blessing

This is just a wee post of some flowers in our garden and some from on our street.

crabapple blossoms {not in our garden}

common comfrey

white columbine
 
lily of the valley

forget me nots
 
mystery wildflowers
 
blue columbine

bleeding hearts

spiderwort
*********

Sláinte!

Laurel

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

the merry month of may

{cross posted at the nefaeria blog}

 
The last few weeks have been a busy juggle of celebrating Bealtaine and preparing for some pretty big changes that are just around the corner {more on that in another post}. To make it a little more challenging, some of my Bealtaine activities had been waiting for the weather to comply.

Even with the unpredictable weather though, I have been taking every chance to appreciate the natural beauty of this time of year.

lilacs
periwinkles
Yesterday I consecrated seeds, which will be planted on Friday along with my seedlings after I do a garden blessing. Some hardy annuals and colder weather crops such as lettuce and kale have already been planted.
 
My Bealtaine water and rowan wood for the year were collected a couple of weeks back and I have even got to harvest some herbs.
 
sweet woodruff, periwinkle flowers and wild ginger flowers
stinging nettle
There has been some crafting going on around here too, including a candle to represent my hearth, which was ritually lit after last year's candle smothered. With a bit of luck, this candle will last me until next Bealtaine.
 

Near the end of April my "seasonal altar" was set up for Bealtaine, or perhaps better described as a shrine to Flidais and the wild critters. Over the course of the last few weeks daily devotionals and offerings were made.

 
 

 
For the "big do" I created some May boughs and a May bush and made nettle soup, bannocks and butter.
 

The house was sained and a Bealtaine blessing was said and our "hearth" was smothered and re-lit.
 

I hope that everyone else is having a lovely May!

Sláinte!

Laurel

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

bealtaine blessings!



Summer has come, healthy and free,
Whence the brown wood is aslope;
The slender nimble deer leap,
And the path of seals is smooth. 

The cuckoo sings sweet music,
Whence there is smooth restful sleep;
Gentle birds leap upon the hill,
And swift grey stags.

Heat has laid hold of the rest of the deer—
The lovely cry of curly packs!
The white extent of the strand smiles,
There the swift sea is. 

A sound of playful breezes in the tops
Of a black oakwood is Drum Daill,
The noble hornless herd runs,
To whom Cuan-wood is a shelter.

Green bursts out on every herb,
The top of the green oakwood is bushy,
Summer has come, winter has gone,
Twisted hollies wound the hound.

The blackbird sings a loud strain,
To him the live wood is a heritage,
The sad angry sea is fallen asleep,
The speckled salmon leaps.

The sun smiles over every land,—
A parting for me from the brood of cares:
Hounds bark, stags tryst,
Ravens flourish, summer has come!

~Summer Has Come, an early Irish poem translated by Kuno Meyer
 
I wish all of my readers a lovely Bealtaine {and a lovely Samhain for you folks in the Southern Hemisphere}!

Sláinte!

Laurel

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

getting giddy for bealtaine...

{deerie candle holder from maryink}


All of the critters are twitterpaiting and the plants are starting to peek up out of the ground, so I think that Spring is here...and boy has it been a long wait around these parts. Last year we were spoiled by an extra early start to the growing season, so maybe it has made this past Winter seem longer than it really was.  A part of me thinks that we are a little behind though.

The one thing that I has kept me sane through the anticipation to get into the garden is my wee seedlings that are all doing well. Sitting on our window sills are gaggles of tomatoes, shasta daisies, heather, datura, wild tobacco, parsley, basil, foxgloves, mullein, poppies, and a few other pretties waiting to take their place in our garden. 

The newest addition that I am perhaps most excited about is a small rowan tree that I ordered and am anxiously awaiting to get here. Last year I tried to start one from a cutting, which didn't work and all of our local garden centers only sell larger trees, so I decided to order one from Vesseys {I think that they only sell rowan trees within Canada}. The sizes that they come in from there are 15 to 18 inches, which is perfect for me to keep in a large planter for a couple of years so I can take it with me should we be moving anytime soon. 

I have been busy with preparations for Bealtaine too, which I may celebrate a little late this year given how things seems to be coming along slower than usual. One thing that I am waiting on is my stinging nettle to grow a bit more because I want to make a nettle soup as part of our feast.

Preparations for a course that I am starting at the end of May has also kept me busy; it will be full time, which means that I will have less time for the garden than I would like. With this in mind, we have decided to keep it simple this year and put some new veggies and fruits that we were planning on trying this yearon the back burner. Hopefully we can try them next year.

I will snap a few photos of what is going on in the garden once there is more to see. :)

Sláinte!

Laurel