Beltain 2024

~ Ashley

Hawthorn tree beltain


Beltain,
Welcome to summer;
Rain!

After weeks of grey skies and rain, we’re now seeing a change in the weather.  Of course, change is never straightforward and whilst warmer days are on their way, there are sure to be some surprises!  On the last day of April, it rained constantly, and today the first day of May, the sun is shining!

In the ancient agricultural calendar, Beltain, or the Festival of Fertility, is usually celebrated at the end of April and the beginning of May and marked as the beginning of summer.  It is a time to celebrate the power of the life force; everything is growing and showing!  The energy of unions, whether spiritual or physical is alive!  The picture of the hawthorn tree, Crataegus monogyna, is relevant to this festival as it brings the spirit of wild places into our lives.  The haunt of fairies makes it a magical tree!

The hawthorn is tolerant of strong winds, dry and wet conditions.  A small , thorny deciduous tree with small white fragrant flowers; hermaphrodite (both male and female) reinforcing the association with balance and unions.  It is also known as the Maythorn or May Tree.  Its wood is tough and fine grained sometimes used as a veneer.

 Midges,
Dancing above the May tree;
Summer.
 

I’m a bit late with this post as I was out all day yesterday on a garden visit.  More of that soon!  That is as long as my photos have come out; it was a very overcast day!

Happy May Day.

Ashley

46 thoughts on “Beltain 2024”

  1. That’s a beautiful hawthorn tree! I miss hawthorns as we don’t have them where we live but I’ve enjoyed being in Ireland at this time of year when the hawthorn and gorse are in bloom.

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      2. We managed a day out (30/04) to a big private garden, in the rain & there were some clashes of thunder. It didn’t spoil the day. So many photos to go through but I’ll have a new post soon. ☔💌🙋‍♂️

  4. Yay!!! Summer is here!!! Happy May Day, Ashleaf! I love your hokku…I could see the midges. And that’s a beautiful image of the hawthorn tree!

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  10. A belated happy May Day to you, Ashley! The hawthorne tree is lovely, and the background info on Beltain is intriguing. Also, your poetry is wonderful as always. Here’s to more sunny days in your neck o’ the woods, my friend! 😊🌳🌞

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    1. No problem, thanks, Mike! Happy Beltain to you. The sun has just come out & hopefully it will be with us for a few hours. A chance to get into the garden to catch up on some of those jobs there! 🙋‍♂️

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  14. Happy belated Bealtaine Festival Ashley. Indeed looking forward to some sunshine after so much rain! Here in West Cork we had constant rain since Oct/Nov. – almost 7 months – apart from a dry day here and there! So bring it on… Lovely photo, thanks for the post.

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    1. Thank you, Elaine, from the Orchard County of Armagh where over the last few days the sun has been shining. Unfortunately, I think there is more rain on the way, which will probably arrive with you before it reaches here. Have a great weekend 🌸🤗🌷

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  15. Funny to read your post and the comments about the weather! Here we are celebrating our first rain after a 6 month drought! Thank heavens for rain!!!

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  16. I love how you know so much about trees. Have you ever done a post about the willow? That’s one of my favourites. Let me know if you have, I’d love to read it (and see the corresponding Ogham stick!) 🙂🌸

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    1. Dear Sunra, I’m really no expert & rely on my notes from reading. One resource I find especially useful is Glennie Kindred’s book Walking with Trees. You can find her at:

      http://www.glenniekindred.co.uk

      And, yes, I mentioned willow here:

      https://8-arrows.com/2024/02/01/1st-february/

      I had planned to write more about the symbolism of trees this year but with the change of season, I will hopefully be outdoors more often, visiting some nice gardens, a good few woodlands & I will try to post many of the places we visit. The next 6 months will be busy as I had also hoped to do more artwork! Then again, if the sun comes out I might just get the deckchairs out, put the parasol up, pour some big glasses of the red stuff, read even more books & try to chill! 😎📚🍷🍷🌞🥴😴

      Oh yes & we’re having a few days away this month, by the coast! Can’t wait, as we’ve not had any time away from home since before the lockdowns! 🤗🌹🙋‍♂️

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      1. Your plans sound wonderful! I love how you describe it with the deckchairs, the red stuff and the books! Ha ha. & thanks for the links, I’ll check them out properly and have a good read of them later on. Have a lovely restful week, Ashley! 🌹☺️💕

  17. A very belated Beltain to you, dear Ashley. I guess the UK’s weather is similar to that in Ireland. We’ve had lots of rain, but just lately, we’ve had a few days (including today) of glorious sunshine. My eleven-year-old granddaughter went camping with her school last weekend. Most of the time, it was fine, but two days ago, it poured with heavy rain all day. I’m hoping their tents didn’t get flooded out. Even my cat, Peanut, didn’t venture out all day.

    I love your hawthorn tree. They are so pretty with their delicate white blossom. I am fortunate to have two hawthorns at the bottom of the garden. They were never planted, so they must have self-seeded or been there before we moved here in 1979. At the bottom of my garden is a very steep bank, which is covered in, probably, over 100-year-old trees, mostly deciduous. Peanut has a wonderful time climbing the trees. Unfortunately, that also gives her access to birds’ nests in the spring, and she often catches the fledgelings that have tried to fly the next, only to land on the grass. It breaks my heart. I try to keep her in more at that time of the year, but she doesn’t take kindly to that. She rarely kills anything, birds, mice, slow worms, etc., but baby birds, in particular, tend to die of shock. As a passionate nature-lover, it’s so difficult to cope with this, as you can imagine.

    I know how much you love trees, my friend, and I wondered whether you’d ever read the book, ‘Finding The Mother Tree’ by Suzanne Simmard. It’s a wonderful book that explains how all trees are connected and supportive of each other in nature. It’s a real eye-opener if you want to know more about that communal side of trees. I can highly recommend it.

    I hope you get some continuing sunshine over there now that we’re officially in summer. It’s so lovely not to have to be worrying about paying the heating bills at this time of the year.

    I wish you a bright, sunny rest of the day, Ashley. Love Ellie Xx 🌳🌻🌱🍀🌞💕

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    1. Dear Ellie, Thank you for your lovely & detailed comments. I have read Suzanne Simard’s book & was bowled over with her discoveries. I also saw an interview with her through the British Library; an amazing lady! We have had a few bright days here too So we’ve been busy in the garden & hoping the summer is sunny & a long one. 🌳🌸🌷🌞💕 

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  19. Ashley,

    Enjoyed reading your blog and all the explanations about hawthorn trees. Didn’t realize that they were hermaphroditic. Our first set of midges have already hatched out just in time for your haiku. Perfect! ~Nan

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  20. Thank you, Nancy! At least here the midges don’t bite (well, those around Lough Neagh). Today (12th May) we might have our first thunderstorm; we’ve had a week of lovely warm weather & now, I suppose we must pay for it! ⛈

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